How to Submatriculate in Mathematics

Undergraduate students are welcome to apply to the submatriculation Master's program in Mathematics in the Fall of their Junior Year.  The first step is to start with the College first. See below for details on how:

Workflow with detailed steps on how to apply for the program: 

1. College Advisor Opens Application:

The application process is initiated by the student’s College advisor. Once the advisor opens the workflow, they will first select the student’s program. Based on the student’s majors and concentrations within that program, the advisor will then choose an eligible submatriculation program from a drop-down list. 

 

2. Student Submits Application:

Once the application has been opened by the student's College Advisor, the student will receive an email notification regarding the submatriculation application into a Graduate Arts and Sciences program that was initiated. The student will be instructed to log into BP Logix and officially submit their application.  The student will be asked to upload a completed College Submatriculation Form and list two references to support their application.  When identifying references, the student will have the ability to search for any active faculty/staff member at Penn or manually type in a reference’s information.

 

3. References Add Recommendation Letters:

Once the student officially submits their application, their references will be notified via email and prompted to upload a letter of recommendation. The first reference listed on the application will be notified initially. After their recommendation is uploaded, the second reference will then be notified.

 

4. Math Undergraduate Chair Reviews Application:

After two recommendation letters are added to the application, the workflow routes to the Math Undergraduate Chair of the Submatriculation program the student applied to, and they are expected to review the:

• Submatriculation program requested online application
• College Submatriculation Form
• Two recommendation letters 

If the Math Undergraduate Chair is in support of the request, they must indicate a Start Term for the submatriculation program upon approval.  

 

5. Grad Group Chair Reviews Applications:

After the Math Undergraduate Chair approves the application, it is routed to the Grad Group Chair who will also be expected to review the:

• Submatriculation program requested online application
• College Submatriculation Form
• Two recommendation letters   

The Start Term of the program will already be populated by the Math Undergraduate Chair but, if necessary, the Grad Group Chair will be able to change it.

 

6. Student Admissions Decisions:

Once the Math Undergraduate Chair and Graduate Group Chair approve the application, the workflow is sent to the Admissions Office for formal admission or denial into the program. At this stage, the Admissions Office also has the option to modify the program’s Start Term. 

 

Admit:  If the Admissions Office admits the student, an email from the Graduate Dean (Beth Wenger) is sent to the student with an official acceptance letter attached. The student must then select either 'ACCEPT OFFER' or 'DENY OFFER' within the workflow to continue to the final process of their application.  

Deny:  If the Admissions Office denies the student, a formal denial letter is sent to the student and the workflow ends.

 

Requirements for the Master’s Degree in Mathematics:

A student submatriculating into the Math master’s program is expected to complete the two degrees simultaneously within the normal four undergraduate years.

The students must fulfill all of the following requirements for a Masters degree: 

1. Apply via BP Logix for submatriculation in the Math program in the fall of their Junior year.
2. After being admitted into the program, students are expected to complete two of the four courses Math 5080-5090 and Math 5020-5030 (or the equivalent), with an average grade of at least A-.
3. Must pass the Masters Preliminary Exam by the beginning of their senior year.
4. Fulfill the Masters degree course requirements.
5. Write a Masters Thesis: soon after passing the preliminary exam, the student should immediately begin planning for the thesis by seeking/assigning a faculty member who can serve as their thesis advisor.  You may ask the Math Grad Chair for assistance in choosing a thesis advisor.
6. Before taking the Master's general exam/masters thesis defense, you should consult with your advisor as to who should sit on your committee as a reader, and act as the Chair of the committee.  Submit a completed Thesis Defense Committee form to Reshma Tanna in the Math Office at least two weeks in advance.
7. Register for graduation with the Master's degree during the first academic month of the semester in which you plan to graduate.  You will receive guidelines from Reshma on how to write your thesis and other requirements.
8. Pass the Masters General Examination/Masters Thesis Defense. 

For the course requirements as many as 4 (of the total of 8) credits can be counted towards both the Bachelors degree and the Masters degree. Graduate level courses completed before admission to the submatriculation program can be applied towards the Masters degree. All of the courses for the Masters degree must be taken for a grade.

 

For general questions regarding Submatriculation, contact Reshma Tanna at graduate@math.upenn.edu.