Obtaining an MA degree while being in the PhD program

• If you are enrolled in the PhD program and have accumulated enough hours, you have the option of earning an MA degree. Note that this is not required: Some students graduate with a PhD without ever having obtained a Master's degree.
• In addition to coursework, an exam is required for graduating with an MA degree. If you have already taken your PhD General Exam, it can be used to satisfy this requirement. However, in almost all cases, students will want to obtain an MA degree before having taken the General Exam. In this case you must take the so-called Comprehensive Exam (more on this below). In the following we will assume that you are planning to obtain an MA degree on the basis of the Comprehensive Exam.
• Note that the Comprehensive Exam is completely different from the Qualifying Exams (in Algebra, Analysis and Topology); the latter cannot be used in lieu of the Comprehensive Exam.
• The first step in obtaining your MA degree is to fill out the Graduate College's Admission to Candidacy Form (this is a pdf that you can write in).
  • On the form you must list a total of 32 hours of graduate coursework. It is not necessary that you have already completed all the courses at the time you file the form.
  • You must have taken at least five of the six qualifying courses (Abstract Algebra I and II, Real Analysis I and II, Topology I and II). Sometimes this is not the case, for example if you have passed the “free shot” on a qualifying exam and therefore never took the corresponding course. In this case ask the graduate director to write a petition for you to the Graduate College.
  • It is okay to list courses in which you have obtained a grade of C.
  • In the Math Department we do not use the thesis option for the MA degree, so leave the THESIS RESEARCH HOURS box empty.
  • On the second page of the Admission to Candidacy Form, check the last of the five boxes on the left (“Non-Thesis Master's Degree while enrolled in the doctoral program on basis of comprehensive examination”). Do not check any other box.
  • You must put down the names of three faculty members who will be on your comprehensive exam committee. Please discuss these with the graduate director before writing down any names.
• There are certain dates when the Admission to Candidacy Form has to be filed:
  • If you plan to graduate in the summer, the form must be filed no later than the first Monday in March.
  • If you plan to graduate in the fall, the form must be filed no later than the first Monday in April.
  • If you plan to graduate in the spring, the form must be filed no later than the first Monday in October.
  Hence, you must file the form early in the semester before the semester you plan to get your MA degree. You cannot file the form and graduate in the same semester. The Graduate College maintains a convenient website containing these and other deadlines.
• At the time when you file the Admission to Candidacy Form, you must also go to the Addition or Change of Program Request website.
  • Click the “I am currently in a graduate program and would like to pursue an additional graduate program” button and start filling out the online form.
  • Your Campus is "Norman" and your College is "College of Arts and Sciences". Your current major is "Mathematics (PhD)", and your new major is "Mathematics (MA)".
  • For the "New Program Effective Term" choose the current semester (not some future semester).
  • After you've filled in the required information and submitted the form, the Graduate College will consider your request (and ask the graduate director for a recommendation). Once everything is approved, you will get an e-mail from the Graduate College. At this point you will be enrolled in two graduate programs, the PhD program and the MA program.
• Early in the semester in which you are planning to graduate (with an MA degree), you must apply for graduation. This can now be done online. Log into oZONE with your 4+4 and click on the Graduate A Sooner Channel under the home tab. There is a Graduation Application link in the Graduate A Sooner Channel. You must apply for graduation by the following dates:
  • If you plan to graduate in the summer, you must apply for graduation no later than July 1.
  • If you plan to graduate in the fall, you must apply for graduation no later than October 1.
  • If you plan to graduate in the spring, you must apply for graduation no later than March 1.
• After you have applied for graduation, you must schedule the Comprehensive Exam.
  • Talk to the graduate director about dates and format of the exam right after you have applied for graduation.
  • The exam should be taken while classes are in session. Avoid finals week.
  • The graduate director will request from the Graduate College the authority to hold the Comprehensive Exam. Keep in mind that this must happen at least one week before the exam is to be held.
  • If all your paperwork is okay, the Graduate College will e-mail the Authority Report Form to the graduate director and your committee members. The Comprehensive Exam cannot be held without this form.
• After you've taken the Comprehensive Exam, the Authority Report Form must be returned to the Graduate College with all signatures by the deadline noted on the form.
• Finally, assuming all went well, send a friendly e-mail to Paula, with copy to Cristin, letting her know that you have earned an MA degree. The reason you should do this is that, starting the following semester, you will receive a small increase in your salary if you hold a Master's degree. Paula needs to have this info, and while she should be receiving it through other channels, it can't hurt if you tell her directly.
• Here is a summary of the steps involved:
  • Print out the Admission to Candidacy Form. Fill out the part about coursework and take it to the graduate director to discuss the committee for the Comprehensive Exam. Do this early in the semester before the semester you are planning to graduate (with an MA degree).
  • Request to formally add the MA program at the Addition or Change of Program Request website.
  • Early in the semester when you are planning to graduate, fill out the Graduation Application on oZONE.
  • Talk to the graduate director about scheduling the Comprehensive Exam.
  • Take and pass the Comprehensive Exam.
  • Send an e-mail to Paula and Cristin letting them know that you have earned an MA degree.

Filling out your Advisory Conference Report

• After you have chosen a PhD adviser and agreed on an advisory committee, you must schedule the Advisory Conference. Some people use Doodle to schedule meetings like this. Your entire committee must be present and provide signatures on the Advisory Conference Report (ACR). There might be some discussion about the report, but the meeting is unlikely to take more than 30 minutes. Plan for one hour, just in case.
• Download the ACR form from here as a doc file and bring several filled out paper copies to the advisory conference. Sometimes a committee member will detect an error or request a change. Be prepared to run to your office, make a small change, print out a new copy, and come back within five minutes.
• Even though there are instructions attached to the ACR, it is difficult to fill this form out correctly. Most definitely, discuss the report with your adviser before the advisory conference. In addition, it is a good idea to have someone in the Graduate College look it over for formal correctness. In case it is incorrect, the Graduate College will not accept it, and you have to collect all signatures again.
• TOOLS OF RESEARCH (section 2 of the ACR):
  • Indicate the departmental language exam you have taken or will take. For example, if you plan to take an exam in French, write “French Language”. This requirement must be satisfied before you proceed to your general exam.
  • Do not write anything else in this section.
• GRADUATE COURSEWORK FORMING MASTER'S DEGREE TO BE APPLIED TO THE DOCTORAL DEGREE (section 3 of the ACR):
  • If you have already received your MA degree from OU, then this section should be an exact copy of all the courses listed on your "Program of Graduate Work / Admission to Candidacy" form (the one you had filled out before receiving your MA). Exception: Omit courses for which you received a grade of C (such courses can be applied to the MA degree, but not to the PhD).
  • If you have received a master's degree (in Mathematics) from another institution, you should list all the courses that were applied to this master's degree.
  • If you've never received a master's degree, leave this section empty.
• GRADUATE CREDIT NOT APPLIED TO THE MASTER'S DEGREE TO BE APPLIED TO THE DOCTORAL DEGREE (section 4 of the ACR):
  • List only courses you took BEFORE entering the PhD program. If you've always been in the PhD program, leave this section empty. (Some students enter as MA or MS students, and later switch to the PhD program. Others enter directly into the PhD program without ever having been in a master's degree program.)
  • Transfer credit from another institution should also be listed here (unless it was applied to a master's degree, in which case it should appear in the previous section).
  • It is important to understand that everything listed in section 3 and 4 counts as transfer credit towards the doctoral degree. Such transfer credit is limited to 44 hours. Therefore, the sum of the hours listed in this and the previous section cannot exceed 44 hours.
• REQUIRED COURSEWORK TAKEN WHILE ENROLLED IN OU DOCTORAL PROGRAM (section 5 of the ACR):
  • This and the next section must contain all the courses you took, or are going to take, while enrolled in the PhD program, with the exception of those listed in section 3. It is not always clear which courses should go under "required" and which should go under "elective". Technically, your advisory committee makes this decision, so talk to your adviser about it.
  • Basic courses, like the qualifying courses, should go into this section (if they are not already listed in section 3).
  • This section usually contains some courses you have already taken, and some you are planning to take. For the latter, simply leave the "Grade" column empty.
• ELECTIVE COURSEWORK TAKEN WHILE ENROLLED IN OU DOCTORAL PROGRAM (section 6 of the ACR):
  • List all courses taken, or those you are planning to take, while enrolled in the PhD program, with the exception of those listed in section 3 or 5.
  • Reading courses and seminars often appear in this section (although some reading courses may appear in section 5).
• SUMMARY OF CREDIT HOURS (section 7 of the ACR):
  • You should discuss the appropriate number of dissertation hours with your adviser.
  • Make sure the total number of hours comes out to be EXACTLY 90.
• Also observe that at most 16 hours of 3/4000 level courses may appear anywhere on the ACR.
• Real-world examples (pdf files):
  • Example 1. This is the ACR of a student who entered the program as PhD student and did never receive an MA degree.
  • Example 2. This is the ACR of a student who transferred credits from an MA degree obtained at OU.
  • Example 3. This is the ACR of a student who transferred credits from other institutions.

Scheduling your General Exam

• The General Exam consists of a written part and an oral part. The written part must be completed before the oral part. If you do not pass the written part, the entire General Exam will be counted as failed.
• Both the written and the oral part must be taken in the same semester, and must be scheduled when classes are in session. Dead week is allowed, finals week is not allowed.
• The written part consists of one or more 3-hour written exams based on a 5,000 or 6,000 level sequence in your research area. Your Advisory Committee determines whether there will be one or two written exams, and determines the specific sequences you will be tested on. A sequence need not necessarily consist of parts I and II of the same course; it may consist of a one-semester course combined with a reading course, or it may consist of two reading courses.
• The written part for the RUME Option used to have different requirements (four mandatory written exams in certain areas), but this is no longer the case. On February 19, 2013, the faculty voted to eliminate the distinction between RUME and non-RUME as far as the written part of the General Exam is concerned. Hence, for all students, the Advisory Committee now determines the extent of the written part of the General Exam.
• Before proceeding to the oral part, you must give a seminar presentation in one of the departmental area seminars based on a research paper selected by your Advisory Committee. The seminar presentation may take place in the same semester as the General Exam, or in an earlier semester.
• The oral part for the Traditional Option consists of an oral exam that covers two 5,000 or 6,000 level sequences, including any sequence used in the written part. The oral exam also covers your seminar presentation.
• The oral part for the RUME Option consists of an oral exam the scope of which is determined by your Advisory Committee. In addition, you must present a prospectus for the dissertation or a review of a paper submitted for publication to a research journal.
• To schedule your General Exam, follow these steps:
  • Talk to your adviser early on about dates and topics for the exam.
  • Download the General Exam Application for the Doctoral Degree from here.
  • One or more members of your committee will prepare the written test for you. Talk to them about timing. Enter the date of the first test on the form where it says “I will begin the written portion of the general exam”. If you are not completely sure about the date of the first test, you may enter an earlier date on the form. But note there must be AT LEAST TWO WEEKS between submission of the form and the (first) date given on the form.
  • Find a date for the oral part of the exam on which all members of your Advisory Committee can be assembled. Enter this date into the form where it says “I will complete the oral exam”.
  • Enter the names of all your committee members and their “M” status into the form. You can look up “M” status and expiration dates here.
  • Collect all signatures, starting with your advisor and ending with the Graduate Liaison.
  • Give a copy of the form to Cristin and submit the original to the Graduate College. Again, observe that the first date on the form must be AT LEAST TWO WEEKS away.
  • Within a few days the Graduate College will send your advisor an e-mail, with copy to you and all members of your committee, containing the Authority Report Form for the General Exam. You must not begin any portion of your exam before this form has been received.
• Bring a copy of the Authority Form to the oral part of the General Exam. Have all your committee members sign it immediately after the exam. Give a copy of this form to Cristin, and submit the original to the Graduate College within 72 hours. If all goes well, the Graduate College will admit you to Candidacy for the Doctoral Degree.

Travel Support for Graduate Students

• The Mathematics Department offers all graduate students (who are not on probationary status) the possibility to apply for departmental travel support for academic purposes. The maximum amount of department support per student per fiscal year is $450.
• In order to obtain departmental travel support, you must apply for matching funds from the College of Arts and Sciences. Follow the instructions on this web page precisely. Your application must be electronic; therefore, send your whole application package to Cristin in the form of pdf files. Your application must be received by Cristin at least 40 days prior to your planned travel. The chair of the department will add a letter of endorsement and forward your application to the College.
• Alternative sources of support (other than the College of Arts and Sciences) may be acceptable, but require the approval of the Department Chair or the Graduate Director. Such sources may be:
  • The Graduate College.
  • The Graduate Student Senate.
  • The conference/workshop you are travelling to.
  • The AMS.
  • The AWM.
  Talk to the Chair or Graduate Director if you are planning to apply to any of these alternative sources.
• In all cases your application for travel support has to completed well before your travels take place, in a way that allows your funding source to make a decision before the travel date. Do not apply for travel support after your travels; you will not be reimbursed.
• To apply for travel support, follow these steps.
  • Discuss your travel plans with your adviser and have her/him approve your trip.
  • Fill out a yellow pre-travel form (available in the main office) and turn it in to Cristin. This is your official notification to the department that you are planning to go on travel.
  • Inform your potential letter writers of your travel plans and ask if they would write you a letter of support.
  • Prepare your application package, following all instructions given on the relevant web site precisely.
  • If you are applying to an OU source, turn in your application package to Cristin. The department will forward it to the correct office after adding necessary material or signatures.
    • If you are applying to Arts and Sciences, your application must be electronic. Therefore, send everything to Cristin in the form of pdf files.
    • If you are applying to the Graduate College or Graduate Student Senate, your application must be in paper form. Turn the whole package in to Cristin.
• If you are applying to the Graduate Student Senate, you may want to talk to one of your current senators for advice. Also, ask your letter writers to specifically mention your travel plans, not just write you a generic recommendation letter. A key problem with applications from the Math Department in the past has been non-understandable math jargon in the Statement of Importance. GSS gave the following suggestions for solving the problem: using the first paragraph from Wikipedia on math terms as a resource for explanations, and/or having someone outside the Math Department look over the grant application.
• Most travel grants are on reimbursement basis. Therefore, keep all your receipts. Immediately after the return from your trip, make copies of all receipts and turn in the original receipts and paperwork. Make sure to follow the guidelines below on reimbursements.

Language Certification

This section concerns international students only.

• There are three language certification levels: A, B and C. Achieving level A means that you are fully language qualified. The Math Department expects you to be fully qualified within two years.
• Language certification is done by the English Assessment Program. To achieve the various qualification levels, the EAP offers a SPEAK, TEACH and WRITTEN test. You should attempt the relevant tests every semester until you are fully language qualified.
• The SPEAK test is nothing but a prerequisite for the TEACH test. Passing the SPEAK test alone does not improve your language certification level. There may be other ways to be admitted to the TEACH test; talk to the EAP for details.
• The SPEAK, TEACH and WRITTEN tests are not free.
  • However, the Math Department pays for your first attempt at each of the SPEAK, TEACH and WRITTEN test. If you are making a first attempt on one of these tests, inform Paula before you take the test. The department will pay for your test directly.
  • You must pay for each subsequent attempt at each test using your own money.
  • The Math Department will reimburse you for the cost of a test if you pass the test at the instruct level. To get reimbursed, turn in a copy of your official test result to Paula. Make a note of the date when you turn in the test result to Paula, and follow up if you are not reimbursed within a few weeks.
• The following table summarizes the various language certification levels. In the last column, "PI" means "Pass at Instruct Level" and "PS" means "Pass at Support Level". Note that it says "Written requirement" and not "WRITTEN test"; this is because there may be ways to satisfy the written requirement without taking the WRITTEN test (talk to the EAP about details).

  certification level	what you are allowed to do	what you are not allowed to do	requirements to be certified at this level
  A	any teaching activities write recommendation letters for your students		TEACH Test: PI Written Requirement: PI
  B	teach your own class for ONE semester lead discussion sections (indefinitely)	any correspondence with parties outside OU, like recommendation letters more than brief written communication with students	TEACH Test: PI Written Requirement: PS
  C	work in the Math Center have office hours	lead discussion sections teach students any NEW material	TEACH Test: PS Written Requirement: PI or PS
  none	grading only	have any direct contact with students

• Don't forget to let Cristin know about each attempt at a language test, regardless of the outcome.

Reimbursement Procedures

There can be various situations in which the Math Department owes you money, such as award money, travel reimbursements, or reimbursements for a successfully taken language test. Follow these steps to make sure you get what is owed to you.

• Some reimbursements are handled by Cristin, some by Lorraine, and some by Paula. Ask them to make sure you are talking to the right person.
• Turn in all the necessary receipts and paperwork as soon as possible. Make and keep a copy of everything you turn in.
• Make a note of the date you turn in your receipts and paperwork. Ask when to expect your reimbursement check, and make a note of this date as well.
• If after four weeks you have not received your money, inquire (with Cristin, Lorraine or Paula) about the status of your reimbursement. Make sure to keep all e-mail communication.
• If after six weeks you have not received your money, your reimbursement is considered late. Remind Cristin, Lorraine or Paula again. In addition, inform the Graduate Director. Let him know about the nature of your reimbursement, when the request was made, and all communications you had about it. This will put your reimbursement on the Graduate Director's watchlist.
• If after eight weeks you have not received your money, send an e-mail to Cristin, Lorraine or Paula again, with copy to the Graduate Director and the Department Chair, and ask about the status of your reimbursement.
• If after ten weeks you have not received your money, complain to the Graduate Director in person and ask what you should do next.

The Math Department's Teaching Certificate

• The department offers all graduate students the possibility of earning an Endorsement in Preparation for Teaching Undergraduate Mathematics (the “Teaching Certificate”). This program is separate and independent of the RUME option of the PhD program.
• The Teaching Certificate is not an official degree. However, it can give you a slight edge when applying for jobs, in particular positions that emphasize undergraduate teaching. It is a good item to have on your resume (for example under “special qualifications”).
• The requirements for obtaining the Teaching Certificate are as follows:
  • You must have taught at least one mathematics course at OU.
  • You must have completed at least six hours of graduate credit coursework focused on the teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics.
• You may use the following courses to satisfy the hours requirement:
  • MATH 5253: Introduction to Mathematics Pedagogy Research
  • MATH 5263: Issues and Problems in Mathematics Pedagogy
  • MATH 5950: Seminar—Undergraduate Mathematics Curriculum and Pedagogy
  A maximum of three hours of MATH 5950 may be used. Other courses require the approval of the Graduate Committee.
• Typically, courses in the College of Education may not be used to satisfy the hours requirement, as the focus of these courses is not on teaching undergraduate mathematics.
• If you complete the endorsement, you will obtain a certificate that verifies that you have expressed special interest in teaching mathematics courses at the undergraduate level, have taught college mathematics courses, and have completed at least six semester hours of coursework focused on the teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics.
• If you think you have satisfied all requirements for the Teaching Certificate, please let Cristin know. Typically, the certificates are awarded at the annual Math Department awards banquet.

Professional Ethics Training (PET)

• The Graduate College requires that all GTAs who wish to receive the Qualified Graduate Assistant tuition waiver must complete a two-day Professional Ethics Training – Responsible Conduct of Research (PET-RCR) workshop. This concerns all students who entered the program in fall 2010 or later. If you entered the program before fall 2010, you are encouraged, but not required, to take the training.
• You must complete the training within the first two semesters of entering the program. Take it seriously or you may loose your tuition waiver.
• Click here in order to register for a PET workshop. Also check out their FAQ.
• Once you receive your certificate of attendance, make a copy of it and give it to Cristin.

Important Links

• G Graduate College Bulletin
• G Graduate College Deadlines
• G Addition or Change of Program Request
• G Master's Candidacy Form (MA)
• G Master's Candidacy Form (MS)
• G General Exam Application
• M MGSA
• G Travel Support from the Graduate College
• U Travel Support from the College of Arts and Sciences
• U Travel Support from the Graduate Student Senate.