Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) in Mathematical Sciences

Our Ph.D. in mathematics program allows you to focus your work in one of four areas:

• Pure mathematics
• Applied mathematics
• Mathematics education
• Statistics and probability

You must pass a written qualifying examination. Once you've chosen a dissertation advisor and topic, you should take the oral candidacy examination.

Most of your course requirements will be based on your area of focus. Our Ph.D. study plans provide examples of doctoral programs of study.

Applications Involvement Component

By completing the required Applications Involvement Component (AIC), you'll be exposed to mathematics in nonacademic settings. An AIC typically has three parts:

• Colloquia: You'll attend presentations by guest speakers from industry, government and education to learn how mathematics is used outside of math departments.
• Internship: You'll participate in an internship in industry, government or education.
• Report: You'll write a report and give a presentation about your internship experience.

Internships

AIC internships usually take place during the summer. They're arranged by our AIC director in consultation with you. The organizations at which our interns have been placed include:

AIC internships take place during the summer and are arranged by the associate director of AIC in consultation with each student. AIC students have secured placements with leading companies, national laboratories, research institutes, universities and nonprofit organizations.

Companies

• Ameren Innovation Center
• DirectBuy
• RenaissanceRe
• Rocket Mortgage
• YAS Togo (AXIAN Telecom, Togo)

National Laboratories

• Argonne National Laboratory — Mathematics and Computer Science Division
• Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab)

Research Centers and Institutes

• Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) — Summer Graduate School Program
• Laboratory for Product and Process Design (LPPD), University of Illinois Chicago
• Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Universities and Academic Institutions

• Michigan State University (NSF-funded collaboration)
• NIU Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment
• NIU Foundation — Advancement Services Department

Nonprofit and Government-adjacent Organizations

• Changing Children's Worlds Foundation
• Jefferson Health, Thomas Jefferson University — Division of Biostatistics
• NIU College of Health and Human Sciences

Additional Past Placements

Students have also completed internships with Abbott Research Laboratory, AT&T Bell Labs, Boeing Computer Services, Cray Research Corporation, General Electric, General Motors, IBM Watson Research Center, Motorola, NASA Langley, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Wolfram Research and Wright-Patterson Air Force Laboratory, among others.