Application to our graduate program is made through the Office of Graduate Studies, not directly to the department. Their website, Graduate and Professional Studies at Tufts, gives guidelines and lets you obtain application materials directly.

Please specify whether you are applying to the masters' or doctoral program. If your goal is to stay in our program to complete a PhD, then apply for the doctoral program. If you plan to leave after obtaining a masters' degree, then apply for the masters' program.

We expect applicants to our doctoral program to have a background in mathematics at least equivalent to that of a strong undergraduate mathematics major; we judge applications on the basis of recommendation letters, undergraduate transcripts, and GRE Standard Test and Advanced Mathematics Subject Test scores. If you already have a master's degree and wish to enter the PhD program, please specify the area in which you want to write your dissertation. This will help us to decide whether we are able to meet your needs.

We have in the past accepted a number of unconventional applicants to our masters' program who have proved to be success stories. Masters'-track applicants are required to supply only the GRE Standard Test scores, although a good showing on the Subject Test can strengthen any application. The masters' program normally takes about two years of full time study for someone entering with the equivalent of an undergraduate mathematics major, including a background in algebra and analysis; students entering with a weaker background may take longer. It is customary for students who plan to leave with a masters' to write a masters' thesis, although passing the PhD qualifying exams is accepted in lieu of a masters' thesis.

We have a limited number of teaching assistantships available to entering students; these are awarded on a competitive basis among all PhD-track applicants. The stipend for new teaching assistants is $18,725 for the academic year 2008-9. Teaching assistantships are usually accompanied by a tuition scholarship (paying the full cost of tuition).

Applications for entry in September with financial aid should be received by January 15. It is desirable to have the application, together with all supporting documents, received earlier since the Graduate School's office is very busy in January and February. If you are a foreign applicant, i.e. if you are not a resident of the U.S., the Graduate School requests that you submit your materials by December 30, since your application will take longer to process. The first decisions will be announced by about March 1; later applications will be considered until the program has been filled. We encourage you to contact our committee to verify that your folder has been forwarded to the mathematics department; if any part of the application (such as a transcript, a letter of recommendation, or the fee) is missing or mislaid we will not receive your application and will not be able to consider you for admission or a teaching assistantship until it is found. While we are able to consider late applications for admission, a delay can prevent you from receiving financial aid.

At Tufts the computer science program is in the Department of Computer Science, which offers a master's program and a doctoral program in computer science. If you want to do graduate work in computer science you should contact that department directly.