utexas.edu College of Natural Sciences
Department of Mathematics
Search the site

Key Milestones and Guidance

In This Section

 

Annual Assessment: Graduate Student Review

The Graduate School requires that each graduate program performs annual assessments of their students

 

At the beginning of the Fall semester, doctoral students will be asked to complete the annual assessment form which will ask about your activities and progress over the past year, your plans, and difficulties you may have encountered. This assessment is due yearly by September 30, together with a current CV. If you have an agreed faculty academic advisor, your assessment will be shared with that person. The advisor is asked to comment on your progress and/or check a box that describes your progress as excellent/typical/adequate/inadequate. You will be able to see the advisor’s input. The completed assessment will then be reviewed by the Graduate Advisor and Graduate Coordinator. 

 

We strongly recommend that, around the time that the Annual Assessment is completed, you have a conversation with your advisor about your progress and any concerns you may have. This helps avoid situations where expectations are mismatched, or where concerns fester.

 

The Annual Assessment is used as a record of your progress — for example, your identification of an advisor, your achievements, such as the completion of prelims and research papers, contributions to community, leadership and outreach and current career goals and priorities.  

 

Criteria used to assess student progress


Students are expected to meet the following milestones regarding preliminary exams:

  • By the beginning of their 2nd semester: Pass 1 Prelim exam
  • “3+2”: By the beginning of their 4th semester: pass 5 Prelim segments, all distinct, at least 3 by exam. Students become eligible to take the candidacy oral exam once the above requirements are completed
  • “3+2+2”: By the beginning of their 8th semester (or before the beginning of the semester of their Ph.D. thesis defense, whichever comes first): pass two additional prelim courses or exams, distinct from the “3+2”. 
     

While this schedule is not rigidly enforced, students are expected to make steady progress towards the completion of their prelim requirements. Students falling distinctly behind this schedule risk losing their good academic standing within the program.

 

Beyond the preliminary exams, a student’s progress is considered adequate if steady progress in research training and research is made and described in the annual assessment.

 

Student communication

Students will be informed of their progress via letter, sent out by the Graduate Coordinator by December 1.

 

For students who are not making adequate progress, a plan of remediation will be developed after an in-person discussion with the student in order to provide the tools and resources to the student to succeed in the program, while at the same time providing clear expectations related to their expected progress in the program to get back on track.

 

The annual assessment may be used as a reference in decisions about opportunities such as fellowship nominations.  Note that in making such decisions, we are mindful of the fact that different advisors may calibrate their ratings and comments differently.  It also helps identify students experiencing difficulties; in such cases, our priority is to help you solve the problems.

 

You may have concerns that you do not think are appropriately addressed on the Annual Assessment form.  For some such concerns, conversation with your advisor is more appropriate. If you have concerns that you wish to keep confidential from your advisor, you may bring them confidentially to the Graduate Advisor or Graduate Coordinator.

 

In rare instances, Annual Assessments may be viewed by the department chair or ASGSC; still more rarely, by officials from the Graduate School.

Advice on identifying and Working with an Academic Advisor

Identifying an advisor

It is of key importance that Ph.D. students should identify an academic advisor, who will supervise their dissertation research, as early as possible in the program.

 

You need adequate time to conduct research leading to a dissertation.  The milestone of identifying an academic advisor must therefore be completed at the latest by the end of the third year.  Students not meeting this deadline are not in good academic standing.

 

Identifying an advisor means making an agreement with that faculty member that they will serve as your advisor.  The relationship will be formalized when you enter candidacy.

 

Beginning research early is crucial because the time required for completion of a research project cannot be predicted with certainty; there may well be setbacks along the way. 

 

For students planning an academic career after graduation, building a portfolio of results and publications is critical when applying for postdocs and long-term academic positions.  Spending longer on research allows for a more extensive portfolio or more ambitious projects.

 

As an undergraduate, your transcript and GPA had a major effect on the opportunities open to you.  By contrast, the transcript of your graduate coursework grades is of no importance when applying for academic jobs such as postdocs.

 

Success in a Ph.D. program is usually founded on a strong working relationship between a student and their academic advisor.  This involves both an alignment of mathematical interests, and an open and effective channel of communication, about the details of the research and more broadly about the student’s progress and about both student’s and advisor’s expectations, hopes and plans.

 

A starting point is to identify faculty members working in areas that plausibly fit with your own interests.  You can do this by attending lectures, courses and presentations given by faculty, browsing their websites and papers, and talking to other students.  Think not only about the subject-areas, but also about your mathematical strengths and tastes:  for instance, do you excel at problem-solving?  At making conceptual connections?  At computations?

 

The next step is to contact faculty about a conference/reading course (M396D); do this well ahead of time.  For many students, semester 2 or 3 is a good time for a first conference course.  If (and only if!) it goes well, request a follow-up reading course with the same supervisor. 

 

If the follow-up course also goes well, have a conversation with the faculty member about becoming their advisee.  This is an important step.  Ask the potential advisor about their expectations from and working practices with students, and be prepared to talk about your expectations, aspirations and concerns.

 

It is not effective to try out several areas or several possible advisors in an attempt to find the optimal fit.  There isn’t time.  Your aim should be to find one area that fits your interests and strengths, and one advisor in that area with whom you find a rapport.

 

You are welcome to consult the Graduate Advisor about identifying academic advisors; if you are having difficulty with this process, you should certainly seek advice from the Graduate Advisor.

 

Who can be an advisor?

Your advisor must be a member of the Mathematics Graduate Studies Committee (GSC). The comprises tenured and tenure-track faculty in the department, and a small number of other UT faculty members.  If you are interested in working with a UT faculty member not in the Mathematics GSC, you should consult the Graduate Advisor.  Your project will need to be appropriate for a mathematics Ph.D., and you will need a GSC-member to serve as your formal advisor.

 

Dual advisors

Dual advisors may be appropriate if you are working on a project at the intersection of two faculty members’ distinct areas of expertise.

 

It is not appropriate to attempt to work simultaneously on distinct projects with distinct advisors.

 

There are certain circumstances in which your principal academic advisor—the person you work with closely on your dissertation research—is not in the Mathematics GSC.  The advisor could be in another UT department, or could be a GSC member who moves to another university or retires after agreeing to advise you.  In such circumstances, you will need to establish a formal advisor who is in the GSC.

 

Tracking progress

At least once a year, you should have a frank, in-person conversation with your advisor about your progress, aspirations and concerns. The completion of the annual assessment (see below) is a good time to have an in-person conversation with your advisor.

 

Researchers have found that a mismatch of expectations, or a mismatched assessment of progress, between student and advisor, is a common source of anxiety for students.  Students may worry that their progress is insufficient while their advisor believes they are doing well, or vice versa.  Such mismatches are problems that you and your advisor should strive to avoid.

 

In late Summer, you are required to complete an annual assessment form.  Your responses are seen by your advisor, who is asked to comment on your progress, and you then see these comments.  The completion of the annual assessment is a good time to have an in-person conversation with your advisor.

 

A network of mentors

As you progress through the program, it is a good idea to cultivate relationships with a number of faculty you interact with: course instructors, conference course supervisors, candidacy committee members, etc.  For instance, your research might involve areas in which they are experts, and you could occasionally ask for their input. Your network of informal faculty mentors may be useful sources of advice, not only on your research but on your career aspirations and other matters. They might also be able to write letters of recommendation for you.

Advancing to Doctoral Candidacy

Eligibility

You become eligible to advance to candidacy once you have

  • passed at least 5 distinct prelims, including at least 3 prelim exams, and
  • identified an academic advisor.

 

We recommend that you should have begun planning, or carrying out, a research project at the time you take your oral candidacy exam, but your research need not be far advanced:  it is strongly recommended to enter candidacy soon after you become eligible.  Plan on doing your oral candidacy exam before the end of your third year if at all possible, or soon thereafter if not. 

 

The three steps to entering candidacy

  1. Oral candidacy exam
  2. Application to the Graduate School
  3. Switch to dissertation hours


 

The Oral Candidacy Exam

The oral candidacy exam should be planned in consultation with your advisor.

 

You must establish a candidacy committee of three Mathematics GSC members, including the advisor. 

 

You then schedule and deliver a presentation, typically of 45-50 minutes, to an audience including the candidacy committee.  You are encouraged to advertise your presentation on the department’s seminar calendar.  There is no requirement that the presentation be of original research.  Indeed, it may be an exposition of material from research papers relevant to your planned research. However, it is desirable to include information about your research plans.  If you have already completed a stage in your dissertation research—a “warm-up project” or a definite portion of a larger project—you may report on that.  The committee will assess your ability to give a clear, concise and accurate exposition of the material in good English. 

 

Note that your lecture should be targeted principally at the candidacy committee, as distinct from your advisor specifically, or the students in the audience.  The committee members will have expertise in the broad area of the lecture, but not necessarily of the precise area of the presentation.

 

After the presentation, the committee will ask the rest of the audience to leave.  You will then be asked questions that probe your understanding of the material presented, its mathematical context, and your research plans.

 

The committee will tell you whether or not you have passed the oral committee exam. If you pass, please fill out the Candidacy Form. This form is a Docusign Powerform and will route to yourself and your advisor.

 

Application to the Graduate School

Please read the instructions from the Graduate School. After you have passed your oral candidacy exam, you should identify a doctoral committee.   This comprises at least three members of the Mathematics GSC, including your advisor, and one suitably qualified external committee member, from a different university or a different department of UT.  You should consult your advisor about selecting and contacting the external member.  You will need to obtain a CV from the external member.

 

You must write a brief description of your thesis proposal, to be approved by your advisor.  This description can be at most 60 lines long.  A typical and appropriate length is 3-4 paragraphs. 

 

Once you have written the summary and established a doctoral committee, you must complete an online application form, available at the webpage linked above. 

 

Your candidacy application will be forwarded to the committee members, Graduate Advisor, GSC Chair, and the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies for approval. 

 

Switch to Dissertation hours

Once you have advanced to doctoral candidacy, you will enroll for dissertation hours, not for conference courses.  If your candidacy application is approved mid-semester, you can change your conference course enrollment(s) to dissertation hours; contact the Graduate Coordinator for help with this process.

Ph.D. Defense & Graduation

The semester before your defense semester, please read the following instructions carefully.
 

Caution:  Planning your Ph.D. thesis defense requires a significant number of administrative steps. It is your responsibility to read and follow them carefully.  Failure to do so could lead to a delay in your graduation.
 

Always refer to the Graduate School website for most accurate information on current processes  

 

  1. At the beginning of the semester of your defense, notify the Graduate Advisor and Graduate Coordinator of your intent to defend. Do so by the second week of the semester.
  2. At the beginning of the semester of your defense, read the rules and submit the Doctoral Graduation Application form
    • Read the Graduate School deadlines and dissertation instructions very carefully, and take note of all relevant deadlines.
    • Prepare all forms well ahead of time. Many of the forms can only be submitted after your Ph.D. Defense, at the time when your Ph.D. Thesis can be uploaded in electronic form (see Step 5).  However, the time between your defense and the submission deadline might be very short, and you will be busy with many other tasks. 
    • In the semester you plan to graduate, you need to be registered for Dissertation (M-99W) and you have to submit the online Doctoral Graduation Application Form.
    • Be sure to observe the formatting requirements for the Ph.D. thesis.
  3. Schedule your defense more than a month ahead.
    • Determine a date for your Ph.D. Defense in consultation with your advisor and the members of the committee. It is expected that all members of the committee attend the defense. The Graduate School does not distinguish between physical attendance or electronic/virtual attendance of the defense. One non-supervisory committee member may be absent from the defense in if necessary. It is strongly recommended that the student and as many others as is practical attend in person (however, during the COVID-19 pandemic, all defenses have been fully virtual).  Because faculty are typically busy and travel often, it is important that you start scheduling your dissertation defense well ahead of time.  Scheduling can be particularly challenging in the Summer.
    • If there is no possibility that sufficiently many committee members can attend to your defense either physically or virtually, you may need a change of committee. If you must request a change of committee within less than 30 days before your defense, you need to ask the Graduate Advisor to write a petition letter on your behalf, which you submit to the Graduate School together with the change of committee form. Please plan in a timely manner so that this can be avoided.
  4. Send your thesis to the Doctoral Committee. The Graduate School requires that you do this at least four weeks before the defense. If you need to make corrections after sending it to them, send the committee an updated copy as soon as possible.
  5. Submit the formal request for Final Oral Examination
    • Once you have determined the date of your defense, and your definite Doctoral Committee, submit the request for Final Oral Examination to the Graduate School at least 2 weeks prior to the defense. A defense cannot be held within two weeks of the last class day of the semester, unless the committee has consented to hold the defense within those last 2 weeks.
    • Please reach out to the Graduate Program administrator if you need help collecting virtual signatures.
    • The Graduate School will send out an official email confirming your final oral examination date and time.
    • The Graduate School will also send out an official email with the "report of Dissertation Committee" that will need to be signed by your committee after your defense.
  6. Ph.D. Defense and signing of forms
    • At the defense, you will give a lecture on your work (usually of around 50 minutes) and field questions from the committee. Plan the content of your lecture with your supervisor. Your target audience is the Doctoral Committee.  Typically, this will contain members whose expertise is not in the precise area of the thesis, but in a related area.  You will have to make judicious choices about what to include and what to omit.   Typically, it is appropriate to touch briefly on background and motivation; state main results clearly; and indicate key techniques ideas that go into the proofs. A balance must be struck: it is not appropriate to give a superficial presentation lacking in substance and detail; nor is it appropriate to make the presentation so technical that only the supervisor can follow it.
    • The official recommendation of your committee and your program is communicated to the Graduate School on the Report of Dissertation Committee. This form is sent to your advisor once your defense has been scheduled by the Graduate School. The Dean of the Graduate School depends on this document to determine your eligibility to receive the doctoral degree so it is essential that it be completed and returned in a timely fashion. A passing report signifies that your committee unanimously agrees that you have completed a dissertation that is an independent investigation in your major field.
      In the event that revisions to your dissertation are necessary before your committee members approve your dissertation, the report will be retained by your supervisor until all revisions have been completed. After successful completion of your defense and any required revisions to your dissertation, the Report of Dissertation Committee should also be signed by all members of your committee and must be submitted to the Graduate School after you have uploaded your dissertation.
    • Formatting information: The Graduate School offers Microsoft Word templates to assist you in formatting your dissertation. 
    • Please reach out to the Graduate Program administrator if you need help collecting virtual signatures.
  7. Dissertation Submission

 

In response to the university’s social distancing policy for Covid-19: student can contact the Graduate School and submit forms via email GradStudentSvcs@austin.utexas.edu


Please do not expect your advisor to prompt you to do these detailed steps.
It is the student's responsibility to be completely informed about the process, and to carry out all steps within the deadlines, so that no unnecessary burdens are imposed on the Graduate Program Administrator and Graduate Advisor, as well as on any other administrative staff and faculty.