Contact Info

Phone:	314-935-6760
Website:	https://math.wustl.edu/graduate

Doctoral Candidacy

To earn a PhD at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; pass certain examinations; fulfill residence and Mentored Experience Requirements; write, defend, and submit a dissertation; and apply to graduate via Workday Student. For the details of doctoral degree general requirements in Arts & Sciences, including an explanation of Satisfactory Academic Progress, students should review the Doctoral Degree Academic Information page of the Arts & Sciences Bulletin.

Program Requirements

• Total Units Required: 72 units (Note: Remission applies for a maximum of 72 graduate-level units.)
• Degree Length: 5 years
  • Note: At least 48 hours spent in residence at Washington University. The student must spend at least one academic year in residence as a full-time student; this requirement cannot be met wholly by summer sessions or part-time study. The student may, with departmental permission, transfer a part of the 72 hours from other universities (24 graduate credits for a PhD and only 6 credits for a master's). The typical load is 9 credit hours per semester. 
  • Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their coursework, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
  • Note: ​For the well-prepared student, "normal progress" usually means the following:
    • By the end of the fourth year, the student should have completed the 72-hour course requirement and should be making substantial progress on a thesis.
    • At the end of the third year, the student should have completed the candidacy requirement.
    • At the end of the second year, the student should have successfully completed the specific course requirements and passed six qualifying exams.
• Grade Requirement: A grade point average of B (3.0) or better is required in graduate coursework.

Mentored Experience Requirements

Doctoral students at Washington University must complete a department-defined Mentored Experience. The Mentored Experience Requirement is a doctoral degree requirement that is notated on the student’s transcript when complete. Each department has an established Mentored Experience Implementation Plan in which the number of units that a student must earn through Mentored Teaching Experience(s) and/or Mentored Professional Experience(s) is defined. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plans outline how doctoral students within the discipline will be mentored to achieve competencies in teaching at basic and advanced levels. Some departments may elect to include Mentored Professional Experiences as an avenue for completing some units of the Mentored Experience Requirement. Doctoral students will enroll in ASGS 8005, 8010, or 8015 Mentored Teaching Experience - Assistant in Instruction; ASGS 8020 Mentored Teaching Experience - Mentored Independent Teaching; or ASGS 8120 Mentored Professional Experience to signify their progression toward completing the overall Mentored Experience Requirement for the degree.

The Doctoral Dissertation

A Research Advisory Committee (RAC) must be created no later than the end of the student's third year; departments may set shorter timelines (e.g., by the end of the student's second year) for this requirement. As evidence of the mastery of a specific field of knowledge and of the capacity for original scholarly work, each candidate must complete a dissertation that is approved by their RAC.

A Title, Scope & Procedure Form for the dissertation must be signed by the committee members and by the program chair. It must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, at least six months before the degree is expected to be conferred or before the beginning of the fifth year of full-time enrollment, whichever is earlier.

A Doctoral Dissertation Guide and a Dissertation Template that give instructions regarding the format of the dissertation are available on the website of the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Both should be read carefully at every stage of dissertation preparation.

The Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, requires each student to make the full text of the dissertation available to the committee members for their review at least one week before the defense. Most degree programs require two or more weeks for the review period; students should check with their faculty.

The dissertation and thesis defense: The student's dissertation is the single most important requirement for the PhD degree. It must be an original contribution to mathematical knowledge and is the student's opportunity to conduct significant independent research.

It is the student's responsibility to find a thesis advisor who is willing to guide their research. Since the advisor should be part of the candidacy requirement, the student should have engaged an advisor by the beginning of the third year of study.

Once the department has accepted the dissertation (on the recommendation of the thesis advisor), the student is required to defend their thesis through a presentation accompanied by a question-and-answer period.

For information about preparing the thesis and its abstract as well as the deadlines involved, including the creation of the Research Advisory Committee and the Dissertation Defense Committee, please consult the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Please use these additional relevant resources: the Doctoral Dissertation Guide, the Forms page, and the Policies and Procedures page.

The Dissertation Defense

Approval of the written dissertation by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) is strongly recommended before the student can orally defend the dissertation. The Doctoral Dissertation Committee that examines the student during the defense consists of at least five members. Normally, the members of the RAC also serve on the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. The dissertation committee is then additionally augmented to ensure that the following criteria are met:

1. Three of the five members (or a similar proportion of a larger committee) must be full-time Washington University in St. Louis faculty members or, for programs involving Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partners, full-time members of a Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partner institution. All members must be authorized to supervise PhD students and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study. One of these three members must be the PhD student's primary thesis advisor, and one may be a member of the emeritus faculty.
2. All other committee members must be active in research/scholarship and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study whether at Washington University in St. Louis, at another university, in government, or in industry.
3. At least one of the five members must bring expertise outside of the student's field of study to the committee, as judged by the relevant department/program and approved by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.

The approval processes outlined in the RAC section of the Doctoral Council bylaws also apply to the doctoral dissertation committee, including approval of each dissertation committee by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.

The student is responsible for making the full text of the dissertation accessible to their committee members for their review in advance of the defense according to program rules. Washington University in St. Louis community members and guests of the student who are interested in the subject of the dissertation are normally welcome to attend all or part of the defense but may ask questions only at the discretion of the committee chair. Although there is some variation among degree programs, the defense ordinarily focuses on the dissertation itself and its relation to the student's field of expertise.

Attendance by a minimum of four members of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee, including the committee chair and an outside member, is required for the defense to take place. This provision is designed to permit the student's defense to proceed in case of a situation that unexpectedly prevents one of the five members from attending. Students should not plan in advance to only have four members in attendance. If four members cannot attend, the defense must be rescheduled. The absence of all outside members or of the committee chair also requires rescheduling the defense.

Students, with the support of their Doctoral Dissertation Committee chair, may opt to hold their dissertation defense in person or by utilizing a virtual or hybrid format.

Submission of the Dissertation

After the defense, the student must submit an electronic copy of the dissertation online to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. The submission website requires students to choose among publishing and copyrighting services offered by ProQuest’s ETD Administrator. Students are asked to submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates separately. The degree program is responsible for delivering the final approval form, signed by the committee members at the defense and then by the program chair or director, to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Students who defend their dissertations successfully have not yet completed their PhD requirements; they finish earning their degree only when their electronic dissertation submission has been accepted by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.

As part of their degree requirements, PhD students must complete a program-defined Mentored Experience Requirement (MER) as per these guidelines. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plan (MEIP) is the written articulation of a program-defined degree requirement for PhD students to engage in mentored teaching activities and/or mentored professional activities, collectively referred to as MERs.

Mentored Experience Requirements (MERs)

Philosophy of Teaching

At most major universities, mathematics departments teach numerous courses that are fundamental to a variety of disciplines. Effective instruction in mathematics courses is therefore fundamental to the discipline.

Upon completion of their degree many of our graduates go on to academic positions. Our graduate program wants them to receive adequate preparation in teaching and instructional methodology so that they will be effective in the classroom at Washington University in St. Louis as well as be able to start their new positions with success.

Preparatory Engagement

Preparatory Engagement activities are those that represent an introduction to the foundational skills associated with teaching or communication. Pedagogical preparation engagement activities are normally completed before students are permitted to engage in assisting or teaching in a classroom.

Mathematics pedagogical preparation consists of two one-credit semester courses taken over the period of two semesters (spring of the students' first year and fall of the students' second year). These courses are taught by faculty in the department from a detailed syllabus of topics. Topics covered during the course include pedagogical issues of teaching, both general and those specific to mathematics, and administrative issues associated with teaching.

Campus resources such as the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) are utilized for additional information about effective teaching methodology. A key component of the course is that students must prepare a “mock” calculus lecture that is presented during the course and constructive feedback is provided. Student presentations are recorded so they can be critiqued, and further comments can be provided. Direct mentoring is provided to the students when serving in the role of Assistant to the Instructor.

Mentored Teaching Experiences (MTEs)

Assistant in Instruction (AI)

An Assistant in Instruction (AI) is a PhD student who is directly engaged in the organization, instruction, and/or support of a semester-long course primarily taught by a faculty member. An AI receives mentorship from a faculty member related to best practices in classroom engagement, instruction in the field, interpersonal engagement, and other relevant skills. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each AI experience. To complete each AI assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for course numbers and details.

Mathematics provides a planned sequence of teaching opportunities. During the students' second year of studies, they begin service in the Calculus help sessions and take on a more active teaching opportunity by serving as an Assistant to the Instructor for the calculus classes. Graduate students are assigned two to four sections of introductory calculus or statistics courses to assist with when serving as an Assistant to the Instructor.

Mentored Independent Teaching (MIT)

MIT is a semester-long experience for PhD students who engage as the primary instructor or co-instructor of a course under the mentorship of a faculty member as part of the MER. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each MIT experience. To complete each MIT assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number (ASGS 8020) for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for more details.

Mathematics does not require MIT though opportunities may be available to engage in MIT to obtain 20 to 60 MER units. For graduate students further along and better prepared, as judged by the Mathematics Graduate Committee and the CTL representative, they may be assigned an MIT. Feedback on teaching and instruction is provided by the instructor of the course through observations of the graduate student and through meetings for the course.

Required Pathways for Completion

Students work with their faculty mentor and their Director of Graduate Studies to plan how and when they will complete their MERs. Students register during the normal registration period for courses in accordance with one of these approved pathways.

Several different pathways are possible to complete the MER. In order to qualify to engage in MIT, students must complete preparatory engagement (two semesters of teaching seminar) and two MTEs (any combination of 5-, 10- or 15-unit MTEs are allowed). The possible pathways are listed below. When a student is participating as an AI, they will sign up for ASGS 8010; when they are engaging in MIT, they will sign up for ASGS 8020.

Pathway #1

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8010	Take three times
ASGS 8015	Take three times

Pathway #2

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8010	Take two times
ASGS 8015	Take three times

Pathway #3

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8010	Take three times
ASGS 8015	Take three times
ASGS 8020	Take one time

Pathway #4

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8010	Take two times
ASGS 8015	Take three times
ASGS 8020	Take one time

Pathway #5

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8010	Take six times
ASGS 8020	Take two times

Pathway #6

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8005	Take six times
ASGS 8020	Take three times

Pathway #7

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8005	Take four times
ASGS 8010	Take one time
ASGS 8020	Take three times