PhD in applied math – do I have a shot?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I find myself in a somewhat tricky situation. I would like to pursue a PhD in applied mathematics in the US. However, I do not come from a pure mathematics background, and therefore I am not entirely sure what my chances of getting into a good program (top 20, say) are. I finished my MSc last year and have been working since then. If I decide to go for a PhD I would quit my job and focus fully on preparing for the GRE and GRE subjects test, which is why I would like to hear some second opinions first.</p>

<p>I have studied in different countries in Europe, so the grade formats below might seem weird.</p>

<p>Educational background:
• BSc in Industrial Engineering. GPA: 4.96/5.
• BSc in Economics. Grade: distinction.
• MSc in Mathematics and Finance. Grade: distinction (course average: A).</p>

<p>The BSc degrees are from relatively unknown universities. The MSc is from a UK university ranked in the top 10 globally. Aside from BSc and MSc theses, I do not have any academic research experience.</p>

<p>Although I have not done some of the typical math major courses (e.g. real analysis, topology, abstract algebra), I have done well in graduate level courses in my MSc (e.g. stochastic processes, numerical methods for SDEs, financial mathematics).</p>

<p>I know it is impossible to say what my chances are, but I guess I would like to know if you think I have a fair shot at getting in, or if it is out of reach.</p>

<p>If anyone else has been or is in a similar situation as me, please do post! :)</p>

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<p>I don’t know a whole lot about your chances, but honestly I wouldn’t quit my job to study for the GREs. The general really doesn’t matter much (other than you should nail the math portion), so you’d probably want to dump your free time into the subject GRE.</p>

<p>Have you been able to do any sort of research while at your universities? Do you have a job now where you can do something that might be considered research?</p>

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<p>Thank you for your reply RacinReaver.</p>

<p>I work in sales at an investment bank in London, so unfortunately my job is unrelated to research and math. I work quite long hours, so I don’t have too much time to spend studying.</p>

<p>Aside from my BSc and MSc theses I have not done any bigger research projects related to mathematics.</p>

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<p>Well, honestly, if you had a great record in undergrad and are working for a big-name employer you’ve got a shot. I had a student a few years ago that had a background somewhat similar to yours, but instead of going to applied math he went into materials science. He said he missed doing a job that felt important and would help change the world for the better. He was a great guy, and did great in his classes. Unfortunately after about a year and a half at grad school he decided it wasn’t for him and went back to the finance community. :(</p>

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<p>Thank you RacinReaver, I hope so too!</p>

<p>I decided to quit my job this week. I will work until the end of June, which will give me a solid 3-4 months to prepare for the GRE tests which I hope will be enough. It was a hard decision to make, but I felt that the job was a very poor fit for me anyway.</p>

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<p>Good luck with your testing and applications! :)</p>

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<p>Thank you! :)</p>

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<p>Do you mind if I ask which university you got your MSc from? I applied to a few universities in London such as LSE and Imperial College London for their Fin. Math and/or math programs.</p>

<p>When you say you got an MSc in Mathematics and Finance? Are you talking about Financial Math? Because a MSc in Mathematics should cover Real Analysis, Complex Variables, Topology, Abstract Algebra. If however you have a degree in Financial Mathematics (which appears to be the case according to your curriculum), those degrees are usually geared towards those wanting to stay in the professional setting, which is also why many programs only take as little as 10 months and these type of degrees usually DO NOT involve any thesis.</p>

<p>Now, because you are applying to a PhD in Applied Math rather than Comp. or pure math, I would be optimistic that you might have a shot. I’m assuming you did take a few Stats classes or?</p>

<p>I hold a dual degree in Business Admin. and Computational Mathematics and believe me when i say this, you will not understand much, if you were to pursue a PhD in Mathematics, topics such as Complex Variables, Real Analysis, Linear Algebra, Topology are a must!</p>

<p>But again, I think you a good shot, because what will likely happen, if you get accepted is that the university will have you take a few additional grad/undergrad courses to bring you up to par. And it’s only applied mathematics, so with your background you are good to go in terms of the degree requirement. One issue I see however is the research work you have done. Technically, any project you worked on is considered ‘research’, so you can bring that to their attention. You are not expected to publish 20 books and win a Nobel price, BUT PhD spots are limited and usually a good amount of these are reserved to students already attending the university for a MSc degree. That is because some of these students already work with the faculty together and this way they are more likely to get a spot over you. It all depends on which schools you apply to. I’m assuming you are looking into top-tier universities, if that’s the case your chances will be slim. No research experience is a negative and not knowing the faculty is another. Best bet, write a faculty member and ask about the program and see what he/she personally would look for in a student and maybe that way you can connect with a professor. I will be stepping in your shoes soon, except that I do hold a Computational Math degree.</p>

<p>Let me know what you decide to do.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>Glad to hear from someone in a similar position! :)</p>

<p>I got my MSc from Imperial College London. It was the program called “MSc in Mathematics and Finance”, which focuses on financial mathematics. I don’t know a lot about other similar programs, but I think it is supposed to be more on the theoretical side than e.g. many of the MFE (Master of Financial Engineering) programs out there. My program took almost 12 months and included a thesis.</p>

<p>Yes, I have taken quite a few statistics and probability related courses, including one on stochastic processes which included a bit of measure, integration and martingale theory. Here’s a rough list of what courses/topics I have covered (sorry if I bore anyone to death with this, but I thought I might just as well make a list):</p>

<p>BScs:
• Single variable calculus
• Multivariate calculus
• Linear algebra
• Basic stochastic processes
• Statistics and probability courses
• Various related applied courses: e.g. physics, option pricing theory, time series analysis, econometrics
• Bachelor’s thesis project related to stochastic modeling in finance</p>

<p>MSc:
• Two courses on numerical methods, e.g. for PDEs and SDEs
• Stochastic processes
• Statistical distribution theory
• Interest rate models
• Mathematical option pricing
• Master’s thesis project related to quantitative finance</p>

<p>I also did a course in abstract algebra which wasn’t part of any of my degrees and therefore unfortunately does not show up on any of my transcripts.</p>

<p>I’m a bit concerned over the fact that I haven’t got any solid research experience aside from my theses work. I would be glad to study complex analysis, real analysis, topology and abstract algebra on my own before I start the PhD. I’m not sure if that might help my application by compensating for my somewhat lacking background.</p>

<p>Based on your other post on the forum I take it you are looking to do a master’s degree? Do you also plan on doing a PhD afterwards or do you want to stay in the industry?</p>

<p>Let me know if you have any questions about Imperial College London by the way. Even though I didn’t do the MSc you have applied for I spent a fair chunk of time in the mathematics building and did a couple of courses together with people from the MSc in applied mathematics.</p>

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<p>Looking at your course history your are all set for a PhD in Applied Math. I highly doubt you will have to deal with topology and their kind, but then again I could also be mistaken. And it also depends on which field of applied mathematics you want to get into. You are probably better off focusing on studying some new programming languages, but since you took numerical methods and worked on various projects, I’m assuming you are decent in coding as well. So, I don’t see why you wouldn’t be qualified for a PhD. Let me ask you this, which schools do you have in mind? Do you want to focus your research towards finance again? Maybe you would want to consider Stony Brook in NY. They offer a PhD in Fin. Math. and the great thing about it is that Renaissance Tech. is right next door. </p>

<p>Yes, I am planning on doing my PhD as well. I am currently waiting for a few schools to get back at me. Imperial has not responded yet, but I will hopefully hear from them soon. I did in fact apply to the same program, you graduated from. :slight_smile: I have been accepted to Johns Hopkins’ MSc in Applied Math, which allows me to focus my studies in Financial Math as well, if that’s what I choose to do.</p>

<p>I actually do have a question. How did you like the program Imperial offered? How is the facility? Lifestyle? People & Faculty?</p>

<p>I also think you worry too much. Look at it this way, any project you did, is nothing else but research and I’m sure you have done plenty of those, especially in your numerical method courses I’m assuming. You don’t have to do a thesis to have ‘research’ under your belt. They just want to see that you did independent/collaborative project work. I can list 10 projects I did this past year off the top of my head and they were quite extensive. So, just look at your notes and go over all the projects you did, mention those briefly in your personal statement and you’ll be set. At the same time, I’ll urge to to stay realistic. I’m really not one of those naysayers, however if you were to apply to let’s say Princeton, I would think your chances are slim. Look at their roster and check the students’ resumes and you will know why. :slight_smile: Still! Give it a try! :slight_smile: Schools such as Columbia, NYU, Cornell, UC Berkeley may be more realistic for you, but since your grades are stellar I would definitely give other top-tier institutions a try as well. There is always such a stigma going around these forums, where everyone makes it sound almost impossible to get into these schools. Apply and you will know. Make sure you do well on the GRE, but that you know. Other than that, good luck, I’m sure you’ll be just fine.</p>

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<p>Just to give you an example. This is what I came across regarding PhD applicants, it may not relate to your/my field of study, but this is what the average student looks like for top-tier PhD programs. Hope that helps. Good luck.</p>

<p><a href=“http://see.szpku.edu.cn/content_view_en.aspx?content_id=1117&keyword=Harvard[/url]”>http://see.szpku.edu.cn/content_view_en.aspx?content_id=1117&keyword=Harvard&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<hr>

<p>Zhaoheng Gong, class of 2010, was recently admitted to the internationally renowned Harvard University PhD program with a full-ride academic scholarship, becoming the first student from PKU SEE to do so.</p>

<p>Gong graduated in 2010 from the PKU College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (Beijing) and went on to pursue his master’s degree here at PKU SEE. Under the tutelage of Professor Lingyan He, Gong studied the mechanism and source apportionment of ambient PM2.5 pollution. Over the past couple of years, Gong’s work showed a high degree of enthusiasm as well as outstanding ability. His research literacy improved rapidly, and most notably earned exceptional scientific achievements at the international forefront of aerosol mass spectrometry research. Among other accomplishments, Gong was involved in research projects such as the “Reactive Strategies for Managing the Transition and Impacts of Atmospheric Pollutants in the East Asia Region” and the “Shenzhen Universiade Air Quality Protection Project,” published 6 papers in the SCI Journal, and won the Best Academic Poster Award at the 7th Asian Aerosol Conference. Despite facing fierce competition from other Harvard applicants, Gong earned a high degree of recognition from his interviewer, who said that his “general research profile and enthusiasm are excellent.” </p>

<p>In recent years, SEE has seen an increasing number of international exchanges as well as an expanding international cooperation platform. With this growing abundance of international educational resources, we will be better equipped to train students into world-class academic professionals. Gong’s admittance to Harvard is further evidence that SEE’s standard of education and scientific achievements are worthy of international recognition from the highest echelons of academia.</p>

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<p>I have quite a lot of coding experience in Matlab and I have done a couple of courses in Java and C++. Here are some of the schools I have been thinking about:</p>

<p>• UC Berkeley
• Stanford University
• UCLA
• NYU
• UCSD (I think the PhD in Mathematics with a Specialization in Computational Science seems very interesting)
• UCSB (The Mathematics Center for Computational Science and Engineering is especially interesting)
• University of Chicago
• Northwestern University</p>

<p>Quite a heavy focus on schools in California, I know. But I think it would be quite neat to spend some years there.</p>

<p>I think I probably want to do research on numerical analysis and scientific computing. Even though I think financial mathematics is interesting I would rather do a PhD in applied mathematics to keep it a bit more open and general.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice on research experience. It is true that I have done some mini-projects during my MSc that I possibly could bring up in my personal statement.</p>

<p>Congratulations on being accepted to Johns Hopkins by the way! I will send you my thought on the Imperial program in a PM. :)</p>

<p>And thanks for the link above. Looks like an extremely strong candidate indeed!</p>

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<p>ottocycle, apparently I can’t send PMs because I haven’t made 15 posts on the forum yet. I’ll send it to you as soon as I have!</p>

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<p>Ok, no worries if you can’t yet. Thanks though and good luck on your applications.</p>