Master's program

The Master’s in Computational Mathematics is a twelve month program, starting in September. 

Graduate Programs

Masters of Mathematics (MMath):

• Master of Mathematics (MMath) in Computational Mathematics (research paper and coursework)
• Master of Mathematics (MMath) in Computational Mathematics - Co-operative Program

Applying

The application deadline is January 15 each year for both Canadian and International students, for September admission. Late applications will be considered, but applying by the deadline will improve your chances of admission. Students who want to be considered for government scholarships (NSERC, OGS) must apply to our programs by January 15. See our Applying page for more details.

Research Paper option

Students must undertake a four-month independent research project culminating in a research paper. The research project will be carried out in the Spring term unless co-op pushes back the research term to Fall or Winter term. Students are asked to choose one or more areas of interest for their research project at the time of online application to the program. (See here for a list of potential research supervisors and their areas of interest.) 

Research Paper Students are required to take six (0.50 unit weight) courses from lists A and B.  At least four courses must be taken from list A, and at most two courses from list B. At most two of the six courses taken may be courses in which undergraduate students predominate.

Exceptions to the normal program schedule or course requirements require approval by the Graduate Officer and may go to the Graduate Committee.

Research Project Requirement

It is intended that the research project will be approximately the equivalent of two full courses and will be conducted under the direction of the student’s research supervisor(s). To be successfully completed, the research paper must be unanimously approved by the student's advisory committee, consisting of the student’s research supervisor and one additional reader.

Students are required to present their research paper with their supervisor(s) and either the Graduate Officer or the Director of Computational Mathematics in attendance. The 20 minute presentation is not graded. Students may be asked to present in a symposium (multiple students present one after the other) if there are enough students who need to present that term.

For more information on the research paper and presentation requirement, refer to Computational Mathematics Master's Research Project, Presentation, and Program Completion Guide (pdf). 

Coursework option

The coursework option requires eight one-term graduate courses from lists A and B (with a unit weight of .50).  At least four of these courses must be from list A.  At most three of the eight courses taken may be courses in which undergraduate students predominate.

The remaining four courses are chosen from a list of suggested courses that are offered by the various departments and schools of the Faculty of Mathematics. See list of suggested courses. Exceptions to the normal program schedule require approval by the graduate committee.

Co-op option

Students do not apply for co-op during the admissions process, but transfer into co-op at the end of their first term. Both research and coursework students are eligible. 

Only the students with the highest performance will be considered to enter the co-op option. There are numerous factors to consider with admittance into the co-op program, so there is no guarantee that all students who want to transfer into co-op will be admitted.

Co-op adds one or two term(s) to the program, depending on the length of the placement. Please refer to the below. 

In order to get credit for co-op term(s), students must write a co-op work report and fill out the MMath Co-op Credit form (pdf) , and submit these to their supervisor(s) for approval. Once the supervisor(s) has approved, the work report and MMath Co-op Credit form must be submitted to Administrative Coordinator for the Graduate Officer or Director to approve.

Coursework students submit their work report and the MMath Co-op Credit form (pdf) directly to the Administrative Coordinator. 

Funding

Funding is available for qualified students in the research paper option. Domestic students without external scholarships will normally receive approximately $22,000.00 in funding (a combination of teaching assistantships and research assistantships, see the link Funding & Awards page for more information). The Graduate Studies Office provides some estimates for Expenses & Living costs.  Funding is not provided for coursework students.

Part-time students

The Master's in Computational Mathematics can also be taken on a part-time basis. This allows employees of local companies (e.g. in the high-tech or financial sectors) to pursue a Master's degree in Computational Mathematics to advance their careers. Part-time students will be expected to complete the program in a time period of two to three years. (The minimum duration of study for part-time students is two years.) Part-time students will normally not receive funding (TA or RA). Note that most of the courses for this program are taught in fall and winter terms. Please contact us for more information.

Progress reports

Students must maintain an average of 70% in order to remain in good standing. Formal progress reports will be required in the event that a student wishes or needs to remain in the program longer than one year.

Colloquium/Seminars

Students are expected to attend all colloquium/seminars arranged by Computational Mathematics.