Computational Mathematics

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Master's program

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

Graduate Programs

Masters of Mathematics (MMath):

Applying

The application deadline is January 15th each year for both Canadian and International students, for the following 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 15th. 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 (May to August). Students are asked to choose one or more areas of interest for their research project at the time of on-line application to the program. (See here for a list of potential research supervisors and their areas of interest.) Students are required to attend a Symposium, which normally takes place the 3rd week in August, to present their research paper.

Research Paper Students are required to take 6 (0.50 unit weight) courses from lists A and B.  At least 4 courses must be taken from list A.  At most 2 of the 6 courses taken may be courses in which undergraduate students predominate.

  1. CM 730/CS 687 Introduction to Symbolic Computation
  2. 1 of CM 740/CO 602 Fundamentals of Optimization; CM 741/CO 666 Continuous Optimization
  3. CM 750/AMATH 741/CS 778 Numerical Solution of Partial Differential Equations
  4. 1 of CM 761/STAT 840 Computational Inference; CM 762/STAT 842 Data Visualization; CM 763/STAT 841 Statistical Learning - Classification; CM 764/STAT 844 Statistical Learning - Function Estimation
  5. CM 770 (AMATH 740/CS 770) Numerical Analysis

The remaining two 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.

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.

  1. CM 730/CS 687 Introduction to Symbolic Computation
  2. 1 of CM 740/CO 602 Fundamentals of Optimization; CM 741/CO 666 Continuous Optimization
  3. CM 750/AMATH 741/CS 778 Numerical Solution of Partial Differential Equations
  4. 1 of CM 761/STAT 840 Computational Inference; CM 762/STAT 842 Data Visualization; CM 763/STAT 841 Statistical Learning - Classification; CM 764/STAT 844 Statistical Learning - Function Estimation
  5. CM 770 (AMATH 740/CS 770) Numerical Analysis

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

We are launching our new Transfer Co-op program this coming Fall 2017. There are only 10 Co-op spots as of the first year running and only the students with the highest performance will be considered to enter the co- op option after their first term. There will be numerous factors to consider with admittance into the co-op program so there is no guarantee even with top marks you will be admitted into it.

You cannot be admitted to Co-op upon applying for Computational Math but would enter as a Research Paper or Course Work student and then possibly transfer into co-op after your first term in the Computational Mathematics Masters program.

The Master of Mathematics (CM) program would be 1 or 2 term(s) longer should you be admitted into the Co-op option (depending on the length of the placement), which would make your program a total of 4 or 5 terms. 

Funding

Funding is available for qualified students in the research paper option ONLY. 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.

Research Project Requirement

Students must undertake an independent research project culminating in a research paper. 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. 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 attend a Symposium, which normally takes place the 3rd week in August, to present their research papers.

Students are asked to indicate their interest in one or more areas of Computational Mathematics research in our on-line application to the program. This information will be used to identify potential supervisors for the student’s research project.

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.