Advancement to Candidacy
Course Requirements
Foundational Courses
Students in the AM Ph.D. program must demonstrate mastery in the foundations of scientific computing and applied mathematics, either by producing evidence through undergraduate transcripts or by taking all of the following foundational courses upon entry to the Ph.D. program, or a combination of the two, by the end of their first year:
All of the following three courses
| AM 100 | Mathematical Methods for Engineers | 5 |
| AM 129 | Foundations of Scientific Computing for Scientists and Engineers | 5 |
| AM 147 | Computational Methods and Applications | 5 |
Core Courses
All AM Ph.D. students must complete the following core courses. All non-seminar core courses must be taken for letter grades. The AM 280 seminar series (i.e., AM 280A, AM 280B, and AM 280C) needs to be taken at least three times in a combination of the three courses. The combination must include at least one time of AM 280B.
| AM 212A | Applied Partial Differential Equations | 5 |
| AM 213A | Numerical Linear Algebra | 5 |
| AM 213B | Numerical Methods for the Solution of Differential Equations | 5 |
| AM 214 | Applied Dynamical Systems | 5 |
| AM 280A | Seminar in Mathematical and Computational Biology | 2 |
| AM 280B | Seminar in Applied Mathematical Modeling | 2 |
| AM 280C | Seminar in Geophysical and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics | 2 |
Elective Courses
In addition to these 26 credits, Ph.D. students must complete six additional 5-credit courses for a total requirement of 56 credits. As part of the six additional courses, students are required to take (at least) one elective course (first-year elective) during their first year to help them engage in research as early as possible. First-year electives are designed to prepare students for their ultimate research emphasis within applied mathematics. These electives can be selected from any non-core 5-credit AM graduate courses (level 200 or above), and must be approved by either the student's first-year advisor or their official research advisor.
Ph.D. students will be allowed to substitute up to two elective courses with corresponding numbers of credits of independent study (i.e., 5 or 10), during which they conduct research with their advisor toward their advancement to candidacy.
All elective courses, including the AM courses and non-AM courses, must be approved by the student's official advisor or the graduate director.
Transfer Credit
Up to three Baskin Engineering courses fulfilling the degree requirements of the Ph.D. degree may be taken during students' undergraduate study at UC Santa Cruz. Ph.D. students who have previously earned an M.S. degree in a related field at another institution may substitute courses from their previous university with the approval of the advisor and the graduate committee.
Petitions should be submitted along with the transcript from the other institution or from their UC Santa Cruz undergraduate study. For courses taken at other institutions, copies of the syllabi, exams, and other coursework should accompany the petition. Such petitions are not considered until the completion of at least one quarter at UC Santa Cruz. At most, a total of three courses may be transferred.
Students who complete at UC Santa Cruz the M.S. degree in AM or the M.S. degree in Scientific Computing and Applied Mathematics (SciCAM) and continue on to the Ph.D. program in AM at UC Santa Cruz can transfer all applicable courses taken during the M.S. to the Ph.D. program, provided that such students meet the minimum residency requirement for Ph.D. programs, as specified by the UC Santa Cruz Graduate Division.
Teaching Requirement
Ph.D. students will be required to serve as teaching assistants for at least two quarters during their graduate study. Certain exceptions may be permitted for those with extensive prior teaching experience, for those who are not allowed to be employed due to visa regulations, or for other reasons approved by the graduate director.
Ph.D. students whose native language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam and score a minimum of 26 on the spoken portion of the Internet-based TOEFL or an overall 8 on the IELTS before being considered for a position of teaching assistant. The English-language requirement for teaching assistants is waived for students who have received a degree from an English-speaking institution or have lived in the United States for more than four years. International students may also participate in the Graduate Preparation Program (GPP) prior to starting the graduate program. Successful completion of the GPP satisfies the English-language requirement for teaching assistants.
Pre-Qualifying Requirements
At the end of the first year, all Ph.D. students will take a pre-qualifying examination covering the (non-seminar) core courses, also called the Ph.D. First-Year Exam. This examination is a take-home project involving analysis, simulations, and writing a formal written report. Ph.D. students who do not pass this examination will be allowed to retake it before the start of the following fall quarter; if they fail the second examination they will not be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program but will have the option to continue into the M.S. program and exit with the M.S. as the terminal degree.
After passing the pre-qualifying examination, a Ph.D. student must form an advisory committee by the end of the fall quarter of the student's second year. The advisory committee consists of two or more ladder-rank faculty members and must include one ladder-rank faculty from within the Applied Mathematics Department. The student shall meet with the advisory committee annually until the advancement.
Qualifying Examination
Ph.D. students must form a Qualifying Exam committee in preparation of the exam. This committee must consist of at least four members as follows:
- QE Chair: This person must be tenured AM faculty and cannot be the student's Ph.D. advisor(s).
- Member 1: Ladder-rank AM faculty member
- Member 2: Ladder-rank UCSC faculty member (any department).
- Outside Member: This person must be tenured UCSC faculty from outside AM or tenured faculty in the same discipline at another institution or a recognized non-faculty expert in the student's research area with credentials equivalent to a ladder-rank UCSC faculty member as judged by the graduate director and the dean of Graduate Studies. The Outside Member cannot be the student's faculty advisor(s).
Ph.D. students must complete the oral proposal defense, through which they advance to candidacy, by the end of the spring quarter of their third year. The proposal defense is a public seminar followed by an oral qualifying examination given by the qualifying committee. The student’s oral presentation must be approximately 45 minutes in length. Ph.D. students will also be required to submit a substantial written document to the qualifying examination committee, describing their research to date as well as their Ph.D. proposal ahead of time.
Students will advance to candidacy after they have completed all course requirements (including removal of all incomplete grades), passed the pre-qualifying examination and the qualifying examination, nominated their dissertation reading committee, and paid the advancement to candidacy fee. Under normal progress, a student will advance to candidacy by the end of the spring quarter of the student's third year. A student who has not advanced to candidacy by the start of the fourth year will be subject to academic probation.
Dissertation
Upon successful completion of the qualifying examination, a dissertation reading committee must be formed consisting of the dissertation supervisor and at least two additional readers appointed by the graduate director upon recommendation of the dissertation supervisor. Students should consult their advisor(s) about the membership of their committee.
The committee must include the following:
- Committee Chair: This person should be an AM faculty member (usually the student’s Ph.D. advisor).
- Member 1: Ladder-rank AM faculty member who is not the student's primary Ph.D. advisor.
- Member 2: Ladder-rank UCSC faculty (may be the student’s Ph.D. advisor) or a recognized expert in the student's research area with credentials equivalent to a ladder-rank UCSC faculty member as judged by the graduate director and the dean of Graduate Studies.
At least two members of the committee must be AM faculty.
If a student has two co-advisors, they should both be listed as co-chairs.
Additional members may be added to the committee. The committee is subject to the approval of the Graduate Division.
Post-Qualifying Requirements
After the advancement, a Ph.D. student shall meet with the dissertation committee annually to present and discuss progress made, and receive comments/suggestions from committee members.
Relationship of AM Master's Program and AM Doctoral Program
The M.S. and Ph.D. programs are freestanding and independent, so that students can be admitted to either program. Students completing the M.S. program may request to transfer into the Ph.D. program (provided they pass the pre-qualifying examination), and students in the Ph.D. program can receive a non-terminal M.S. degree upon completion of M.S. requirements, including the capstone research project. Each Ph.D. student will be required to have knowledge of applied mathematics equivalent to that required for the M.S. degree. In addition, Ph.D. candidates will be required to complete coursework beyond the M.S. level.
Dissertation
Dissertation
A dissertation is required for the Ph.D. degree. The dissertation will consist of a minimum of three chapters composed of material suitable for submission and publication in major professional journals in applied mathematics (or related subject areas of application).
Dissertation Defense
The completed dissertation will be submitted to the reading committee at least one month before the dissertation defense, which consists of a public presentation of the research followed by a private examination by the reading committee. Successful completion of the dissertation defense is the final requirement for the Ph.D. degree.
Review of Academic Progress
Each year, the faculty reviews the progress of every student in the graduate programs. Students not making adequate progress toward completion of degree requirements are subject to dismissal from the program (see the UC Santa Cruz Graduate Handbook and the AM Graduate Handbook for the policy on satisfactory academic progress). Also, please refer to the Graduate Division's specific guidelines on annual student reviews.
Applying for Graduation
All candidates for a degree must submit an application for the Ph.D. degree to the Baskin Engineering Graduate Advising Office by the date stated in the Academic and Administrative Calendar for the quarter you wish to receive the degree. Failure to declare candidacy by the deadline means that you cannot be considered a candidate until the next term.
A student is required to be registered or on Filing Fee Status, whichever is applicable, during the quarter in which the degree is conferred. Students should consult the department advisor to determine which option fits their situation. For more information about applying for graduation, visit the Baskin Engineering Graduate Studies website.