Graduate Program, 2026

As we approach the end of the Spring quarter, let's take a moment to look back over our accomplishments from the past year. During the 2024–2025 academic year, 11 GMAT students completed their Ph.D., and four students were awarded a Master's degree. So far during the current academic year, two GMAT students have received a Ph.D. and four have been awarded a Master's degree, with more expected at the end of the Spring quarter.

Congratulations to everyone who recently earned a degree! Your hard work and contributions to the Department and the mathematical community did not go unnoticed. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. For a complete list of names, as well as their dissertations and post-degree placements, I encourage you to take a look at the "Degrees Awarded" section of the Department website.

This Fall, 12 Ph.D. students and two Master's students joined GMAT. After two quarters to adjust to life in Davis, they are now going full speed ahead, digesting coursework and learning lots of exciting new math. Soon they will take preliminary exams before moving on to research and qualifying exams, and we are excited to see what they will accomplish during their time here.

Directed Reading Program

Our graduate students have performed an active role in many clubs and activities associated with the Department, making our research community richer and more vibrant. One such example is the Directed Reading Program (DRP). This successful program is organized by Laura Starkson and Maria Trnkova, along with graduate students Connor Fitzgerald, Lisa Johnston, Mary Claire Simone, and Peyton Wood. This year, 57 undergraduate students applied, and 31 were selected and paired with 26 graduate student mentors to study topics of their choice during the Fall and Winter quarters. Each mentee then prepared a poster or delivered a talk on their work at the end of the Winter quarter. In the Spring quarter, seven graduate students designed and led seminars for undergraduate participants. The seminar topics varied and included areas such as origami and mathematical art, as well as gaming and applied mathematics.

Graduate Mentors for Undergraduate Research

This Spring, our Department launched an undergraduate research initiative called Math Lab under the supervision of Albert Fannjiang, Junxian Li, and Maria Trnkova. Its structure expands the undergraduate research opportunities that previously existed in the department. Our faculty members offered 16 team projects and three theses for undergraduate students. All projects are mentored by a faculty member, and 13 of them also include a graduate student mentor who meets with the team weekly. Almost 90 undergraduate students applied for Math Lab projects, and 51 were accepted into the program. Thanks to everyone involved!

At the end of the previous academic year, the hard work of our graduate students was recognized at the Department awards ceremony. Ian Sullivan won the Alice Siu-Fun Leung Scholarship in Mathematics, while Jeshu Dastidar, David Kenepp, and Makayla McDevitt won the Henry L. Alder Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Connor FitzGerald and Stephanie Gaston were awarded the William Karl Schwarze Scholarship in Mathematics, while Jeshu Dastidar, Evuilynn Nguyen, and Peyton Wood were recognized by the Yueh-Jing Lin Fund. Finally, Alexia Dunker and Jennifer Paige won the Hazel B. Jacoby Fellowship.

Congratulations to all our award winners! This year's awards ceremony will be held on June 2nd. Best of luck to everyone who applied!