We accept applications from students of outstanding academic promise. Generally, applicants should have earned:

• A bachelor's degree in mathematics or at least 25 semester hours of mathematics credit, including the standard calculus sequence for freshmen and sophomores
• A one-semester course in Linear Algebra
• A substantial course in some branch of advanced mathematics such as advanced calculus or modern algebra

You can apply online by going to the website.

Since online transcripts are a very recent development at some of the larger universities, we ask that you have your transcripts sent by mail to the Department of Mathematics.

Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Mathematics
Rawles Hall 129
831 E. 3rd Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7106

or send official eTranscripts to: gradmath@iu.edu

Letters of Recommendation for online applicants should be done through the online application system. However, we will also accept letters via email from the letter writer or by the traditional hard copy letter sent by mail.

The cost is $70 for international and domestic applicants and the online application fee must be paid via credit card. Unfortunately, this fee cannot be waived by the Math department and is non-refundable. IU can sometimes waive this fee. You can learn more on the Admissions Web site.

If you are unable to apply online, you can download a paper application form from The Graduate School website. For paper applications, Indiana University cannot accept checks or cash.

Any applicants utilizing our online application procedure will be required to pay the application fee by credit card only. It is important to note that your application will not be seen by the Math department or by the Office of International Admissions until you pay your application fee by credit card and click on the submit application button on the Main Menu of the electronic form.

The application deadline is January 15 for all students—Domestic (U.S. Citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents) and International.

We do not accept spring admissions.

Each applicant must submit:

• completed application
• Statement of Purpose
• three letters of recommendation
• official GRE general and Math Subject Test scores (institutional code: 1324-Ph.D., M.A.T., and M.A applicant).
• official transcripts (one in English and one in the original language) from every postsecondary school you have attended, whether or not you obtained a degree

All applicants are required to pay the un-waivable non-refundable application fee.

In addition to the above requirements, international applicants are required to provide evidence of financial support (unless you are asking for financial support from the Math department), a resume, and official TOEFL scores (or TSE if TOEFL is not available). 

A downloadable recommendation form may be printed from the Graduate School website.

Please mail your official transcripts directly to us at:

Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Mathematics
Rawles Hall 129
831 E. 3rd Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7106

or send official eTranscripts to: gradmath@iu.edu

The IU Math department forms a Mathematics Admission Committee each year, comprised of several current members of the Mathematics faculty. Each of these faculty members will evaluate the applications competitively, looking at the entire content of an application, including letters of recommendation, GRE General and Math Subject, TOEFL scores (if international applicant), Statement of Purpose, and overall course content taken while an undergraduate (or graduate).

We cannot place values on the various application documents required since each member of the committee will evaluate the applications in their own unique way. We can only encourage you to complete your application by the application deadline so that there will not be a delay in the evaluation of your application.

We do not offer percentages since each recruiting year these numbers vary. We typically receive around 175-215 applications and an average beginning graduate class of approximately 20-25 each fall semester.

You can request the TOEFL requirement be waived if you have or are attending a college or university within the U.S. for two or more years.

The GRE General and GRE Math Subject Test  scores are required for Ph.D. and M.A. applicants and recommended for M.A.T. applicants. However, if you are unable to submit these test scores you can request a waiver of this requirement. Please attach a statement to your application explaining why you could not provide the score (i.e., financial reasons, test locations). The Mathematics Admission Committee will review your request for the waiver and will evaluate your application without the score.

Please note, however, that our application process is a competitive one and your application will be evaluated along with applicants who have GRE General and GRE Math Subject Test scores. The lack of these scores could detrimentally affect decisions regarding your admission and financial support.

For complete information on Indiana University’s Test of English Proficiency for International Associate Instructors (TEPAIC), see the Center for English Language Training at: https://dsls.indiana.edu/.

Yes, international applicants are required to demonstrate proof of their English skills through the TOEFL unless they have been attending a college or university within the US for two or more years.

Please note that Indiana University does have an Internet-based TOEFL minimum score requirement of 79-80 to be considered for admission. For financial support consideration, the Mathematics Admission Committee prefers an Internet-based TOEFL score of at least 100. Applicants with TOEFL scores lower than 100 can still apply for financial support; however, preference will be given to those with stronger English skills.

Yes, Indiana University is still accepting Computer-Based TOEFL and Paper-Based TOEFL scores.

Overall score of 79-80, Reading 20, Listening 19, and Writing 17.

If financial support is granted to you during the admission process the Department of Mathematics will financially support you, pending continued academic progress in your degree, for the following time:

• Ph.D. Financial support for Ph.D.’s is committed for 5 years and departmental policy is to provide support for a sixth year. This is pending continued academic progress in their degree (i.e., passing Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 exams). Most graduate students will finish their Ph.D. in 5-6 years. The Ph.D. is a 90 credit hour degree and students take between 9-12 credit hours each semester.
• M.A. Financial support for M.A. is committed for 2 years. Most graduate students finish their M.A. in 2 years. The M.A. is a 30 credit hour degree and most students take between 9-12 credit hours each semester.
• M.A.T. Financial support for M.A.T. is committed for 2 years. Most graduate students finish their M.A.T. in 2 to 2 ½ years. The M.A.T is a 36 credit hour degree that also involves working with the School of Education and receiving Indiana Teaching Certification as part of the degree requirements.

Most of the financial support offered by the Math department is in the form of associate instructorships or graduate assistantships. (Fellowships are addressed in the next question.) These instructorships or assistantships are currently paid at $18,130 for U.S. citizens and $16,930 for permanent residents and international applicants. Once permanent residents and international applicants pass the Indiana University Test of English for Associate Instructor exam, their support increases to $18,130. Until this exam is passed, assignments given to these applicants will be only graduate assistantship assignments of grading.

Associate instructors will be given teaching or assisting duties. Teaching assignments are made by the director of graduate studies and a team of qualified course coordinators. They are based on a combination of student preference, class schedule, and experience. Previous experience in teaching is not required.

All academic appointments (both associate instructors and graduate assistants) are appointed at 20 hours per week for each semester. However, in reality students typically work between 14-16 hours per week.

Free enrollment in Indiana University’s Student Academic Appointees Health Insurance Plan is also included in our financial support package. There is an option to add dependents to this plan at an additional cost incurred by the student. Health insurance coverage begins on August 10 and continues through August 1 of the following year.

We have several fellowships available to entering graduate students. Some of these are available only to U.S. citizens or permanent residents, but most are available to either international students or U.S. citizens and are selected because they are an outstanding applicant or are interested in a particular field where a fellowship is available.

Each completed application will be considered for our fellowships, so we encourage you to complete your application by the application deadline of January 15.

We typically have around 90-120 international applications each year. Of those applicants, we average around 10-15 who accept our offer of financial support and begin their graduate studies at IU in the Fall.

If you are given a commitment of financial support (fellowship, associate instructorship, or graduate assistantships) you are given a 30 credit hour fee remission for the year. This is divided up with 12 credit hours in the fall, 12 credit hours in the spring, and 6 during the summer sessions.

To take the standard coursework load of 9-12 credit hours you will pay approximately $1,200-$1,500 per semester if you have been granted the fee remission. This cost includes the non-remittable portion of the tuition (3.5% per credit hour) and other mandatory on-campus fees (for technology, student activity, health, transportation, and other miscellaneous costs).

Housing is not included in our financial support offers. For information regarding IU’s on-campus housing we encourage you to visit the IU Residential Programs and Services website. You’ll find information about the types of housing available, application procedures, and rates.

The director of graduate studies will assign you an initial academic advisor when you first come to Indiana University. This decision is made by examining your application information and selecting a current Mathematics faculty member to advise you.

Once you have completed your initial registration, and at any point in your academic career at IU, you are allowed to change your advisor. Any change made after the initial advisor needs to be done with the full cooperation of the selected faculty member.

An advisor change is often made after Ph.D. students have passed their Tier 2 Faculty Review and are beginning to work on research for passing their Tier 3 Oral Exam. While there is no formal process for changing advisors, you need to notify the Math Graduate Office when an advisor change has been made.