The Department

MSCS is a mathematically and culturally diverse department. Half of our graduate student group is comprised of international students from Russia, Brazil, Iran, India, China, Israel, and several European countries. MSCS graduate students have the opportunity to work with world-renowned faculty in an extremely supportive and collaborative environment with excellent opportunities for teaching, research, and travel.

The Department has a strong representation of women in tenure-track faculty positions, and PhD and MS Degree candidates relative to other Research I institutions. Our Association of Women in Mathematics (AWM) Student Chapter is very active in supporting and celebrating the achievements of female mathematicians at every level in academia. In October 2021, the MSCS Department hosted the 7th annual Graduate Research Opportunities for Women Conference (GROW), supporting women and non-binary undergraduate students interested in pursuing a graduate degree in the mathematical sciences.

Additionally, the Symbols of Inclusion: Graduate Math Allies organization was established in 2022. This vibrant group “aims to provide a supportive community at UIC for women, historically underrepresented students, and gender and sexual minority students of mathematics.”

Other active graduate student groups include our chapter of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and the Mathematics Graduate Students Association. Additionally, each MSCS graduate student is a member of the American Mathematical Society. Several MSCS graduate students are also involved in Chicago Math Circles, which provides math enrichment programs to Chicago 5th-12th grade students from diverse backgrounds, and the Young Scholars Summer Program at UIC, introducing high school students to special topics in mathematics, applications of mathematics, and the work mathematicians do in education, research, and industry.

MSCS Department faculty and graduate students have active connections with mathematicians all over the Chicago area and the Midwest, in particular with the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.  Also, UIC is part of the Chicago Metropolitan Exchange Program (CMEP). CMEP is an agreement between the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago, which encourages graduate students in doctoral programs at any of the three institutions to register at any of the other participating institutions to take advantage of academic courses not available at their home institution.