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pure maths undergrad applies to applied maths PhD?

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 3:05 am
by semigroups
I am a student from the University of Auckland (the leading uni in NZ; I know two former students from my uni who were admitted by Princeton graduate school in maths, but both of them are pure mathematicians).

I have just completed my honours degree in pure maths with 10 graduate courses.

I am doing a master programme this year in theoretical fluid dynamics. I will complete two further graduate courses this year.

My dream is to apply pure maths knowledge (especially all types of Analysis) to mechanics such as fluid dynamics, should I apply to applied or pure maths graduate programme?

If I should apply to applied maths programme, will my strong background in pure maths be a disavantage to my applications? (Because I did not take courses like stochaistic analysis, dynamical systems,inverse problems, advanced statistics etc. Although after a glance of them I found them much easier than those pure maths courses that I have taken)


Btw, I have also completed an honours degree in civil engineering (my parents forced me to do it), in that programme I have done some maths modelling courses. I co-authored a paper in the field of earthquake engineering.
Will my civil engineering backgroud support my applications?



I am worried now because I'm afraid that my Pure maths and Civil Engineering background will hurt my applications to top US graudate schools in Applied maths. I appreciate any suggestions!

Re: pure maths undergrad applies to applied maths PhD?

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 7:38 am
by IIIII
semigroups wrote:I am a student from the University of Auckland (the leading uni in NZ; I know two former students from my uni who were admitted by Princeton graduate school in maths, but both of them are pure mathematicians).

I have just completed my honours degree in pure maths with 10 graduate courses, they are:
Measure theory and integration, complex analysis, functional analysis, differential manifolds & geometry, discrete and algebraic geometry, number theory, graph theory, group theory,
representation theory of algebras and groups, topology (the course contains both point-set and algebraic).

with straight A's in all of them.

I am doing a master programme this year in theoretical fluid dynamics. I will complete two further graduate courses this year, they are Advanced linear PDEs, Lie groups & Lie algebras

My dream is to apply pure maths knowledge (especially all types of Analysis) to fluid dynamics, should I apply to applied or pure maths graduate programme?

If I should apply to applied maths programme, will my strong background in pure maths be a disavantage to my applications? (Because I did not take courses like stochaistic analysis, dynamical systems,inverse problems, advanced statistics etc. Although after a glance of them I found them much easier than those pure maths courses that I have taken)


Btw, I have also completed an honours degree in civil engineering (my parents forced me to do it), in that programme I have done some maths modelling courses. I co-authored a paper in the field of earthquake engineering.
Will my civil engineering backgroud support my applications?



I am worried now because I'm afraid that my Pure maths and Civil Engineering background will hurt my applications to top US graudate schools in Applied maths. I appreciate any suggestions!
I think your background would be very competitive for both pure math and applied math. What may be wise is to contact the graduate directors of some prospective schools, ask them about how their department is organized (in terms of applied vs. pure). You could tell them about your background and ask for their advise. Making contact in late April or May (after the current admission season is dying down) would give you plenty of time to focus your applications for December (assuming you plan on Fall 2014 entry), plus you would stand out as someone who is attempting to plan well in advance.

Re: pure maths undergrad applies to applied maths PhD?

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 2:02 pm
by Legendre
If I am not wrong, Graph Theory, Complex Analysis, Measure Theory, Functional Analysis, Differential Geometry, Advanced Linear PDEs are quite useful for applied mathematics. In particular, Graph Theory is very well known for Network Science.

I think you background is very very competitive. Civil Engineering will actually help IMHO, because it shows you can do "applied stuff". From my experience, applied maths folks actually like people with very strong pure maths background - but you need to show you are interested in applied maths research.

Also, check out Brown's Fluid Dynamics group.

Re: pure maths undergrad applies to applied maths PhD?

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 3:55 pm
by rmg512
My friend majored in Pure Math instead of Applied Math (our school has almost no applied math courses) and got into the UCLA Applied Math Ph.D. program. You are in VERY good shape to go into an excellent applied math program, so long as you crush the GRE Subject Test. Once you've learned the general methods and the rigor from pure classes, the transition to applied math isn't so hard, I hear.

Re: pure maths undergrad applies to applied maths PhD?

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 1:43 am
by semigroups
Thank you all for comments!
Also, check out Brown's Fluid Dynamics group.
Yes, Brown has strong reputation for theoretical & applied mechanics.