Mathematics & Statistics Department

Take the qual in the semester before you start your thesis. For the usual fall/spring thesis, this means taking the qual in the spring of your junior year. For a spring/fall thesis, you may take the test in January. Make-up exams and in other rare cases, you may need to take the exam in August.

Saturday, April 5th, 2025.

You cannot opt to take the qual in August. There is sometimes a qual given in August for exceptional circumstances, e.g., a student who failed their first attempt at the qual.

Our faculty admin coordinator, Lisa Mickola, will send out an email about six weeks before the qual with a request to sign-up. Please reach out to her with any questions regarding sign-up.

Math 111, 112, 113, 201, and 202.

The exam consists two sessions. You will have two hours to work on each part: 10 am–noon on Part I, and 1–3 pm on Part II (modified by any DAR-approved accommodations you have registered with the Math/Stats Department). It is a closed book exam; i.e., use no books, notes, or calculators. Aim for complete solutions, with all your reasoning carefully explained. In Part I, answer 4 out of the 5 questions, and in Part II, answer 3 out of the 4 questions. If five solutions are submitted for Part I, only the first four will be graded, and similarly for Part II.

Aim for complete solutions with all of your reasoning carefully explained. Some problems may be purely calculations, but others will require proofs or extended arguments. Quote big theorems by name, and justify your steps. The usual standards for mathematical writing are expected.

This is a closed book exam. During the exam, you may not consult books, notes, or the internet, and you are not to use a calculator.

Review the relevant courses. By reviewing your notes, texts, and homework, determine the important definitions, theorems, and calculations, and study these. Complete the sample exams. You can find a link to these on the Requirements page. See subsequent FAQ items for info on practice exams and practice sessions.

Yes, you can find a link to these on the Requirements page.

There will be sUms-run practice sessions (schedule TBA). Jerry Shurman will also run practice sessions after spring break.

The exams are divided by problem and assigned to various faculty members. Each problem is graded on a scale of 0-10. Recently, the department has adopted anonymous grading, i.e., your name is not associated with your exam until after grading is completed. The math/stats department then meets to assess the results. At this point, your name is associated with your grade. Passing the qual is not just a function of the score on the exam. See the FAQ item "What is a passing score?"

There is no set passing score. The main question we are trying to answer is whether you are ready to start a senior thesis. In judging whether a student passes, we take into account not only the exam score, but also the student's whole academic record. With those qualifications in mind, a score of 60% is generally close to the minimum passing score. Further, for a student scoring close to 60%, we might see a difference between receiving 6/10 on every problem versus 9s and 10s plus some low scores; the latter is perhaps better because it demonstrates some full strengths.

Between passing and not passing, there is the possibility of a conditional pass (see the FAQ item below this one). If this is your first attempt at the qual and you fail, you are allowed to take the exam one more time. For example, if you fail in April, you would probably arrange to take the exam again in the following August. If you fail twice, you must write a thesis in a different major.

A conditional pass means that you demonstrated some of the necessary skills, but didn't quite meet the threshold to pass. We will then give you an additional assignment, depending on what skills we're still looking for; successful completion of that assignment within the time given would then convert your grade to pass. One common example is successfully rewriting a portion of the exam within one week, on your own or in consultation with faculty.

You will be sent the qual via email and submit it via Gradescope. Allowances will be made for your time zone. Make sure you are signed up to take the qual.

Indicate accommodations on the qual sign-up sheet.