Trouble finding a PhD program.
Bill J.
PhD program in mathematics. Due to family responsibilities, I will not
be able to move for the next few decades, and I live 200 miles from
the nearest schools with PhD programs in mathematics.
If I could move, which I cannot, I would be able to get grants,
assistantships, etc to cover all of the costs of a PhD program. I
can't afford to pay for a degree, but I would do whatever work was
required of me that did not involve frequent or lengthy stays away
from my home city.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me, given these circumstances?
sanboz
"Bill J." <nol...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:dbd23761-cc3c-42cf...@g27g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...
Looks like your SOL, dude.
If you cant do the time you cant do the crime (er, math)
Besides you have to get accepted first anyway, and that is a bitch.
You have a 4.00 or a 3.90 in Math upper level courses?
Move your entire family, etc to the place that accepts you.
If not, do something else.
Bill J.
> "Bill J." <nola...@gmail.com> wrote in message
It has to do with my extended family, not my nuclear family. I believe
that getting accepted to a program would not be a problem for me, so
let's not focus on that side of the issue for the purposes of this
discussion.
ksoileau
I would suggest beginning self-study immediately to get a leg up on
the courses you will have to take once you start your PhD program.
Dave L. Renfro
> Besides you have to get accepted first anyway, and that
> is a bitch. You have a 4.00 or a 3.90 in Math upper level
> courses?
My recollection is that it's fairly easy to get into
a U.S. Ph.D. program, excluding the top 10 to top 15
programs. I don't think I had much more than a 3.0
(around 3.10 to 3.15), and around 2.7 overall GPA,
and I got into all 4 programs I applied to in 1981
(Indiana Univ., Virginia Tech, Washington State, and
Univ. of Colorado). In fact, much later, in the early
1990s, a director of graduate studies I knew at a
school roughly the same level as these told me that
if you're a U.S. citizen, you'd have to have something
really against you to not be accepted into his program.
I would assume the same is true today, and probably
more so.
What *IS* hard in most every program is passing the
qualifying exams. When I passed mine I was one of
5 out of 15 that passed. Then you have to write a
Dissertation, although from what I've seen, the
fall-out is much lower here than with the Qualifying
Exams (unlike some other fields, especially in the
humanities).
Dave L. Renfro
Bill J.
Well, my problem is that if I follow the course of action you seem to
be implying, I would be really well prepared for starting my PhD..
when I'm 50 or 60 years old.
I am 30 now, and would really like to get a PhD so that I can start
working before retirement age.
Ask me about System Design
Think outside the box. Consider schools that:
(a) have the professors/subjects you want to study, and
(b) have/want to have some long-distance learning
programs.
Write to the professors under whom you might want to
study, and explain your situation. Ask if they are
willing to support you in your efforts to establish a
remote-learning program. If you persist, you may
establish a mode of higher learning that others will
follow.
Gerhard "Ask Me About System Design" Paseman, 2009.11.19
Bill J.
wrote:
I have a friend who got his PhD in Meteorology that way. I was hoping
someone would tell me that this sort of trail had already been blazed
in the Mathematics department at some school.
ksoileau
LOL why bother to advise you when you respond with sarcasm...have a
nice life, loser.
Bill J.
Ah, I am sorry that I gave you that impression. It pains me that you
now call me a loser, though. The fact that you resorted to such a base
insult in response to my response suggests to me that I shouldn't
trust your advise in any case.
Bill Barber
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions for me, given these circumstances?
>
Tell them that you are a member of several underrepresented minority
groups. To fulfill their quota they may just award you a degree
for doing absolutely nothing.
Bill J.
I guess I deserved that. I'm sorry that I gave the impression I gave.
Few people seem to be taking me seriously in this thread, and it must
be my fault for being unclear.
I want t work for my degree, I want to earn it. My family obligations
will be keeping me 200 miles away from the four nearest schools with
graduate programs in mathematics.
I just thought that in this day and age, with the technology available
to us, there might exist a math graduate program which I could
complete without the requirement of my geographic proximity.
conesetter
David C. Ullrich
<nol...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Nov 19, 11:39�pm, Bill Barber <b...@moregood.info> wrote:
>> On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:53:49 -0800, Bill J. wrote:
>>
>> > Does anyone have any suggestions for me, given these circumstances?
>>
>> Tell them that you are a member of several underrepresented minority
>> groups. �To fulfill their quota they may just award you a degree
>> for doing absolutely nothing.
>
>I guess I deserved that. I'm sorry that I gave the impression I gave.
>Few people seem to be taking me seriously in this thread, and it must
>be my fault for being unclear.
It seems to me you were perfectly clear. What you want is
simply not likely to happen - that's not the way it works.
Elsewhere you say something about wanting to get a degree
soon so you can get a job. What's your plan for that job?
You can't get to a university to go to school, you're going to
persuade some place to hire you as remote professor of
mathematics?
The sad truth is that the job market in mathematics is
very tight these days - nobody with a job to offer has
any problem getting more than enough applicants for
the position, they have no need to modify their
program to hire you to work online for them.
>I want t work for my degree, I want to earn it. My family obligations
>will be keeping me 200 miles away from the four nearest schools with
>graduate programs in mathematics.
>
>I just thought that in this day and age, with the technology available
>to us, there might exist a math graduate program which I could
>complete without the requirement of my geographic proximity.
David C. Ullrich
"Understanding Godel isn't about following his formal proof.
That would make a mockery of everything Godel was up to."
(John Jones, "My talk about Godel to the post-grads."
in sci.logic.)
Gottfried Helms
As far as I heard one time, in Germany (at least) it is possible
to earn the PhD when publishing a certain number of articles
concerning a topic. But this information may be very inaccurate -
it was just told to me by some supervisor and I never attempted to
verify. May be this -or some equivalent- is a possibility in your
country.
Good luck -
Gottfried
David Hartley
<e456942a-d07e-491b...@r5g2000yqb.googlegroups.com>, Bill
J. <nol...@gmail.com> writes
>I want t work for my degree, I want to earn it. My family obligations
>will be keeping me 200 miles away from the four nearest schools with
>graduate programs in mathematics.
>
>I just thought that in this day and age, with the technology available
>to us, there might exist a math graduate program which I could complete
>without the requirement of my geographic proximity.
You don't say where you live, but I imagine it's not the UK as I doubt
there's anywhere there 200 miles from every university. However, they
have the Open University - http://www.open.ac.uk/ - which does something
like what you want. I've no idea whether they accept students living
abroad; you might be required to turn up in person occasionally. But
there's a good chance someone there will know if there's anything
similar in your country.
--
David Hartley
amzoti
:-)
Scary that our society worldwide has come to such a sad reality.
Dave L. Renfro
> My recollection is that it's fairly easy to get into
> a U.S. Ph.D. program, excluding the top 10 to top 15
> programs. I don't think I had much more than a 3.0
> (around 3.10 to 3.15), and around 2.7 overall GPA,
> and I got into all 4 programs I applied to in 1981
> (Indiana Univ., Virginia Tech, Washington State, and
> Univ. of Colorado).
I'm not sure if this makes a difference in the point
I was making, but the Ph.D. programs at Virginia Tech
and Washington State Univ. that I got accepted into were
physics, not mathematics. The other two schools were
chosen because of their mathematical physics programs,
but one doesn't apply directly to them but rather you enter
from the math dept. or from the physics dept. I was definitely
stronger in math than physics, which is why the schools
I applied to for physics were lower tier. I wound up
going to IU, but only stayed 2 years (personal problems,
not because I didn't like the school).
Dave L. Renfro
rabid_fan
>
> I guess I deserved that. I'm sorry that I gave the impression I gave.
> Few people seem to be taking me seriously in this thread, and it must be
> my fault for being unclear.
>
> I just thought that in this day and age, with the technology available
> to us, there might exist a math graduate program which I could complete
> without the requirement of my geographic proximity.
Your situation illustrates the rank state of the educational
system today.
The modern university is nothing more than a throwback to medieval
times. It is protectionist, exclusive, and operates in a manner that
is close to that of the antiquated guild system.
There is nothing sacrosanct about the study of mathematics, except
for the fact that its practitioners may claim that it is.
A person, if desired, should be permitted to take a correspondence
course (or similar) in mathematics. But that would be considered
anathema to the university administrators.
In the past, if a person or group of persons were dissatisfied
with the philosophy of their national schools, they would form
an alternative school and then proceed from there. This strategy
should be practiced today, but it is not. People seem to believe
that the status quo is all that there can be.
I say: "Bull!" If the current universities cannot satisfy you,
then start another kind of university. That is progess. That is
evolution.
Bacle
>
> >
> > I guess I deserved that. I'm sorry that I gave the
> impression I gave.
> > Few people seem to be taking me seriously in this
> thread, and it must be
> > my fault for being unclear.
> >
> > I just thought that in this day and age, with the
> technology available
> > to us, there might exist a math graduate program
> which I could complete
> > without the requirement of my geographic proximity.
>
> Your situation illustrates the rank state of the
> educational
> system today.
>
> The modern university is nothing more than a
> throwback to medieval
> times. It is protectionist, exclusive, and operates
> in a manner that
> is close to that of the antiquated guild system.
So you believe anyone without a B.S in math , maybe
without a degree should be allowed into a program.?
>
> There is nothing sacrosanct about the study of
> mathematics, except
> for the fact that its practitioners may claim that it
> is.
>
I have never heard anyone claim it is.
> A person, if desired, should be permitted to take a
> correspondence
> course (or similar) in mathematics. But that would
> be considered
> anathema to the university administrators.
Ever heard of the Open University.?.
>
> In the past, if a person or group of persons were
> dissatisfied
> with the philosophy of their national schools, they
> would form
> an alternative school and then proceed from there.
> This strategy
> should be practiced today, but it is not. People
> seem to believe
> that the status quo is all that there can be.
Who has the money, time and skill to do that.?
>
> I say: "Bull!" If the current universities cannot
> satisfy you,
> then start another kind of university. That is
> progess. That is
> evolution.
>
That is a pain in the ass I would not want to put myself through.
A
It isn't a reality. There are extra scholarships, some of them fairly
generous, available for students from certain minority groups, but one
can't get course credit of any kind, much less an entire degree,
merely for being from some particular minority group.
rabid_fan
>
> So you believe anyone without a B.S in math , maybe
> without a degree should be allowed into a program.?
>
The concept of staged learning, i.e. a progression from
bachelor to master to doctor to post-doctor to etc., what
does it mean?
It is pure tradition. It means nothing. There is no
need for it. In fact, it may even be inimical to
the overall learning process.
If one wants to learn to speak a foreign language, the
best way is to translocate to that foreign region and
just live -- just live and learn.
If one wants to learn to play a musical instrument,
the best way, the only way, is to pick one up and
noodle around until the awkward noodling evolves
into a superb mastery and craftsmanship.
The staged agenda of the traditional university
inhibits this ideal process by imposing too much
regulation and order. (It is a manifestation of
the severe anal character of the Western world.)
The enthusiastic tyro is not able to freely explore
and to develop a true intuitive feel for the subject.
The result is only a fabrication of actual learning.
The university wants control. The university wants
predictive measures of potential, accomplishment, and
value. (Again, we experience the severe anality of the
West.)
I say to the university: "Go and f*** yourself!"
A mature human being can easily understand his own abilities
and forge his own destiny. The mature human organism does not
need to be managed and molded by some external system.
>
>> There is nothing sacrosanct about the study of mathematics, except
>> for the fact that its practitioners may claim that it is.
>>
> I have never heard anyone claim it is.
>
The fact that one has to "prove" his potential and his
sincerity before a panel of appointed experts in the
field is claim enough.
>
> Who has the money, time and skill to do that.?
>
I speak only hypothetically. I know that it will
never happen.
Time, money, and skill are the least problematic of the
ingredients necessary for change. What is required foremost
is a recognition for change and the courage to begin an
implementation.
Regrettably, our current society, in spite of its
enormous wealth, has devolved into a nation of placated
and emasculated sheep. They will never stir.
Arturo Magidin
> If one wants to learn to speak a foreign language, the
> best way is to translocate to that foreign region and
> just live -- just live and learn.
Actually, a minimal of instruction preceding the translocation seems
to be what produces best results. Simply jumping and going to the
foreign region with no knowledge whatsoever greatly steepens the
learning curve.
> If one wants to learn to play a musical instrument,
> the best way, the only way, is to pick one up and
> noodle around until the awkward noodling evolves
> into a superb mastery and craftsmanship.
Certainly not "the only way", since guided instruction is one way. And
the vast majority (the overwhelming majority) of those who just "pick
one up and noodle around" never get past the "awkward noodling", and
certainly never reach anything even remotely approaching "superb
mastery and craftsmanship." Yes, exceptions exist, but they are that:
exceptions.
> The staged agenda of the traditional university
> inhibits this ideal process by imposing too much
> regulation and order. (It is a manifestation of
> the severe anal character of the Western world.)
Interesting idea. How does that perception fit with confucionism and
the regulation and order that were inimical to Chinese society, for
example? A manifestation of the 'severe anal character of the Western
world' too?
> The enthusiastic tyro is not able to freely explore
> and to develop a true intuitive feel for the subject.
I think you may be confusing universities with something else. Every
university I've been involved in has allowed "enthusiastic tyros" to
explore subjects. Most even actively encouraged it.
> I say to the university: "Go and f*** yourself!"
>
> A mature human being can easily understand his own abilities
> and forge his own destiny. The mature human organism does not
> need to be managed and molded by some external system.
And nobody requires you to go to university. But if you want the
benefits of a university degree (at some level), then you should
fulfil the requirements. Because the only reason that university
degrees provide those benefits is because they have those
requirements. If everyone who wants one could just fill out a form and
get a university degree, then university degrees would no longer
provide any benefit to anyone.
> >> There is nothing sacrosanct about the study of mathematics, except
> >> for the fact that its practitioners may claim that it is.
>
> > I have never heard anyone claim it is.
>
> The fact that one has to "prove" his potential and his
> sincerity before a panel of appointed experts in the
> field is claim enough.
Nobody has to prove anything in order to study mathematics. And no
mathematician I know says that you *must* be in a course of study in
order to study them. On the other hand, if you want to talk about
actually *having* a Ph.D. degree (which again, is not a requirement
for studying, doing, or learning mathematics), then it is only natural
to expect people to fulfil the usual requirements; it's what makes the
degree valuable.
> Regrettably, our current society, in spite of its
> enormous wealth, has devolved into a nation of placated
> and emasculated sheep. They will never stir.
Especially not to a false or misguided call. "Anality of the West"
indeed...
--
Arturo Magidin
rabid_fan
>
> There are extra scholarships ...
Scholarships??? What the f*** does one need a scholarship
for to study mathematics? A pencil and paper are all that
is required. (OK. Several pencils and several reams
of paper and maybe a computer algebra package. But these
things don't require the relatively large sums of cash that
accompany a scholarship.)
Let's get realistic. People only attend a university
because it endows a certain level of *credibility*.
That's what all that tuition money buys. CREDIBILITY.
The graduate can more believably claim that he knows
some mathematics. This is what university education
is all about. One purchases credibility, and ones eventual
progress in life depends upon the extent that people
are willing to believe.
Unless you have some sort of degree people won't believe
you. Why? Because that's how the inhabitants of our
culture have been conditioned. Yes, conditioned. I use
the word "conditioned" in the sense of the training that
is provided to a dumb animal, because most human beings,
even ones in positions of importance and influence, are
no better intellectually that dumb animals.
Being able to append the letters PhD to ones name automatically
induces in most people the willingness to believe. It is
irrational behavior but humans are irrational creatures.
If I want to learn mathematics I can learn it by myself
and on my own. But if I want people to believe that I
know mathematics I will attend a university, fulfill the
idiotic requirements, and then shove my diploma into
their puzzled faces.
junoexpress
To hammer home what you said, persistence is very important. If a prof
seems someone who *really* wants to learn, often they will make
exceptions/accommodations they might not do otherwise. It may take
years of trying and even then, may be very difficult to carry out, but
if you really want it and that's what important to you, then you'll
keep at it.
M
Arturo Magidin
> On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:42:06 -0800, A wrote:
>
> > There are extra scholarships ...
>
> Scholarships??? What the f*** does one need a scholarship
> for to study mathematics? A pencil and paper are all that
> is required. (OK. Several pencils and several reams
> of paper and maybe a computer algebra package. But these
> things don't require the relatively large sums of cash that
> accompany a scholarship.)
There is the issue of time, of course. Studying math, on your own or
with others, takes time. Time you are not using to do other stuff,
like sleeping or working and earning wages with which you can pay for
shelter and food. The scholarship affords the *time* to study
mathematics. Independent wealth is of course another option. Or having
a spouse that makes enough money to support you whle your time is
spent in the pursuit of knowledge (which is just another kind of
'scholarship').
> Let's get realistic. People only attend a university
> because it endows a certain level of *credibility*.
> That's what all that tuition money buys. CREDIBILITY.
> The graduate can more believably claim that he knows
> some mathematics. This is what university education
> is all about. One purchases credibility, and ones eventual
> progress in life depends upon the extent that people
> are willing to believe.
And the reason that credibility attaches is because the university
education actually provides a basis on which that credibility rests.
It is by no means the only way in which to acquire that basis, but it
is *a* way to acquire that basis.
> Unless you have some sort of degree people won't believe
> you.
Even *with* a degree there are plenty of people who won't believe you,
for a variety of reasons.
> Why? Because that's how the inhabitants of our
> culture have been conditioned. Yes, conditioned. I use
> the word "conditioned" in the sense of the training that
> is provided to a dumb animal, because most human beings,
> even ones in positions of importance and influence, are
> no better intellectually that dumb animals.
You have a strange view of the world. If your claims were correct,
there wouldn't be any debate on issues like global warming, or
evolution-in-american-schools. The degrees of the people making the
claims would suffice, because everyone has been "conditioned" to give
them credibility. But they don't just believe it; there is plenty of
skepticism to go around.
And plenty of credulity, directed both at people with and without
university degrees.
> If I want to learn mathematics I can learn it by myself
> and on my own. But if I want people to believe that I
> know mathematics I will attend a university, fulfill the
> idiotic requirements, and then shove my diploma into
> their puzzled faces.
My face is already puzzled, but it has nothing to do with you shoving
diplomas.
--
Arturo Magidin
A
> On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:42:06 -0800, A wrote:
>
> > There are extra scholarships ...
>
> Scholarships??? What the f*** does one need a scholarship
> for to study mathematics? A pencil and paper are all that
> is required. (OK. Several pencils and several reams
> of paper and maybe a computer algebra package. But these
> things don't require the relatively large sums of cash that
> accompany a scholarship.)
Scholarships are to cover tuition and living expenses, such as rent
and food. You do actually need food, and probably a place to live, in
order to do mathematics.
At public universities these scholarships, even for graduate students
in mathematics, are often low enough that the students must also get
jobs outside of the program to pay their rent; for example, the
students in the M.A. program in mathematics at the university where I
was an undergraduate were given a tuition waiver and paid $600/month
to live off of. This was barely enough to pay for a studio in the city
that this university was in, so the M.A. students typically had to
also find a part-time job, usually tutoring, in order to pay for their
food and utilities; this means, in practice, less time for actually
doing mathematics. The more well-funded public universities, as well
as nearly all of the private universities, with mathematics graduate
programs at least pay their graduate students enough to live off of
without needing to get a part-time job and compromise their studying
time. The living stipends that graduate students live off of are, for
the lucky ones, enough money for a young, single person with no large
additional expenses (e.g. medical problems) to pay for; but they do
not even begin to cover the costs of children, which is an additional
obstacle to people with families who think about going to graduate
school. The point is this: these scholarships and fellowships for
graduate study in mathematics are something to be grateful for, but I
do not think they are anywhere near as generous as you seem to think.
> Let's get realistic. People only attend a university
> because it endows a certain level of *credibility*.
> That's what all that tuition money buys. CREDIBILITY.
> The graduate can more believably claim that he knows
> some mathematics. This is what university education
> is all about. One purchases credibility, and ones eventual
> progress in life depends upon the extent that people
> are willing to believe.
>
> Unless you have some sort of degree people won't believe
> you. Why? Because that's how the inhabitants of our
> culture have been conditioned. Yes, conditioned. I use
> the word "conditioned" in the sense of the training that
> is provided to a dumb animal, because most human beings,
> even ones in positions of importance and influence, are
> no better intellectually that dumb animals.
The people without degrees who claim to be knowledgeable about certain
things are often even more misinformed and inept than even many of the
particularly bad examples of those with degrees. There are many
extremely colorful examples of people, right here in sci.math, who
would like to do away with the basic system of affording greater
credibility to a person with a higher college degree in a particular
subject than a person with a lesser, or no, degree in that subject;
you can read their posts and imagine how things would be if these
people were taken seriously. The letters "JSH" are used to prefix the
subject lines of some threads in sci.math and sci.physics that are
extremely good examples of this.
>
> Being able to append the letters PhD to ones name automatically
> induces in most people the willingness to believe. It is
> irrational behavior but humans are irrational creatures.
>
> If I want to learn mathematics I can learn it by myself
> and on my own. But if I want people to believe that I
> know mathematics I will attend a university, fulfill the
> idiotic requirements, and then shove my diploma into
> their puzzled faces.
I agree that the system we have of producing mathematicians should be
made more porous, so that people with great mathematical ability but
little or no access to University libraries and University math
departments can read the research journals, get some idea of what
material is considered foundational, "must-read" stuff, and in
general, bring themselves to the point of being able to use current
mathematical research and possibly also doing it themselves, without
needing to actually get a PhD in mathematics and then get a job at a
University (getting the PhD is not nearly as much of a hassle as the
fact that, if you finish the PhD and then at some point decide not to
get an academic job, you will no longer have access to the journals
which are basically required to be able to do research).
Jesse F. Hughes
> On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:42:06 -0800, A wrote:
>
>>
>> There are extra scholarships ...
>
> Scholarships??? What the f*** does one need a scholarship
> for to study mathematics? A pencil and paper are all that
> is required. (OK. Several pencils and several reams
> of paper and maybe a computer algebra package. But these
> things don't require the relatively large sums of cash that
> accompany a scholarship.)
Yes, this *is* a mighty entertaining rant, and very plausible too!
But rather distracting in a thread aimed at answering one person's
question about a PhD program. Do you suppose that the OP really gives
a shit about your opinion regarding the worth of academic degrees?
--
"It has been shown that no man can sit down to write without a very profound
design. Thus to authors in general trouble is spared. A novelist, for example,
need have no care of his moral. It is there -- that is to say, it is somewhere
-- and the moral and the critics can take care of themselves." --E.A. Poe
Jesse F. Hughes
> The concept of staged learning, i.e. a progression from
> bachelor to master to doctor to post-doctor to etc., what
> does it mean?
>
> It is pure tradition. It means nothing. There is no
> need for it. In fact, it may even be inimical to
> the overall learning process.
>
> If one wants to learn to speak a foreign language, the
> best way is to translocate to that foreign region and
> just live -- just live and learn.
Teachers surely facilitate that process.
> If one wants to learn to play a musical instrument,
> the best way, the only way, is to pick one up and
> noodle around until the awkward noodling evolves
> into a superb mastery and craftsmanship.
Teaching yourself how to play is a much more difficult approach than
having a teacher. Both processes require work, but it's a lot easier
to learn from someone more skilled than yourself than to try to teach
yourself from scratch.
The same goes with mathematics and other disciplines. In principle,
one might master the material on his own (though surely only with
decent texts). But a good instructor makes the process much simpler.
--
"The Hammer is not force. It is absolute power. The Hammer is from Idea Space.
That's the real world. Here is the magical realm.
You are creatures in that realm, who do not quite understand.
But it doesn't matter. There is a story to be told..." James S. Harris, poet.
Bill J.
> On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:01:57 -0800 (PST), "Bill J."
>
> >On Nov 19, 11:39 pm, Bill Barber <b...@moregood.info> wrote:
> >> On Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:53:49 -0800, Bill J. wrote:
>
> >> > Does anyone have any suggestions for me, given these circumstances?
>
> >> Tell them that you are a member of several underrepresented minority
> >> groups. To fulfill their quota they may just award you a degree
> >> for doing absolutely nothing.
>
> >I guess I deserved that. I'm sorry that I gave the impression I gave.
> >Few people seem to be taking me seriously in this thread, and it must
> >be my fault for being unclear.
>
> It seems to me you were perfectly clear. What you want is
> simply not likely to happen - that's not the way it works.
>
> Elsewhere you say something about wanting to get a degree
> soon so you can get a job. What's your plan for that job?
> You can't get to a university to go to school, you're going to
> persuade some place to hire you as remote professor of
> mathematics?
As far as "soon" goes, I'd like to finish a Ph.D sometime in the next
decade or so rather than than thirty or forty years from now. As for
universities, there are several universities near me which have only
undergraduate programs in mathematics, between them they employ quite
a few Ph.Ds in mathematics. Here a "university" is any school which
offers four year BA and/or BS degrees. Perhaps the definition of
university is a bit different in other areas, so I can understand your
confusion.
I'd even be somewhat satisfied with the ability to get a masters in
mathematics, but none of the local schools even offer that.
junoexpress
> > >I want t work for my degree, I want to earn it. My family obligations
> > >will be keeping me 200 miles away from the four nearest schools with
> > >graduate programs in mathematics.
>
I'm kinda curious as to why moving is not an option for you. Unless
you are incarcerated, there is no one stopping you from freely
traveling and doing what you want. Family obligations are important,
but in the end, it's *your* life, not any other person's and an
individual's obligation to any group, even family, only goes so far,
esp when it conflicts with something that is fundamentally important
to you.
M
Jesse F. Hughes
Perhaps his desire for a PhD program is not stronger than his desire
to be with his family. Some folks are funny that way.
--
Jesse F. Hughes
"Social castigation. Their pictures in the papers. Reporters hounding
them with hard questions. And it won't end during their lifetimes."
-- Oppose James S. Harris and you get post-mortem hardball interviews
junoexpress
Why don't we let him answer so we obtain the facts rather than your
opinion.
Fair enough?
M
Ask me about System Design
> I am in what seems to be a difficult position in regards to finding a
> PhD program in mathematics. Due to family responsibilities, I will not
> be able to move for the next few decades, and I live 200 miles from
> the nearest schools with PhD programs in mathematics.
>
> If I could move, which I cannot, I would be able to get grants,
> assistantships, etc to cover all of the costs of a PhD program. I
> can't afford to pay for a degree, but I would do whatever work was
> required of me that did not involve frequent or lengthy stays away
> from my home city.
>
I forgot to ask: did you try a web search for distance
learning programs? If so, are those leads worth
pursuing, and why or why not?
Also, what is your goal/intent in getting a Ph.D.?
I could tell you how distance learning impacted my
graduate studies (somewhat negatively), but my story
may be irrelevant to your situation. If I knew more of
your intent/plan/goal/desire, I might have something
better than a suggestion for you: a reason for taking a
different path.
Gerhard "Ask Me About System Design" Paseman, 2009.11.20
Frederick Williams
>
> I am in what seems to be a difficult position in regards to finding a
> PhD program in mathematics. Due to family responsibilities, I will not
> be able to move for the next few decades, and I live 200 miles from
> the nearest schools with PhD programs in mathematics.
>
> If I could move, which I cannot, I would be able to get grants,
> assistantships, etc to cover all of the costs of a PhD program. I
> can't afford to pay for a degree, but I would do whatever work was
> required of me that did not involve frequent or lengthy stays away
> from my home city.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions for me, given these circumstances?
I would have thought things worked in this order:
Decide what PhD will be about.
Identify those people willing to supervise a PhD in
that subject area.
Enquire about fees. Decide if you can afford them or
if you can borrow the money, etc.
Choose the institution according to where it is.
--
Which of the seven heavens / Was responsible her smile /
Wouldn't be sure but attested / That, whoever it was, a god /
Worth kneeling-to for a while / Had tabernacled and rested.