The Program
in the History of Mathematics
at the University of Virginia

Karen Parshall directs a small, highly selective graduate program in the history of mathematics within the Department of Mathematics that includes a component in the history of science taken within the Department of History. Students in the program must satisfy all of the requirements for the Ph.D. in Mathematics. In particular, they must complete the coursework in mathematics and perform satisfactorily on the General Examinations before they are permitted to proceed toward the doctorate. Strong reading competency in either French or German is required for admission into the program, with strong reading competency required in the other language by the time dissertation research begins. Depending on a particular student's interests, other languages may be required.

Before beginning research on the disseration, students in the program also write and defend a thesis proposal in which they:

  1. detail the historical questions they propose to explore in their dissertation and
  2. situate their proposed work within the broader literature of the history of science and mathematics.
The thesis proposal also includes a preliminary bibliography of their dissertation.

Graduate students at the University of Virginia typically have a four-hour per week teaching load (one course and one discussion section) and take twelve graded hours of course work per semester. The following is a typical program for a student in the graduate program in the history of mathematics:

First Year: First Semester: MATH 731 (analysis), MATH 751 (algebra), one additional mathematics course (to be determined depending on the student's future historical interests), MATH 700 (one-hour teaching seminar), and MATH 901 (history of mathematics seminar). Second Semester: MATH 734 (complex analysis), MATH 752 (algebra), one additional mathematics course (ditto), MATH 700, and and MATH 901.

Second Year: First Semester: MATH 753 (algebra), HIEU 332 (The Scientific Revolution, taken as MATH 999), MATH 577, and MATH 901. Second Semester: MATH 501 or MATH 503 (The History of the Calculus or The History of Mathematics, depending on the year), HIUS 340 (The Development of American Science, taken as MATH 999), MATH 780, and MATH 901.

Third Year: Additional mathematics courses to complete the number of hours required for the degree, together with MATH 901 in both semesters, and any additional courses as needed (in, for example, language(s), history, or philosophy).

Fourth Year +: Dissertation research and writing, MATH 901 in both the Fall and Spring Semesters, and additional courses as needed (in, for example, foreign language(s), history, or philosophy).

Students wishing to pursue a Ph.D. in Mathematics with an emphasis on the history of mathematics should contact Karen Parshall prior to submitting their application to the University of Virginia. All applicants should submit a carefully considered and argued personal statement of their potential research interests in the history of mathematics and their preparation for a career as an historian of science. A writing sample is also a required part of the application.

The following students have participated or are currently in the graduate program in the history of mathematics:

  • Della Dumbaugh Fenster (Ph.D., 1994), Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Richmond (e-mail: dfenster@richmond.edu)
  • Patti Wilger Hunter (Ph.D., 1997), Associate Professor of Mathematics at Westmont College (e-mail: phunter@westmont.edu)
  • Sloan Despeaux (Ph.D., 2002), Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Western Carolina University (e-mail: despeaux@email.wcu.edu)
    http://paws.wcu.edu/despeaux
  • Laura Martini (Ph.D., expected 2005) (e-mail: lm4x@virginia.edu)
    http://www.math.virginia.edu/~lm4x
  • Deborah Kent (Ph.D., expected 2005) (e-mail: dak8x@virginia.edu)