The Fifth-Year Master's Program is open to current Brown undergraduates, who must apply before graduating.

To earn a fifth-year master's degree in mathematics, the student must complete eight 2000-level courses with a grade of B or higher. This must include at least three of the following “core” courses, which are offered in the fall.  

• MATH 2510 Algebra I
• MATH 2410 Topology I
• MATH 2210 Real Analysis I
• MATH 2250 Complex Analysis I
• MATH 2110 Smooth Manifolds

Other eligible courses are the following spring term courses...

• MATH 2520 Algebra II
• MATH 2420 Topology II
• MATH 2220 Real Analysis II
• MATH 2260 Complex Analysis II
• MATH 2010 Differential Geometry

which are continuations of the five core courses, as well as the following more advanced courses:

• MATH 2050-2060 Algebraic Geometry
• MATH 2370-2380 Partial Differential Equations
• MATH 2530-2540 Number Theory
• MATH 2630-2640 Probability
• MATH 2710-2720 Advanced Topics (topics vary from year to year)

In order for one of these more advanced graduate courses to be counted toward the fifth year Master’s, it must be taken for “qualifying credit”.  This means that the student must notify the instructor in advance that he/she desires to earn qualifying credit, and then the instructor will assign suitable written work or an oral presentation.

With permission of the Director of Graduate Studies, up to two graduate level courses in Applied Mathematics may also be counted.

A Master’s thesis is not required, nor are there any additional exams beyond the final exams for each of the courses.

Up to two of the eight courses may be graduate-level Mathematics courses which the student has already taken as an undergraduate. 

Prerequisites: MATH 1530, MATH 1540, MATH 1630, and MATH 1640, all with a grade of B or better and at least two with a grade of A.