Admissions
The graduate program in mathematics provides students with an outstanding education in math, research, and teaching. Our faculty include world-renowned researchers that run leading first-rate research groups covering a wide array of mathematical specialties.
Program Highlights | Applying | Contact
Program Highlights
- The Department of Mathematics has a distinguished international faculty, including multiple International Congress of Mathematicians speakers.
- The department has a variety of research groups: geometric group theory, geometry/topology, approximation theory, number theory, non-commutative geometry, operator algebras, gravitation and waves, mathematical biology, partial differential equations, and graph theory.
- The stimulating research environment is supported by an ongoing program that attracts visiting scholars from institutions around the world and hosts several major conferences a year, including the Shanks Conferences.
- The Department of Mathematics is large enough to support a wide range of courses, but small enough for students to receive individual attention from faculty members.
- Due to the large number of postdoctoral researchers we have multi-tier small research groups, where faculty, postdocs and graduate students work closely together.
- Our department is very collegial and supportive.
- Graduate students are given one to two years of training to teach at the college level. After that period, they generally serve as TAs and eventually instructors in calculus classes. This opportunity provides valuable experience in communication, even for students who do not pursue careers in academia.
- Our graduate students are very successful in securing jobs.
- Nashville offers the amenities of a large city and the friendliness of a small town.
Graduate Student Teaching
First-year graduate students tutor math students both through tutoring services and the math department’s Calculus Cafe. In the fall they complete tutoring training and in the spring they participate in a weekly teaching seminar to prepare for their work as TAs.
Second and third-year students serve as TAs. Responsibilities include attending class meetings, conducting a weekly recitation section, holding office hours, and grading papers.
Fourth and fifth-year students with good teaching evaluations and strong recommendations from their faculty mentors may be allowed to teach a first-year calculus course.
Facilities
As an R1 institution, Vanderbilt’s libraries are among the top research libraries in the nation, home to more than eight million items, including print publications, microfilm items, and digital collections.
The mathematics collection is housed in the Sarah Shannon Science and Engineering Library, conveniently located in the math building. This collection is excellent, both in books and access to electronic resources, including e-journals and online databases such as MathSciNet and Web of Science. Items not available locally can be borrowed through interlibrary loan, which is free of charge to graduate students.
Computational resources available to graduate students include access to cutting-edge AI technology and to the university’s large cluster and desktop computers equipped with computer algebra software. Graduate students may use these facilities freely for research, writing, and teaching.
Furthermore, the graduate students’ office suite is a newly renovated state-of-the-art facility.
Housing
Ample private housing is available within walking distance of the campus. The Office of Housing and Residential Education maintains an off-campus housing referral service.
Applying to the Program
The application cycle for Fall 2026 matriculation is now open.
Applications should be made online and can be accessed through Vanderbilt’s Graduate School. Your application will simultaneously be sent to the Department of Mathematics. The deadline for submitting your application is December 1st. The recruitment committee will start evaluating the applications shortly after.
Below is a list of required information and materials you will need to complete your application. You may begin an application at any time and fill in the missing information when it becomes available. More information about each item bellow can be found on the Graduate School Website (https://gradschool.vanderbilt.edu/application-requirements)
- Letters of recommendation (minimum of three letters required)
- Transcripts
- CV/Resume
- GRE Mathematics Subject Test: Optional, but we highly recommend that you take the test and submit the score (self-reported/unofficial copies are considered during the evaluation).
- Statement of purpose
- A TOEFL or IELTS score is required of all applicants who have not received a degree from an English-speaking university. (The minimum acceptable score is 89 on TOEFL and 7.0 on IELTS.) Read more details about the English language proficiency requirement.
- The GRE General Test is not considered when the applications are evaluated.
We look forward to reading your application!
Application fees and waivers
Applications to our graduate program ordinarily require an application fee. Some fee waivers are available to U.S. citizens/permanent residents via the Graduate School directly. The math department also has a limited number of additional fee waivers available upon request. Please fill out this redcap form to request a waiver: https://redcap.vumc.org/surveys/?s=T3XHTTL9YMHJCL8T. We will assume if you are asking for a fee waiver from the department that you are not eligible for the fee waiver offered by the Graduate School or have been denied that waiver. The math department graduate admission committee will consider the waiver requests after all the information from the applicants is uploaded online. Please note that paid application fees are non-refundable.
Note: Please do not send tax return documents or any other documents showing sensitive or confidential personal information such as your social security number.
Application Outcome
Admitted applicants will be notified via email and letter, while those who are not admitted will see their status updated on their online account. Some decisions will be communicated early in the Spring semester, but others may be delayed until after April 15th. This is because the committee must wait for responses from first-round offers before considering applications from the waitlist.
Contact
For further information, please contact: mathgradadmissions@vanderbilt.edu