Admission and Aid Requirements

We welcome your interest in our graduate program. The application process is important for you and for us. Admission and financial decisions are based on Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores, courses taken, grade point average (GPA), academic goals, letters of recommendation, and, for students for whom English is not their first language, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores.

Applicants should have at least a BA or BS in Mathematics, or equivalent. We usually expect GRE scores of at least 450 verbal and 650 quantitative for admission to the Master's program, and at least 500 verbal and 700 quantitative for admission to the Ph.D. program. This is for students whose first language is English, for others we do accept lower verbal scores. Please be sure to have your GRE scores sent to The University of Iowa by the testing agency. We require the GRE but not the GRE subject test in mathematics.

We usually expect an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.20 for admission to the Master's degree program and 3.40 for admission to the Ph.D. program. We are aware, however, that there are differences in grading systems and severity from school to school. We consider all the evidence available, and for this reason it is to your advantage to submit as complete an application as possible. Most Teaching Assistantships are awarded for the academic year, beginning with the Fall session (late August). Very few are available beginning in the Spring, and they are usually given to continuing students rather than new ones. Thus students requesting financial support should apply for admission for the Fall session. The TOEFL scores are used to predict the ability of a student to function effectively in courses taught in English and to work effectively in English as a teaching assistant (TA). In order to be considered for admission, we generally expect a TOEFL score of at least 575 (or 232 computer based) for M.S. applicants and 600 (250) for Ph.D. applicants.

For consideration as a TA we would like a TOEFL score above 620 (260). Students whose first language is not English but who will have a degree from an institution in the U.S. or other English speaking country, may have this requirement waived. Please contact us for further details.We begin consideration for admission and financial support on January 15 for the following Fall session. So your file should be complete by this date. (We generally do not admit students starting iin the second semester). Offers of admission and teaching assistantships are usually sent out February through May. We look forward to receiving your application.