A student who is a candidate for the Ph.D. degree must pass a written test of his/her ability to translate from French, German, or Russian into English. The language test consists of the translation, with dictionary allowed, of a suitable passage from a mathematics paper or book in the language. The passage will be approximately 175 words in length excluding any symbolic expressions and the exam period will be thirty minutes.
Language exams are scheduled by the Graduate Committee at the request of the student. A form for reporting the results of the exam is available on the web pages.
Candidates for the Ph.D. with Specialization in Mathematics Education may also use Spanish as the language or pass an examination demonstrating proficiency in one computer programming language, e.g., or Fortran, or software system, e.g., MapleV or Mathematica, approved by the graduate committee. The graduate committee will assign an examiner who will determine proficiency by having the student solve programming problems or perform tasks of a similar nature and level of difficulty using the software system under controlled circumstances.
There is no language exam for candidates for the Ed.D.