The purpose of our PhD program program is to produce highly skilled researchers. PhD graduates are able to produce original and independent work in mathematics, whether their interest is in basic research or in applying mathematics to scientific and technological areas. Further, they are ready to teach at the graduate level. The program is four years long.

The program is registered in the National Postgraduate System (SNP) of CONAHCYT.

The PhD degree program is available at the Federal District (Zacatenco) and Queretaro campuses of the Cinvestav.

Admission Requirements

• Master’s degree in mathematics (or similar degree).
• Selection of an advisor from our Department.
  
• Have an adviser (department professor). Before applying for a doctorate, the student must contact a professor and ask him to be her study advisor. You can check the list of professors here.
  
• Fill out and submit the application online.
  
• Two letters of recommendation.
  
• Present the admission exam.
  
• If required, attend an interview with the Admission Committee.

Exam date

First Friday in June and first Friday in November.

Reception of applications:

One month before the exam date.

Admissions page here.

CONAHCYT Scholarship:

It is necessary to have a minimum average of 8.0 and have 100% credits of a master's degree in mathematics (or some related area) to apply for the scholarship.

Start of courses:

Last week of January and mid-August.

Clarifications on the admission process: Once accepted to the math department, you have up to one year to enroll in one of our programs of study.

Information

For further information contact:

Academic Coordinator’s Office
Dr. Carlos Pacheco
Phone: +52 (55) 5747-3800 Ext. 6439
E-mail: cpacheco [@] math.cinvestav.mx

Admissions & Student Services
Roxana Martinez
Phone: +52 (55) 5747-3870
E-mail: roxana [@] math.cinvestav.mx

Thesis Director

Once the candidate meets all requirements of the admissions committee, the student will be assigned a Thesis Director, whose job will be to overview the development of the thesis. Students can request a change of Thesis Director at most once.

Courses

Basic courses:

• Algebra
• Real Analysis
• Topology
• Complex Variables

Regular courses:

• Computer science
• Differential and integral equations
• Differential geometry
• Discrete mathematics
• Probability
• Functional Analysis
• Algebras C*
• Operator theory
• Stochastic processes
• Discrete Morse Theory
• Algorithm Analysis Design
• Complex Algebraic Geometry
• Commutative algebra
• Graphs, Rings and Polyhedra
• Linear and Discrete Optimization
• Distribution theory and sub-harmonic functions

The final grades for the basic courses are granted by a Department Committee.

Grades
The grade scale is numeric: 0 to 10. Minimum passing grade is 7.0. The minimum grade to get a credit from a course or seminar is 8.0

The basic exams only have two grades, pass and fail.

A grade before 7 warrants expulsion from the program.

Permanence Requirements

A student will be removed from the program if he/she receives a failing grade, if the average drops below 8.0 in two semesters in a row, or if the final average is below 8.0. These requirements include courses and seminar grades. A student cannot be enrolled in the program for a total of more than four years. All students must enroll each semester in at leat one course or seminar, unless they are on temporary leave.

Calendar

Course period: From the end of January to the end of May; From mid-August to mid-December.

Requirements to obtain the PhD

Comply with the general regulation on postgraduate studies.

• Meet all requirements from the admissions committee: courses, seminars, exams, etc.
• Enroll, each semester, in at least one course or seminar.
• Submit to a jury a doctoral thesis proposal overseen by the Thesis Director. This proposal must be submitted in writing before the conclusion of the first three semesters of the program.
• Pass a pre-doctoral oral exam before the conclusion of the first three semesters of the program. For this examination, the Thesis Director will assign two topics related to the student’s field of interest; these topics must be substantially different.
• Submit every semester, progress of the thesis in writing, after the approval of the thesis draft.
• Prove he/she has translation skills to translate mathematics texts in English and also in any of the following languages: French, German or Russian.
• Elaborate a doctoral thesis and support it in a final examination. Once the doctoral thesis is finished, it will go through two evaluation processes: an external evaluation and an exam from the Department graduate program. For the external evaluation, the thesis will be sent to external experts in the field, at least two which will be from foreign institutions.
• Have a final average greater than or equal to 8.0.