Students are encouraged to organize their own seminars and study groups to make learning more enjoyable. For example, the graduate students have organized their own seminars in topology and algebra, independent of the current research seminars organized by faculty members. Aside from this, job placement for new PhD's is primarily the responsibility of the student's thesis advisor. The Graduate Secretary assists with gathering letters of recommendation that are sent to prospective employers. The vast majority of our new PhD's take their first jobs within academia, although at least three graduates during the most recent five-year period found jobs within the computer industry.
Students praise the quality, dedication and approachability of the faculty.
Of course, there are some negative comments as well. But the overall tone of the comments is quite positive, considering the fact that graduate students on the campus as a whole were considering a strike at the time to gain union recognition. Explicit negative comments from graduate students indicate dissatisfaction with computing facilities, the copying machines and office space. The Department has made efforts to address these problems by purchasing two new copiers and new computers for the Computer Lab, which is dedicated to serve the computing needs of the graduate students. Another complaint is that the calculus curriculum changes too frequently.