Master in Mathematics

This program trains professional researchers in mathematical sciences and experts in mathematical education. Students will be prepared for Ph.D. qualifying tests in algebra, topology, and analysis, have their own research agenda and experience and have teaching experience at the university level. Student exchange opportunities are also offered with École Polytechnique (Paris), École normale supérieure (Paris), Kyoto University, Leiden University, University of Luxembourg, University of Nantes, University of Tokyo.

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Program Overview

The Mathematics program aims at training professional researchers in mathematical sciences and experts in mathematical education.

Upon successful completion of the program students:

• Will be prepared for Ph.D. qualifying tests in Algebra, Topology, and Analysis,
• Will have their own research agenda and experience;
• Will have teaching experience at the university level.

The MSc program takes two full years of study. All MSc students complete their Individual Plans of Study (IPS). The IPS includes some mandatory items. However, most courses are chosen by the student (students can choose from a certain number of special topics courses and a certain number of research seminars). A course project must be completed by the end of the first year. By the end of their course of study, students are required to submit a Master’s thesis. A presentation of their thesis results, in the form of a seminar, is also a requirement. Every MSc student has a faculty advisor who supervises the course project and the Master’s thesis.

The program takes two full years of study and is worth 120 ECTS credits (including all courses, course projects, teaching and research practice, and preparation of the Master's thesis).

All students fill their individual study plans (ISPs). The ISPs are subject to approval by the advisor and the international MSc students coordinator.

The following are the only mandatory items of the study plans (all students must take them):

• Mathematics of Science, Semester 1 (5 credits)
• Research Seminar from the list of seminars recommended for Master’s Programme students, Semester 1 (3 credits)
• Research Seminar from the list of seminars recommended for Master’s Programme students, Semester 2 (3 credits)
• MagoLego course from this list of MagoLego courses, Semester 2 (3 credits)
• Teaching internship, Semester 2 (3 credits)
• Term paper, Semester 2 (5 credits)
• Research Seminar from the list of seminars recommended for Master’s Programme students, Semester 3 (3 credits)
• Research Seminar from the list of seminars recommended for Master’s Programme students, Semester 4 (3 credits)
• Thesis preparation, Semester 4 (18 credits)
• Work Experience Internship, Semester 4 (4 credits)
• Graduation Thesis, Semester 4 (3 credits)

The rest of the ISP consists of elective courses from the following sources:

• Syllabi of all elective courses and seminars offered to international students at the Faculty of Mathematics, HSE.
• Courses offered by other departments of the HSE University.
• Courses offered by the Math in Moscow program.
• Courses offered by Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology

Applicants can expect to:

1. Learn from leading experts in Mathematics and Mathematical Physics;
2. Take advantage of a great variety of mathematical events happening in Moscow, a world-famous mathematical center;
3. Choose to combine our MSc program with international MSc or integrated graduate programs;
4. Take advantage of our student exchange programs with universities in Europe and Japan;
5. Choose from a wide range of special topics courses and research seminars;
6. Continue their research in our Ph.D. program or in any international Ph.D. program in Mathematics (This year our first class of six MSc students entered their second year and already they have received offers from the Universities of Princeton, Bonn, Hanover, and Nice);
7. Benefit from a uniquely stimulating, dynamic, and supportive learning environment;
8. Discover the rich and fascinating cultural life of Moscow;
9. Apply for Teaching Assistantships and Research Assistantships;
10. Apply for travel grants.

Further Opportunities

The Faculty of Mathematics has a 4-year Ph.D. program that is free for everybody. Students who wish to enter this program are required to pass an entrance exam.

International Ph.D. programs in Mathematics are also offered by the Institute of Information Transmission Problems and the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (both institutes being located in Moscow). They are focused on fundamental and applied research.

What are the career opportunities for someone with a degree in mathematics?

The most obvious positions would be as a researcher mathematician and lecturer, who proves new theorems and teaches mathematics to university or school students. This is a sought-after career path to take. For example, the professions of Mathematician and University Professor take the first two positions in the Jobs Rated international ranking, and Forbes magazine wrote: ‘...this year science and math are kings on the job market’.

A typical pure mathematician’s career starts with doctoral studies and obtaining a Ph.D. in Mathematics (2-5 years), and continues with post-doc positions (2-7 years), followed by a position at a university or research institution. Our first MSc students graduated in 2014, so our first graduates are at the very beginning of this path. That said we already have grounds to be proud of them, since about a quarter of our graduates enter Ph.D. programs at the world’s best mathematics departments, such as Harvard, Caltech, Columbia, MIT, Princeton, Yale, and ETH Zurich.

What are the competitive advantages for someone with a degree in mathematics, beyond pure mathematics?

The fastest developing and most-in-demand sciences and applications of this knowledge are either already replete with mathematical methods (economics and finance, computer science, and IT), or are rapidly becoming saturated with them (linguistics, medicine, sociology, etc). For example, economics was obviously part of the humanities a century ago, however, today, almost half of the Nobel Prize winners in economics have degrees in physics or mathematics. This process is now expanding into more and more areas, which increases the need for experts with mathematical skills everywhere.

There is a job market signaling philosophy (incidentally created by one of the Nobel Prize winners in economics with a degree in mathematics), which can be simplified as follows. A university degree signals to the employer not only about a graduate’s specific knowledge, but also that they have sufficient motivation, skills, and effort to study such complicated issues for four years. From this perspective, a degree in mathematics is an exceptionally effective signal to the employer: as Alexander Alexandrov said, ‘Mathematics is useful because it’s difficult’. That’s why mathematicians are often hired for abstract, creative, or non-standard work, even if it doesn’t include any obvious mathematical component.

Finally, the most important thing: mathematicians are able to solve new and complex problems. Most people become stressed and confused when they face a problem that they cannot solve. Mathematics graduates are a rare exception to this rule. Their research experience means that intellectual uncertainty is, for them, a normal working environment, and they are accustomed to having first to formulate the problem and then develop approaches to its solution.

That’s why mathematicians have been civilization’s ‘intellectual commando unit’ for over three centuries: they are at the forefront of most breakthroughs in science and applications, they develop new areas and organize the expert training process.

What areas, besides pure mathematics, have a demand for specialists with a mathematics degree?

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that for a mathematics graduate the global labor market is so extensive that it includes the full range of intellectual areas of work. These related specializations give some idea of potential career opportunities:

• Data Science
• Statistical Modelling and Actuarial Science
• Data Analysis in Biology and Medicine
• Information Security
• Logistics
• Statistical Learning
• Software Engineering
• Corporate Finance
• Economics

Our students also have the opportunity to study all these fields. During the latter years of their undergraduate studies, and on Master’s programs, they have the option of taking subjects taught by any HSE department, can attend the Yandex School of Data Analysis, choose a minor, and attend summer schools with Faculty support.

Where do Faculty of Mathematics graduates continue their studies?

Most of our graduates prefer continuing their studies rather than entering the job market. Here are some examples of the areas of their postgraduate studies:

• Mathematics
• Mathematical physics
• Theoretical economics
• Applied mathematics
• Applied economics
• Computational linguistics
• Data science
• Statistical and mathematical methods of analysis and forecasting in economics

Universities that Faculty graduates choose for postgraduate studies include:

• Higher School of Economics
• Harvard University
• Caltech
• Columbia University
• Leiden University
• MIT
• University of Michigan
• Pennsylvania State University
• Princeton University
• New Economic School
• Northeastern University
• Northwestern University
• University of Geneva
• Indiana Universityemploy
• University of Maryland
• McGill University
• University of Nice Sophia Antipolis
• University of Paris Sud
• Toronto University
• Stony Brook
• Yale University
• ETH Zurich
• Stanford

Where do Faculty of Mathematics graduates work?

Our faculty may be relatively young, but our first graduates who have sought careers outside academia have established themselves in insurance, analysis, IT, and other knowledge-intensive areas in both Russian and international companies. They are also in demand in mathematical education – in international universities (MIT, University of Maryland), and at Moscow’s best schools (No 2, No 57, and No 179), as well as at HSE, where one of our graduates has received the Best Teacher award for the third year in a row.

Careers in business, economics, and finance include:

• Actuary, Zurich
• Senior marketing analyst, Coca Cola Hellenic
• Head of the corporate business department, Mezhtrustbank
• Senior analyst at broadband access and IPTV department, VimpelCom
• Senior Expert at the economic planning department, Bank of Moscow
• Auditor, KPMG
• Analyst, Axes Management
• Analyst, AT Consulting
• Business analyst, Leto Bank
• Leading business process expert at credit operations support department, Central Bank of Russia

Careers in IT:

• System architect, PayOnline
• Programmer, Delta Solutions
• Penetration tester, Insecurity
• Developer, Yandex
• Senior developer, TKS Bank
• Programmer, RadiumOne

Academic careers:

• Lecturers at the other HSE faculties
• Mathematics teachers at Moscow schools No 2, No 57, and No 179
• Postdocs at MIT, University of Chicago, Cornell University, Ecole Polytechnique, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics