A Two-Phase Program

The BMS offers an English PhD program. Its purpose is to provide a broad and deep graduate education whose structure is compatible with international standards and thus attracts excellent students from around the world. It is designed to combine the traditional strengths of the German graduate education with the format of successful US graduate schools.

The BMS study program has two phases. Students with a Bachelor degree start with Phase I. Admission to Phase II is either upon successful completion of Phase I or with a Master degree or equivalent e.g., German Diplom.

Phase I

The purpose of the three-semester Phase I study program is to provide all BMS students with an excellent and broad mathematics graduate education, and thus with a secure basis for their own thesis research work. The program of this phase consists of basic courses giving a broad view of mathematics, and first advanced courses including seminar courses, which provide in-depth background in various areas of specialization and thus prepare students for their future thesis research.

The core offering of the BMS Phase I study program consists of 14 one-semester basic courses, two for each of the seven teaching areas. The requirement for admission to the qualifying exams is the successful completion of five basic courses, including the two basic courses in the student's intended area of specialization, and of two advanced courses in this area. One of the advanced courses must be a seminar course.

The qualifying exams will be oral and conducted by at least two examiners from the BMS faculty. As a rule, one of the examiners should be the student's prospective thesis advisor. They cover the student's area of specialization (the two basic courses, and the two advanced courses), as well as the material from the other basic courses the student has passed. Passing the qualifying exams will assert that the student has reached a sufficient level of general and specialized training to begin high-level research in the chosen area of mathematics. As a rule, qualifying exams should be taken by the end of the third semester after admission.

Phase II

The Phase II study program, the research phase, has a maximum duration of six semesters. During this phase, students work on their specific thesis projects. Many of them will be integrated into one of the Berlin RTGs or IMPRSs. In addition, students in the research phase are offered further advanced courses and special lecture series, some of them organized by the RTGs and IMPRSs. Phase II students will also be given the opportunity to gain teaching experience as tutors for basic courses in Phase I. The final examinations will be carried out according to the regulations of the university that confers the PhD degree.

To design and monitor the study program, each student will have a member of the BMS faculty assigned to him or her as a personal mentor. In Phase II, the mentor will be independent of the thesis advisor. The mentors and advisors will constantly follow and evaluate the students' performance and give them advice and feedback, and help or interfere if necessary.

On every second Friday during term time, the Friday colloquia of BMS represent a common meeting point for Berlin mathematics: a colloquium with broad emanation that permits an overview of large-scale connections and insights. The conversation is about "mathematics as a whole," and mathematical breakthroughs are discussed. So far, two Field medalists presented their work. At the lunches prior to the "Sonia Kovalevskaya Colloquia" female students have a chance to discuss the career paths of successful women in mathematics.

In addition, the BMS offers annual Summer Schools, which rotate among the participating universities and have a different focus each year.