Skip to content
Texas A&M University
Mathematics

Vision and Objectives of VIGRE

A principal goal of our VIGRE program is to increase the width and the quality of the pipeline--from undergraduate through postdoctorate--of students and scholars who are interested in careers in the mathematical sciences. We view this pipeline as a pyramid with the base representing entering college freshmen and with the upper tiers representing upper division students, graduate students, and postdoctorates. Augmenting this pipeline requires enlarging the base by placing a higher emphasis on recruiting into the mathematics major. The upper tiers of the pyramid can be increased by emphasizing the role of research and discovery learning at each stage of the curriculum. Our VIGRE grant includes funds to support undergraduate assistantships, graduate traineeships, and postdoctoral fellowships to help encourage interested and well-qualified students at each tier of the pyramid to advance to the next level.

Traditional undergraduate programs and the first few years of graduate study often present mathematics to students as a static edifice. Few students are introduced to research and discovery until after several years of rigorous graduate-level mathematics courses. In contrast, the model in engineering and the laboratory sciences encourages students to participate in laboratory work at an early stage. Consequently, students in those fields participate in the thrill of discovery much earlier than those in the mathematical sciences. Our VIGRE program aims to present mathematics as a dynamic and vital entity with broad impact on society. Several years ago, we began restructuring our undergraduate and graduate curricula in order to expose students consistently throughout their mathematical training to the excitement of mathematical inquiry, discovery, and research. VIGRE is a continuation and expansion of our efforts in this direction. We shall continue to increase the breadth of knowledge and the communication skills of our graduates. Participants in our program report a diversification of career options and an increase in marketability.

Our VIGRE award is helping to institutionalize positive changes to a culture that in the past confined research and discovery in the mathematical sciences to a narrow group. Resources provided by VIGRE will help offer the means and the incentives for students to get involved in research early. Coordinated efforts across all levels of mathematical training can increase each tier of the pyramid to ensure a steady supply of mathematical scientists for the future.