Top Canadian grad schools (pure math)?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on identifying the best Canadian graduate schools for pure mathematics, comparing them to top American universities, and exploring the reputation of specific programs and faculty. Participants also touch on the relevance of other international options, such as German universities.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest the University of Toronto, McGill, and the University of British Columbia as top choices for pure math, with a general belief that admission may be somewhat easier than at top American universities.
  • Waterloo is mentioned as a strong contender for pure math, particularly in combinatorics, analysis, and number theory, though some participants express uncertainty about its overall reputation in pure math compared to other fields.
  • One participant emphasizes that there is no definitive "top" math graduate school, suggesting that prospective students should identify their areas of interest and seek out institutions known for those specialties.
  • Concerns are raised about the current strength of Waterloo's combinatorics group, with a participant questioning the basis for claims about its reputation.
  • Another participant shares their lack of experience in reading academic papers, indicating that their views are based on opinions from more experienced peers in their department.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing opinions on the reputation of specific institutions and programs, particularly regarding Waterloo's strengths in pure mathematics. There is no consensus on which school is definitively the best, and the discussion remains unresolved regarding the comparative strengths of the mentioned universities.

Contextual Notes

Some claims about the strength of specific programs are based on anecdotal evidence and personal opinions rather than quantitative measures. The discussion reflects varying levels of experience among participants, which may influence their perspectives.

future_phd
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Most people on here are American and so usually most of the talk is about American grad schools, but since I'm Canadian I'm wondering what the best Canadian grad schools are for pure math? And how hard would it be to get into these programs compared to, let's say, the top 10 American Universities?
 
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University of Toronto
McGill
University of British Columbia.

Probably in that order. It would be hard to get in, but somewhat easier than the American counterparts. Ie. youd still need virtually As and Bs.
 
Cool, thanks a bunch!
 
I know this is a bit off topic but what about german universities? I've heard that Germany is a good alternative to the US for physics and maths.
 
I definitely wouldn't ignore waterloo for pure math
 
CaptainQuaser said:
I definitely wouldn't ignore waterloo for pure math

For math? I don't know. Science and engineering yes. Not sure about math.
 
But how would you know, khemix? Very recently you have started a thread that clearly demonstrates your lack of experience in math, yet here you are dishing out advice about graduate schools?

For what it's worth, Waterloo has an extremely strong combinatorics group and very strong analysis (operator algebras & harmonic analysis) and number theory groups; this is common knowledge in the Canadian mathematics community.

In general I would say that there is no "top" math graduate school, but that instead there are a lot of top people at a lot of different places. So to the original poster I would say: Formulate a list of topics that you have found interesting and could imagine yourself specializing in; then ask around your department to figure out where the "hot spots" for these topics are are. That would result in a much higher quality of feedback than you would obtain from an internet forum such as this.
 
future_phd how are you doing in the term? I remember your post a while back about being in 2A right now.

What dvs says is right, although I don't think our combinatorics group is as strong as it used to be. Brian Forrest is an extremely approachable person to talk to for pure math questions, he's also quite the analyst.
 
samspotting said:
future_phd how are you doing in the term? I remember your post a while back about being in 2A right now.

What dvs says is right, although I don't think our combinatorics group is as strong as it used to be. Brian Forrest is an extremely approachable person to talk to for pure math questions, he's also quite the analyst.

Based on what exactly do you say this? Have you compared the # of published papers from one year to another? The # of papers published in top publications? The # of citations retraceable to the group?
 
  • #10
Woah I'm just starting my third semester as well, I've never read an academic paper.
I'm just restating opinions held by most of the upper years that are in our department.
 

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