The Department of Mathematics and Statistics forms a major component of science, technology, education, and research across a thriving and entrepreneurial campus that values and supports interdisciplinary and collaborative studies and transformative research. The department houses over forty faculty and staff, including more than twenty tenured and tenure-track faculty, over ten full-time non-tenure-track faculty (teaching professors and instructors), several lecturers, three professional staff members, and student employees. Please visit our Directory to find more information regarding our administration, mathematics faculty, statistics faculty, graduate students, and professional staff members.
Our department is ranked highly active in research and is consistently ranked as one of the leading research departments in the state of Mississippi. Department faculty conduct research in the areas of algebra, analysis, applied statistics, applied and theoretical probability, combinatorics, computational and applied mathematics, data science, differential equations, statistical theory, and topology. Faculty and students collaborate widely across departments, colleges, and institutes, with established national and international collaborations. Faculty research is supported by external grants from a variety of agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and a range of prestigious fellowships.
Many of our faculty also excel at teaching. Our department head, Dr. Mohsen Razzaghi, is a Giles Distinguished Professor. In addition, several of our instructors have won prestigious teaching awards:
- John Grisham Master Teaching Award (the highest award given for teaching at Mississippi State University)
- Kim Walters (2013)
- Robert Banik (2018)
- Jacob Tschume (2022)
- Amber Robinson (2024)
- State Pride Faculty Award
- Kim Walters (2010)
- Robert Banik (2011)
- Donald Zacharias Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award
- Amber Robinson (2021)
- Danielle Young (2023)
- Robert E. Wolverton Legacy Award
- Kim Walters (2023)
The department offers undergraduate BA and BS degrees, master’s degrees in both mathematics and statistics, and a Ph.D. in mathematical sciences (with two concentrations—Mathematics or Statistics). More information about the degrees that are offered can be found on the tab related to the Undergraduate program or the tab related to the Graduate program.
The department runs a Math Club for undergraduate students that meets weekly where the students participate in activities ranging from solving fun and challenging problems to playing games. The department also runs a Statistical Consulting Center where members from other units on campus can acquire help in data analysis. Furthermore, several of our faculty members and graduate students are actively involved in various mathematical and statistical organizations, such as the American Mathematical Society and the American Statistical Association. To learn more about these organizations and how you can get involved, see Organizations and Links.
Finally, our department has several Professors Emeritus who remain connected to the University and are active in research, whose names can be found below. For contact information of Professors Emeritus, please contact the Department of Mathematics and Statistics main office.
Professors Emeritus
- Dr. Corlis Johnson
- Dr. Len Miller
- Dr. Vivian Miller
- Dr. Michael Neumann
- Dr. Seth Oppenheimer
More generally, Mississippi State University (MSU) is the leading research university in the state, a comprehensive Carnegie R1 (Very High Research Activity) campus that serves more than 23,000 students. Known for its campus beauty and as the home of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, MSU is enhanced by robust relationships with the surrounding area and is further recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the strength of its community engagement. For seven consecutive years, MSU has been named as a “Great College to Work For” by the Chronicle of Higher Education and featured in their higher distinction category of “Great Colleges Honor Roll” list. A founding member of the Southeastern Conference with a strong athletic heritage, MSU thrives on its land-grant mission to serve and inspire the people of Mississippi and is proud to be among the 10 percent of U.S. colleges and universities that shelter a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Located in the growing city of Starkville, Mississippi’s College Town, we are situated within a short drive of more than 120,000 acres of state and federal natural areas, with abundant opportunities for recreation.