Other Opportunities
In addition to their research, coursework, and teaching, graduate students at Yale have a number of additional mathematical opportunities available to them.
Graduate student seminars:
One of the cornerstones of graduate life in the department is the weekly graduate student seminar (GSS), held Fridays from 12:30-1:45, where students have a chance to present to their peers about their research, their reading, or any other mathematics they are interested in. Faculty are strictly prohibited from attending. Any questions about this seminar should be directed to the current organizers, Fernando Al Assal and Elijah Fromm.
In addition to GSS, students often form informal seminars and reading groups around topics of interest. Sometimes these groups are supervised by a faculty member, but more often, these are entirely student–run. These reading seminars give students a chance to learn mathematics which they might otherwise not be exposed to, or to do a close reading of a paper or series of papers; they also serve as venues for students to practice lecturing on advanced topics.
Mentoring and outreach:
Graduate students can also take an active role in mentoring undergraduates through Yale’s Directed Reading Program or by serving as a research advisor in the SUMRY program.
As a SUMRY mentor, rather than teaching the students mathematics it was my job to teach them how to perform mathematics: how to ask questions, how to respond to getting stuck, how to approach a strange new idea and take its measure. It was a stimulating, productive, and fun summer for me.
Michael Landry, graduate student and 2014 SUMRY mentor