Hi there, I am currently looking left and right for a math PhD by research program from a decent university with reasonable price tag. Obviously I have to look at outside of the US because such program generally exists only in commonwealth countries, and of course UNISA is the most immediate candidate. So here is my question: Do you know of any other universities beside UNISA, especially those from western hemisphere, that offer math PhD by research? Thank you for your time. PS. Just for your info, Malaysia, a former British colony, has universities with long tradition of PhD program by research, but I doubt they have pure math specialization. Malaysia is still a developing country, therefore its universities are still focusing on applied subjects.
There are a number of British universities that offer a PhD in Mathematics by research, York, Birmingham and Leicester to name a few. Whether they would allow that research to be completed at a large distance remains an open question. The key, as has been said before, is to find a faculty member willing to support your research under such conditions. Scan the faculty to see if their areas of research interests approach your own. If the answer is no then it would seem unlikely that anyone would extend themselves unduly. I would also suggest that you look through the list of Australian universities. There are only a handful and you could easily run through them in an evening. Good luck.
Just whatever you do, don't end up in a nontenured teaching position: Solving an Unsolvable Math Problem - The New Yorker "There are people who try to work nontenure jobs, of course, but usually they’re nuts and have very dysfunctional personalities and lives, and are unpleasant to deal with, because they feel disrespected."
The only English-speaking universities on the Commonwealth model in the Western Hemisphere would be in the Caribbean. The University of the West Indies would be the most long-standing of those schools, I would enquire with their Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad campuses separately, they're largely autonomous. You might also try the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Thanks, I will certainly check them out, this is the fist time I know of them. One side question if you will: I am late in responding this posting because I had thought forum will alerts me by email if I get response. Am I wrong? Thanks again.
I resurrected this thread in order to post this article on the 10 hardest math problems that remain unsolved. I'll bet that if you solved one you could get yourself one of those Math PhDs by research. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/math/g29251596/impossible-math-problems/