Department of Mathematics Recognized for Excellence

The UCF Department of Mathematics ranks highly among its peers in Florida (public or private) institutions, according to data from Academic Analytics.  

UCF takes top honors in areas like author citations and number of books published by faculty, while ranking in the top for grant funding alongside the University of Florida and Florida State University.  

Mathematics Chair Professor Xin Li, Ph.D., credits a culture in the department that promotes research and curiosity.  

“Our faculty are highly productive,” he said.  

While rankings like U.S. News and World Report are based on reputation, Academic Analytics quantifies and qualifies its rankings. For instance, UCF outranks its peers in number of articles published, but the quality of the work can be measured by the number of researchers quoting and building on the published work (citations). UCF ranks No. 1 among Florida institutions in that area, too. The rankings also qualify based on number of faculty in a given department.  

Li promotes research growth by funding faculty travel to conferences and opening up campus to host other mathematicians for workshops and conferences. Those interactions foster the exchange of fresh ideas, he said. Less tangible but just as important is a peaceful atmosphere in the department that allows quiet thinking, Li said.  

“People love to come here to teach. Everybody is contributing in their own way,” Li said.  

The chair plans to capitalize on this success by boosting the graduate program and strengthening the classes that prepare students better in mathematics