Work and Study Flexibility
Instructor of Mathematics, College of Lake County
By planning together, the Department of Applied Mathematics and Jeffery Mudrock forged a plan allowing him to work full-time while pursuing a Ph.D. and his career goals.
Jeffrey Mudrock (Ph.D. AMAT ’18)Jeffery Mudrock began pursuing a Ph.D. in applied mathematics at Illinois Tech in the spring semester of 2012 with hopes of boosting his career as a college math professor. He was offered a full-time job at College of Lake County the following fall semester, and considered leaving the degree program
“I was pleasantly surprised that the Illinois Tech Department of Applied Mathematics was willing to work with me and allowed me to pursue the Ph.D. part time,” Mudrock says
Mudrock earned his degree in the spring of 2018, and was promoted to a tenured professor of mathematics at College of Lake County, where he continues his research in discrete mathematics.
“I developed an undergraduate research course at the College of Lake County, using many of the open questions that I discovered while working on my Ph.D. as the starting point for research projects,” Mudrock says. “My Ph.D. adviser, Associate Professor Hemanshu Kaul and I have even co-supervised research projects conducted by both Illinois Tech and College of Lake County students.”