Bachelor of Arts (BA)
The Department of Mathematics offers an undergraduate major in Mathematics leading to the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. The program provides an excellent preparation for advanced degrees in math, physical sciences, economics, and industrial engineering as well as graduate study in business, education, law, and medicine. The program also prepares students for post-baccalaureate positions in business, technology, industry, teaching, government, and finance.
Students majoring in Mathematics may choose to major with a teaching concentration. The teaching concentration is designed to increase the number and quality of math teachers.
Admission to the Major
Students should contact a mathematics undergraduate advisor. Contact information is available on the contact tab or here.
Honors Program
In addition to completing the requirements for the major in mathematics, students in the honors program must:
- Earn a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.5 in upper division and graduate courses in the major and at least 3.3 in all courses taken at the University.
- Complete either MATH 196, in which they will write a senior honors thesis, or pass two graduate mathematics courses with a grade of at least A-.
- Receive the recommendation of the head major advisor.
Students interested in the honors program should consult with an advisor early in their program, preferably by their junior year.
Minor Program
The department offers a minor in Mathematics.
Other Major Offered by the Department of Mathematics
Applied Mathematics (Major only)
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Mathematics is the language of science. In Galileo's words:
Philosophy is written in this grand book, the universe, which stands continually open to our gaze. But the book cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and read the characters in which it is written. It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures, without which it is impossible to understand a single word of it. Without those, one is wandering in a dark labyrinth.
Mathematics majors learn the internal workings of this language, its central concepts and their interconnections. These involve structures going far beyond the geometric figures to which Galileo refers. Majors also learn to use mathematical concepts to formulate, analyze, and solve real-world problems. Their training in rigorous thought and creative problem-solving is valuable not just in science, but in all walks of life.
Skills
By the time of graduation, majors should have acquired the following knowledge and skills:
- Analytical skills
- An understanding of the basic rules of logic.
- The ability to distinguish a coherent argument from a fallacious one, both in mathematical reasoning and in everyday life.
- An understanding of the role of axioms or assumptions.
- The ability to abstract general principles from examples.
- Problem-solving and modeling skills (important for all, but especially for majors in Applied Mathematics)
- The ability to recognize which real-world problems are subject to mathematical reasoning.
- The ability to make vague ideas precise by representing them in mathematical notation, when appropriate.
- Techniques for solving problems expressed in mathematical notation.
- Communication skills
- The ability to formulate a mathematical statement precisely.
- The ability to write a coherent proof.
- The ability to present a mathematical argument verbally.
- Majors in Mathematics with a Teaching Concentration should acquire familiarity with techniques for explaining K-12 mathematics in an accessible and mathematically correct manner.
- Reading and research skills
- Sufficient experience in mathematical language and foundational material to be well-prepared to extend one's mathematical knowledge further through independent reading.
- Exposure to and successful experience in solving mathematical problems presenting substantial intellectual challenge.
