Applied Mathematics Concentration
Since the beginning, mathematics and its applications were intertwined. Geometry developed in support of the great civil engineering projects of Egypt and Greece. At least since the time of Newton, physical science and mathematics developed in tandem, as can be seen from the fact that many of the major ideas in our discipline have been re-discovered by researchers in the physical sciences and engineering. In recent years, other disciplines have become increasingly mathematical. To a large degree, economics and finance are now the study of specialized mathematical models, and the social sciences use game theory, probability, and statistics as the organizing tools for much of their research. The same is true of industrial applications. Without the insights of operations research, modern industry would not be able to achieve the levels of efficiency required to prosper. Modern biology uses differential equations to study population growth, predator-prey interactions, and the inner workings of cells. These new applications, coupled with remarkable advances in computing, have created whole new fields of mathematics within the last twenty-five years.
Concentration Requirements
The applied mathematics concentration is designed for students who want to pursue applications of mathematics or a double major in mathematics and another discipline. Students who plan to seek employment immediately after graduating and who want to develop specific skills may be well served by the applied track. Students who plan to pursue graduate study in applied mathematics may be better served by acquiring a strong background in the fundamental branches of modern mathematics via the standard track. Students should develop their own program of study in consultation with their professors. Students interested in applications should also consult with the department's chief academic advisor.
The major requirements of the Applied Mathematics Concentration are:
- A core consisting of Math 111 or 131, 112 or 132, 211, 212 or 213, and 214;
- At least one of Math 307 and 311; (Students are encouraged to take both. Check with the faculty to determine which is more essential to the applied area that you elect to study.)
- Completing the Major Writing Requirement and the Computer Proficiency Requirement;
- Excluding Math 490 and Math 495/496, at least five distinct three-credit courses at the 300-400 level, chosen from four applied areas listed below and distributed as follows:
- Breadth requirement: three distinct courses, one in each of three of the four applied areas listed below;
- Depth requirement: three courses within one of the four areas below. One of these courses may be one of the courses satisfying the breadth requirement. The four applied areas within the applied concentration, and their associated courses, are:
- Computational Mathematics: Math 408, 413, 414, CSCI 303, CSCI 423, CSCI 426, CSCI 420, and (with permission of the Mathematics department chair and the instructor) any other courses in the Computational Operations Research program, taken as independent study courses;
- Operations Research: Math 323, 424, and (with permission of the Mathematics department chair and the instructor) any other courses in the Computational Operations Research program, taken as independent study courses. In addition, if a student elects to fulfill the depth requirement in Operations Research, then (and only then) Math 401 may be counted toward Operations Research rather than toward Probability and Statistics;
- Probability and Statistics: Math 351, 352, 401, 452, 459 and (with permission of the Mathematics department chair and the instructor) CSCI 616 and CSCI 680 taken as independent study courses;
- Scientific Applications: Math 302, 345, 405, 408, 417, 441, 442, Physics 475, and (with permission of the Mathematics department chair and the instructor) CSCI 616 and CSCI 680 taken as independent study courses.
The department chair may allow appropriate sections of Math 380 and Math 410 to count toward applied areas in this concentration. In addition to the CS141 computing proficiency requirement, students in the applied concentration must demonstrate proficiency in CSCI 241; this is normally done by taking and passing the course.
