2010-2011 Academic Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2010-2011 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Mathematics Minor


Overview


Undergraduate Program


The department supports undergraduate majors and minors in computer science and in mathematics. The computer science program is described in the computer-science portion of this catalog. The department also offers courses that play an important role in other disciplines.

In keeping with liberal-arts traditions, Clark’s mathematics major provides a solid education in mathematical principles for students who wish to apply mathematics in other fields and students who wish to pursue mathematics in graduate school. Clark mathematics majors have gone on to graduate school in pure mathematics, applied mathematics and computer science at such universities as Brown, Cornell, NYU (Courant Institute), and Stonybrook. Graduates are employed in the public and private sectors as statisticians, mathematical modellers and actuaries, as well as teachers from the elementary to university level.

The mathematics major, built around a core of fundamental courses, is best started early with calculus (MATH 120  - MATH 121  or MATH 124  - MATH 125 ) in the first year. Advanced electives provide some flexibility and allow students to tailor the major to their needs.

Visiting Faculty


Herman Servatius, Ph.D.

Emeriti Faculty


John Kennison, Ph.D.

Program Minor


The mathematics minor consists of the following: calculus sequence (MATH 120 -MATH 121 -122 or MATH 124 -MATH 125 ); MATH 130 - Linear Algebra ; MATH 131 - Multivariate Calculus ; and two other mathematics courses (excluding MATH 113  and MATH 119 ), at least one of which must be 200 level. (Reading courses and internships are accepted only with departmental approval.) The two elective courses depend on the student’s interest. For instance, a student interested in the physical sciences could take MATH 172 - Introduction to Modern Analysis  and MATH 244 - Differential Equations , while MATH 217 -MATH 218  Probability and Statistics, and Topics in Statistics might be more appropriate for social sciences. See the department for further suggestions. Total: six or seven courses, depending on student’s choice of calculus sequence.