Mathematics

Mathematics

Why study mathematics? Many of the new wonders that we take for granted in our modern technological society have mathematical ideas and applications as their basis, though this role is often hidden from view. Complex economic and planning decisions, scientific discoveries that improve our lives, and new technologies and products are often possible only after mathematical or statistical analysis, or a computer visualization, simulation, design and implementation based on mathematics. Therefore, mathematicians, as well as mathematically educated scientists, engineers and economists, make important daily contributions in the understanding and advancement of science, the improvement and discovery of new technology, and decision-making and planning in business, industry and government. Students interested in using their mathematical skills in solving real world problems are well prepared, by majoring or minoring in mathematics, for careers such as in the insurance industry, software design, data and systems analysis, scientific computing, combustion research, the animated movie industry, and cryptanalysis to name a few, or a graduate degree in a related technical field. Those students with a very strong interest in mathematics itself can pursue graduate study in mathematics in preparation for careers as university or college mathematics teachers and in the development of new mathematical and statistical concepts and methods as researchers in academia, government and industry.

The curriculum of the program in the Department of Mathematics is designed to provide a broad education in both theoretical and applied mathematics. It also develops the scientific knowledge and the problem solving, computing, and communications skills that are critical to a successful mathematically based career. This preparation is greatly enhanced by taking advantage of the wide variety of science and engineering courses available to students and developing good communications skills, both through technical courses and the strong humanities program. The program offers a solid grounding in the foundational areas of calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, discrete and combinatorial algebra, and probability and statistics. These basic courses are complemented by a varied selection of upper division courses for further elective study in areas such as numerical analysis, operations research, advanced statistics, mathematical modeling, optimization, and other advanced topics in mathematics. Students are encouraged to develop a strong background in an area of science or engineering through election of courses leading to a minor or double major. By appropriate course selection students may complete a double major in mathematics and another field such as computer science, physics, chemistry, applied biology, or economics.

PROGRAM GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
To provide a foundation for further learning as well as contributing to the general education of students, the programs at Rose-Hulman all have a heavy investment in mathematics and science in the first two years. The freshman and sophomore mathematics curriculum is designed to contribute to this foundation by ensuring that students are familiar with basic mathematical and statistical concepts, and mathematical and statistical reasoning and modeling. Students will also understand the use of mathematics in other disciplines as well as developing an appreciation of mathematics as a discipline in its own right. In addition, students will learn to be competent users of mathematics, especially in problem solving, and be able to effectively communicate mathematically. The curriculum makes strong use of computer methods to develop students’ mathematical understanding and to enhance their ability to use the computer in modeling, computation and problem solving.

For students seeking a major in mathematics, the curriculum prepares them for a mathematically based career after graduation or further graduate study. The major builds upon the goals and objectives of the freshman and sophomore curriculum. In addition to a deeper and broader study of mathematics, majors will further develop their ability to formulate and solve problems from a mathematical perspective, become familiar with the use of mathematics in other fields, and develop competence at the application of mathematics to at least one other field. Graduates will also be able to use technology effectively in mathematics and the application of mathematics. To complement these technical skills graduates will learn the professional skills of effective communication with both technical and non-technical audiences and the ability to work cooperatively with others.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Major Concentrations: Mathematics majors choose to complete their program in one of four concentrations: Mathematics, Continuous Applied Mathematics, Discrete Applied Mathematics, or Statistics and Operations Research. The Mathematics concentration provides the foundational mathematical depth of a traditional mathematics major and is intended for students planning on graduate study in an area of mathematics. In applied mathematics there are two areas: the Continuous Applied Mathematics concentration and the Discrete Applied Mathematics concentration. Students selecting these concentrations may tailor their programs to interface with another major or to enhance industrial employment or graduate school opportunities. The Statistics and Operations Research concentration is recommended for students pursuing careers in actuarial science, graduate study in statistics, or employment in government or industry in a statistical capacity. It is strongly recommended that students considering graduate education in mathematics include MA 376 Abstract Algebra among their elective mathematics courses. Upon graduation a student may request the Head of the Mathematics Department to issue a letter attesting to the fact that the requirements in the chosen concentration have been completed.

Mathematics Coursework Requirements: All mathematics majors must complete a common core consisting of 39 credit hours of mathematics coursework, which provides breadth across the main areas of mathematics. A mathematics major must also complete an additional 12 credit hours of mathematics coursework specified for the selected major concentration plus an additional 12 credit hours earned in free elective mathematics or biomathematics courses. In addition, a mathematics major must complete 8 credit hours of either a senior thesis or project, meant as a capstone experience to the major. A total of 71 credit hours of mathematics courses is required for the major. None of the credits in the 71 hours above may be taken from the courses MA190, MA351-MA356, MA450 or MA223 (unless approved by the department head). These courses (except MA190) may be taken as free electives. Finally, a student taking a degree program in which mathematics is the primary major must also take MA190. A student whose second major is mathematics is not required to take MA 190, but is strongly encouraged to do so.

SUGGESTED SCHEDULE
The schedule (Course Sequence) to the right, is a suggested schedule only. Scheduling of courses may be altered, subject to the approval of the advisor, in order to take advantage of advanced placement or to accommodate a second major, area minor or other special program. However, note that some courses are offered only at certain times during the year, and all prerequisites must be met. In the schedule an MA elective is either a concentration elective or free math elective, as described above, and a science elective is a physical or life science elective as defined on this page.

Alternate Science Schedule: The recommended science schedule of six science courses starts with PH 111. If CHEM 111 is required in the fall quarter because of a double major or minor, then the alternate science sequence may be completed by taking the second science course in each place where a choice is given. Two science courses are to be taken in the winter quarter of freshman year.

Computational Science Major (CPLS) (Second Major Only)

Computational methods are widely employed in science and engineering for simulation, experimentation, analysis, and design. In many areas the use of high-performance computing is essential. The Computational Science major provides Rose-Hulman students with the opportunity to add to their primary major a second major that increases their knowledge and skill in applied scientific and engineering computation. Learn more.

AREA MINOR IN MATHEMATICS
Any student not pursuing a major or second major in either mathematics or in biomathematics may obtain an area minor in mathematics by taking 10 or more mathematics courses as follows: 

• Six courses in foundational mathematics 
  • Calculus, Differential Equations and Matrix Algebra: MA 111, MA 112, MA 113, MA 211, MA 212
  • Basic Probability and Statistics or Basic Statistics: one of MA 223, MA 381, or MA382
• Sixteen additional credit hours of “upper division” courses:
  • Courses selected from MA 275, all MA courses numbered 300 or higher (except MA351-356 and MA450), all BMTH courses numbered 300 or higher (except BMTH 496-498), or other MA courses approved by the minor advisor for mathematics.

Approval and Math Minor Form
All area minors must be approved by the area minor advisor and the student’s advisor. The department has a form for the planning and approval of a mathematics minor.

Notes and Limitations on Requirements:

• Almost all students are required to take six foundational courses as a requirement for their major; therefore only four "extra courses" are required for most students.
• Only MA111, MA112, MA113, MA211, MA212 and one of MA223, MA381, or MA382 can be counted towards any combination of the multiple minors offered by the mathematics department.
• No student can take both MA 371 and MA 373 for credit.
• No student can take both MA223 and MA382 for credit
• Except as noted above, if MA 381 is being counted towards the four additional courses then, MA 223 may be taken and counted towards the Basic Probability and Statistics.
• Science and engineering, especially the most recent "high tech" developments, have sophisticated mathematical and statistical concepts and methodologies as their foundation. Thus a well chosen set of courses for a mathematics minor (or a second major in mathematics) will greatly enhance a student's analytical and computational skills. Students thinking of going on to graduate school should especially give consideration to this option.

AREA MINOR IN COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE
Any student may obtain an area minor in Computational Science by taking the following courses:

• Five courses in foundational mathematics: MA111, MA112, MA113, MA211,  MA212
• Basic computing course: CSSE 120 or departmental equivalent of at least 4 credit hours
• Introductory Computational Science courses:
  • MA332 Introduction  to Computational Science
  • MA342 Computational Modeling
• Four credit hours of applied Computational Science course from list A
• Four credit hours of additional Computational Science course from list B

List A: Applied Computational Science courses

• MA323 – Geometric Modeling
• MA439 – Mathematical Methods of Image Processing
• MA444 – Deterministic Models in Operations Research
• CSSE351 – Computer Graphics
• CSSE451 - Advanced Computer Graphics
• CSSE413 – Artificial Intelligence
• CSSE453 – Topics in Artificial Intelligence
• CSSE461 – Computer Vision
• CSSE463 - Image Recognition
• CE522 - Advanced Finite Element Analysis
• ME422 – Finite Elements for Engineering Applications
• ME427 - Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics
• ME511 - Numerical Methods for Dynamic Systems Analysis
• ME522 - Advanced Finite Elements Analysis
• 4XX – Introduction to MEMS:Fabrication and Applications
• 5XX – Advanced Topics in MEMS
• CHE521 – Advanced Chemical Engineering Computation
• BE510 – Biomedical Signal and Image Processing
• EMGT526 - Technology Forecasting
• MA534/EMGT534 - Management. Science
• ECE420 - Nonlinear Control Systems
• ECE480//PH437 – Introduction to Image Processing
• ECE582/PH537 – Advanced Image Processing
• ECE483 - DSP System Design

List B: Additional Computational Science courses

• MA/CSSE335 - Introduction to Parallel Computing
• MA433 - Numerical Analysis
• MA434 – Topics in Numerical Analysis
• MA348 - Continuous Optimization
• MA446 - Combinatorial Optimization
• CSSE304 - Programming Language Concepts
• CSSE371 - Software Requirements and Specification

Electives not on list A or B may be substituted with other courses with the approval of the area minor advisor. 

The minor must be approved by the area minor advisor for Computational Science and the student's advisor. The department has a form for the planning and approval of a minor.

Notes and limitations on requirements

• Almost all students are required to take the five foundational courses as a requirement for their major
• Most majors should be able to apply the basic computing requirement and/or one of the elective courses towards their major.
• Math majors or double majors are not allowed to count MA332 and MA342 for both the minor and the major.
• A student may not apply the four upper-division courses toward both this minor and a math or statistics minor.

AREA MINOR IN STATISTICS
Any student not pursuing a major or second major in mathematics nor in biomathematics may obtain an area minor in statistics by taking ten or more mathematics courses (43 credit hours) including the following:

• 19 credit hours - Foundational Mathematics Courses:
  • MA 111 Calculus I
  • MA 112 Calculus II
  • MA 113 Calculus III
  • MA 212 Differential Equations and Matrix Algebra
• 8 credit hours - Required Statistics and Probability Courses
  • MA 381 Introduction to Probability with Applications to Statistics
  • One of the following:
  • MA223 Engineering Statistics I
  • MA382 Introduction to Statistics with Probability 
  • If MA 381 is taken before MA223/MA382, it will be strongly recommended the student take MA382 instead of MA223.
• 16 credit hours - Secondary Statistics Courses
  • Four courses selected from the following list, at least two of which must be starred (*). Statistics courses not on this list may count towards the minor if approved by the statistics minor advisor.
  • MA 383*  Engineering Statistics II
  • MA 385   Quality Methods
  • MA 386*  Statistical Programming
  • MA 387   Statistical Methods in Six Sigma
  • MA 445   Stochastic Models in Operations Research
  • MA 481   Mathematical Statistics
  • MA 482*  Bioengineering Statistics
  • MA 485*  Applied Regression and Time Series Analysis
  • MA 487*  Design of Experiments
  • MA 480   Topics in Probability and Statistics

All area minors in Statistics must be approved by the statistics minor advisor and the student's advisor. The department has a form for the planning and approval of a statistics minor.

Notes and Limitations on Requirements

• Almost all students are required to take the foundational mathematics courses plus one probability or statistics course as a requirement for their major; therefore, only five "extra courses” are required for most students.
• Only MA111, MA112, MA113, MA211, MA212 and one of MA223, MA381, or MA382 can be counted towards any combination of the multiple minors offered by the mathematics department.
• No student can take both MA223 and MA382 for credit.