Programs and Requirements

The Mathematics Department at Smith College offers a major, a minor (in different flavors), a Masters of Arts in Teaching, as well as the new Junior Year Visiting Program for the Study of Mathematics and Post Baccalaureate Program (both sponsored by the Center for Women in Mathematics).

Many students choose to double major in Math and another major. We list some cross-listed courses that may help you achieve that.

There are about 20 majors graduating each year in the department. Math majors have very varied careers after graduation: math teachers and professors, doctors, lawyers, politicians, computer programers, financial analysts and many more... Mathematical studies not only prepare you with technical knowledge of mathematics, but also help you aquire a supple and creative mind.

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The Major

The Mathematics major has an entryway requirement, a core requirement, a depth requirement, and a total credit requirement. The entryway requirement consists of MTH 153, MTH 211, and MTH 212. An exceptionally well prepared student might place out of some of these. The core requirement is one course in algebra (MTH 233 or MTH 238) and one course in analysis (MTH 225 or MTH 243). Alternatively, a student may concentrate in statistics; students concentrating in statistics are not required to take a course in algebra but instead must complete MTH 245, MTH 246, MTH 346, and either MTH 247 or MTH 248.

Beginning with students who declare in the Fall of 2004, majors will be required to take at least one advanced course. This is the depth requirement. An advanced course is a Mathematics course at Smith numbered between 310 and 390. A total of 40 credits is required for the major. At most eight of these credits can be at the 100 level. With the approval of the department, the requirement may be satisfied by a course outside the department. Up to eight credits can be replaced by twice that number in courses from other departments or programs provided that such courses contain substantial mathematical content and the student completes a major or minor in the corresponding department or program. To determine how much credit any course taken at another institution can be counted towards her math major, a student should consult with her adviser.

Normally, all courses that are counted towards either the major or minor must be taken for a letter grade.

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The Minor(s)

The minor in mathematics consists of 211 plus 16 other credits selected from any one of the groups below. In the applied mathematics minor, four of the credits may be replaced by eight credits from the list in the description of major requirements found above or by other courses approved by the department.

Applied Mathematics Minor
153, 204, 212, 222, 225, 233, 243, 245, 246, 247, 254, 255, 264, 270, 325, 346, 353, 364, PHY 211.

Discrete Mathematics Minor
153, 270, PHI 220, 233, 238, CSC 250, 254, 255, 333, 353.

Algebra-Analysis-Geometry Minor
153, 212, 217, PHI 220, 224, 233, 238, 243, 325, 333, 342, 343.

Mathematical Statistics Minor
212, 246, 247, 248, 346.

The Minor in Applied Statistics
The minor in applied statistics consists of 5 courses: MTH 111, MTH 245, MTH 247, MTH 248 AND one (or more) from the following applications fields: BIO 260, PSY 303, SOC 203, ECON 280, MTH 246, MTH 346.

Some courses, including topics courses and Special Studies, might fall into different groups in different years depending on the material covered.

Students who have taken calculus or AP statistics in high school will not have to repeat these courses at Smith, but they will be expected to complete 5 statistics courses to satisfy the requirements for the minor. Other courses might include other applications courses taken at the ive Colleges. Approval for such courses may be granted by the statistics minor advisor.

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The Masters of Arts in Teaching

The Department of Mathematics cooperates with the Department of Education and Child Study to offer a one-year Master of Arts in Teaching program. During one summer and two semesters, MAT candidates take three courses in mathematics and all the coursework required for secondary teacher certification in Massachusetts. The program includes a semester-long internship in a local school. Applicants for the MAT program in mathematics should have an undergraduate degree in mathematics. College graduates with a different major will be considered, if their undergraduate education included a strong foundation in mathematics.

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Cross Listed and interdepartmental Courses

CSC 250 Foundations of Computer Science
CSC 252 Algorithms
CSC 274 Computational Geometry
LOG 100 Valid and Invalid Reasoning: What Follows from What?
PHI 202 Symbolic Logic
PHI 203 Topics in Symbolic Logic
PHI 220 Incompleteness and Inconsistency: Topics in the Philosophy of Logic
PHY 211 Mathematical Methods of Physical Sciences and Engineering II
QSK 101 Quantitative Skills

Other courses may be considered for credit by the department by petition.

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