Elizabeth Wilmer, Professor, Department Chair
Robert A. Bosch, Professor
Jack Calcut, Assistant Professor
Susan Jane Colley, Andrew and Pauline Delaney Professor
Kay M. Knight, Lecturer
Christoph A. Marx, Assistant Professor
Michael W. Raney, Visiting Assistant Professor
Lauren A. Thompson. Assistant Professor
James A. Walsh, Professor
Jeffrey Alvin Witmer, Professor
Kevin Woods, Associate Professor
Robert M. Young, James F. Clark Professor
As mathematics is both a technical and cultural field of study, the curriculum is planned with the following varied objectives: (1) to offer students an introduction to mathematics as an important area of human thought; (2) to prepare students for graduate study in pure or applied mathematics, and in such related fields as statistics and operations research; (3) to serve the needs of students in fields that rely substantially on mathematics, such as the physical, biological, social and information sciences, engineering, and business administration; and (4) to provide liberal arts students with an introduction to the kinds of mathematical and quantitative thinking important in the contemporary world.
Students seeking guidance in the selection of courses are strongly urged to confer with a member of the department, all of whom are happy to be consulted. The following information will provide a preliminary basis for making plans and choices.
Placement Exams. Students wishing to enroll in an entry-level calculus course (MATH 131, 132, or 133) must take the Calculus Readiness Exam (which covers precalculus only). Likewise, students wishing to enroll in an entry-level statistics course (STAT 113 or 114) must take the Statistics Readiness Exam. Placement exams are given twice during orientation. At other times they may be taken online or by arrangement with the Mathematics Department Administrative Assistant. Please note that all students, regardless of their examination scores, are encouraged to consult with a member of the Mathematics Department or Statistical Methods Committee concerning their placement in the mathematics or statistics curriculum.
Important Note: Only students interested in MATH 131, 132 or 133 or STAT 113, 114 need to take a
placement exam. Students who need work in algebra or other basic quantitative skills should consult the
“Learning Assistance Program” section of this catalog.
Advanced Placement. Students who have taken one of the College Board Advanced Placement Program examinations in calculus, or the examination in statistics, will receive credit as follows. Students scoring 4 or 5 on the BC examination in calculus receive credit for two full academic courses, equivalent to MATH 133 and 134. Students scoring 3 on the BC examination in calculus with an AB sub-score of 4 or 5 receive credit for one full academic course, equivalent to MATH 133. Students scoring 4 or 5 on the AB examination in calculus receive credit for one full academic course, equivalent to MATH 133. No credit is given for scores on the examination in statistics; however, students scoring a 3 or higher are encouraged to enroll in STAT 215.
Students given credit for MATH 133 or 134 in this way do not need to take the Calculus Readiness Exam or the Statistics Readiness Exam. They are encouraged to place themselves at the appropriate level in the mathematics or statistics curriculum according to the guidelines below (see Initial Placement and Course Sequence Suggestions) in consultation with a member of the Mathematics Department or the Statistical Methods Committee.
Students who have taken International Baccalaureate exams and received a High Level score of 6 or 7 will receive credit for Math 133 and 134. Those who received a high level score of 5 will receive credit for Math 133.
Initial Placement and Course Sequence Suggestions. Students who wish to continue their study of mathematics can choose among the following courses:
Courses Without Prerequisites. Students who wish to satisfy the Quantitative and Formal Reasoning (QFR) requirement, or who want to take a course in mathematics (simply out of curiosity) are encouraged to consider the courses with numbers less than 100.
Entry-level Statistics Courses. Students whose primary interest is in the social, behavioral, or biological sciences and who have no need for calculus are encouraged to consider enrolling in STAT 113–Introduction to Statistics or STAT 114–Introduction to Biostatistics. (See the Statistical Methods Section.) These courses presuppose good algebra skills and require an appropriate score on the Statistics Readiness Exam. Students with a score of 3 or higher on the Advanced Placement examination in Statistics should consider enrolling in STAT 215–Statistics and Modeling.
Entry-level Calculus Courses. Students whose interests are in mathematics, or in a field requiring calculus, and who have not yet taken calculus, will normally enroll in MATH 131–Calculus Ia: Limits, Continuity, and Differentiation, or in MATH 133–Calculus I: Limits, Continuity, Differentiation, Integration, and Applications. The particular course, MATH 131 or MATH 133, depends on the student’s score on the Calculus Readiness Exam. Note that students who wish to continue with calculus after completing MATH 131 should take its sequel, MATH 132–Calculus Ib: Integration and Applications. The two semester sequence MATH 131, 132 is equivalent to the more intensive single semester course, MATH 133.
Courses Following Entry-level Calculus. Students whose secondary-school preparation includes satisfactory work in calculus equivalent to MATH 133, obtained in the College Board Advanced Placement Program or a comparable course of study, as well as students who have completed either MATH 132 or 133, can continue their study of calculus with MATH 134–Calculus II: Special Functions, Integration Techniques, and Power Series. This course completes a standard year-long introduction to the calculus of functions of one variable.
Courses Following Calculus. Students who have completed MATH 134 or have been granted credit for this course through the College Board Advanced Placement Program or a comparable course of study can register for any of several intermediate level courses, MATH 220–Discrete Mathematics or MATH 231–Multivariable Calculus or MATH 232–Linear Algebra or MATH 234-Differential Equations. Students planning to major in mathematics are strongly encouraged to enroll in MATH 220 before taking MATH 232.
First-year students should not register for a 300-level mathematics course without consulting a member of the Mathematics Department.