Mar 19, 2024  
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Mathematics, B.S.


Degree Requirements


The Bachelor of Science degree requires a minimum of 61 credits. The Bachelor of Arts degree requires a minimum of 50 credits, and a minor in mathematics requires a minimum of 31 credits. These are allocated below between core requirements, upper-division mathematics/statistics elective requirements and supplementary elective requirements.

For all mathematics majors and minors, a common core of courses is required. These core requirements are the same for candidates for the Bachelor of Arts and for mathematics minors. Candidates for the Bachelor of Science degree must complete three additional courses for their core requirements.

Note:


  1. Core requirements MATH 151 , MATH 152 , CMSC 201  are fulfilled by sufficiently high scores on AP or CLEP or IB examinations. See Appendices of this catalog for details.
  2. The sequence MATH 140 , MATH 141 , MATH 142  is equivalent to MATH 151 , MATH 152 . Students may not receive credit for both sequences.
  3. Students may need to take CMSC 104  prior to CMSC 201 .

Core Requirements for the Bachelor of Science Degree


In addition to the core requirements listed above, the Bachelor of Science degree requires the following:

Note:


The above cannot be used to fulfill mathematics elective requirements or supplementary elective requirements.

Mathematics/Statistics Elective Requirements


After completion of the core requirements, each major or minor is required to take a certain number of additional three- or four-credit mathematics or statistics courses numbered 300 or higher. MATH 380 , STAT 350  and STAT 351 , designed for other majors, are not allowed to meet the requirements below. MATH 432  may not be used as a mathematics elective, but it may be used as a supplementary elective. NOTE: MATH 432  and MATH 481  are GEP writing intensive courses.

Note:


For the B.S. in Mathematics, at least three of the mathematics/statistics electives must be at the 400 level.

Supplementary Requirements


Mathematics and statistics have proven indispensable in many disciplines in the physical sciences, the social sciences and even in the humanities and arts. Much of mathematics and statistics has developed with a view toward its applications in other fields. To develop an appreciation of the connection, mathematics majors are required to take three courses for the B.A. and two courses for the B.S. additional to the core from other departments reflecting these interconnections. These are listed below. From time to time, special topics courses offered by other departments may be used to satisfy supplementary requirements, subject to departmental approval. Occasionally mathematics or statistics courses are cross-listed in other departments. Taken under the other department these count as supplementary electives. Mathematics minors are not subject to these supplementary requirements.

*Note:*None of the mathematics electives nor the supplementary electives are elective except for choices within categories; all are required by the certificate program in mathematics education.

Courses for Supplementary Requirements


General Education Requirements for Mathematics Majors


Mathematics majors who are considering courses to satisfy General Education Requirements will satisfy the biological/physical science requirements if they take PHYS 121  and PHYS 122  and a lab course. For the social science (SS) General Education Requirement, good choices would be ECON 101  and ECON 102 , which are prerequisite to supplementary requirement courses ECON 311 , ECON 374 , ECON 417  and ECON 421 . These are recommended in particular for those pursuing the specialty in actuarial science or, to a lesser extent, specialties in statistics science or optimization and operations research. PHIL 146  and PHIL 248  are recommended as choices for AH General Education Requirement courses. The latter is also a supplementary requirement for the major. Note that those pursuing the Bachelor of Science degree need only take one culture course. Both MATH 432  and MATH 481  satisfy the GEP writing intensive requirements. Students may also wish to consider ENGL 393 .

Note: Before registering in any mathematics course up to MATH 151  or MATH 155 , students must have completed a placement test administered by the Learning Resources Center if they have not completed the prerequisite college-level course with a “C” or better. This is normally done prior to the first semester at UMBC.

Passage of AP Calculus exams with a suitable score is considered the equivalent of MATH 150 , MATH 151  or MATH 152 . The AP Statistics exam with a score of 4 or 5 is equal to STAT 121 .

Otherwise students must complete MATH 106  with a “C” or better. Even higher algebra skills are recommended for MATH 150  or MATH 155 .

The specific courses listed as prerequisites indicate the level of maturity necessary for the course. A student who does not have a formal prerequisite for a particular course must request the consent of the instructor to take that course. Prerequisites for all mathematics courses must be satisfied with a grade of “C” or better.

All courses for major or minor requirements must be passed with a grade of “C” or better.