Majors

THE MATHEMATICS MAJOR: Students majoring in mathematics fulfill the departmental requirements by completing nine courses in mathematics or computer science: eight of the courses must be at the 200 level or above, to include MA200, 202, MA215 or MC215, MA303, 319, 376, and two additional courses, at least one of which is at the 300 level. Students must also complete CS106. Under exceptional circumstances, and only with the consent of the department, MA371, 372, 381, or 382 may be counted as the additional 300-level course. CS318 may not be counted toward the major. Courses counting toward the major may not be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory.

HONORS: Students wishing to qualify for departmental honors in the mathematics major must:

1. complete all departmental requirements for the mathematics major and have a GPA of 3.50 or higher for all course work (MA, MC, and CS) taken in the department;
   
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3. have a GPA of 3.0 for all course work taken at Skidmore;
   
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5. file with the department, by the end of the official add-drop period of the spring semester of the senior year, a declaration of intention to qualify for honors; and
   
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7. submit an honors thesis or project to be read by a review committee, and give an oral presentation of the thesis or project to the department.

The review committee will evaluate the thesis or project to determine if it is of the exceptional quality which merits honors; the committee's recommendation will be submitted to the department for final adjudication.

INTERDEPARTMENTAL MAJORS: The department offers an economics-mathematics major in cooperation with the Department of Economics and a business-mathematics major in cooperation with the Department of Business. See Interdepartmental Majors.

Note regarding mathematics and science majors: Students who plan to take calculus should take the online placement exam prior to the beginning of classes. Based on this exam, the Department will recommend which course in the sequence the student should begin with. Most frequently, prospective mathematics or science majors elect MA111 in the fall semester and 113 in the spring semester of their first year. Prospective mathematics or science majors with weak preparation in mathematics may be recommended to take MA108 in the fall semester followed by MA109 in the spring. First-year students with advanced placement who take MA113 in the fall should register for MA200 at the same time if they plan to continue into MA202 in the spring.

Students interested in learning how to use computers to solve problems in the quantitative disciplines should consider the courses: CS102, 103, 106, and MS104.