Mathematics website

Department Chair: Julie McDonald
Office: 435 Gardner Hall
Phone: 608.342.1741
E-mail: mcdonaju@uwplatt.edu
Professors:
Barbara Barnet
David Boyles
Robert Calcaterra
Benjamin Collins
Timothy Deis
Clement Jeske
Julie McDonald
Anthony Thomas
Jason Thrun
Sheryl Wills
Associate Professors:
Mu-Ling Chang
Kevin Haertzen
Michael Ira
Miyeon Kwon
James Swenson
Irfan Ul-Haq
Assistant Professors:
Christopher Frayer
Ahyoung Kim
Leonida Ljumanovic
Fernando Miranda-Mendoza
Pamela Peters
Lecturers:
Amy Dye
Stanley Ewing
Jodean Grunow
Gerald Moore
Zehra Muslu
Academic Department Associate:
Cinda Furry

About the Department and Major

Welcome to the exciting world of mathematics. Mathematics has an extensive history of developing new ideas and enriching the sciences and engineering. With the progression of technology, mathematics has become increasingly important. It is used in areas as diverse as economics, psychology, linguistics, biology, management science, computer science and agriculture. Thus, both the mathematics major and minor provide a strong and flexible background for a variety of careers.

Students majoring in mathematics must take a core of required courses, while elective courses are chosen with regard to career goals. Students who plan to work in business, industry or engineering related fields after graduation choose their electives from applied mathematics courses such as differential equations and numerical analysis. Students planning to work as an actuary or toward an advanced degree in statistics would include upper level probability and statistics courses. Those who plan to teach would choose courses in discrete math and the history of mathematics. Students who plan to pursue graduate work in mathematics would choose theoretical courses in algebra, analysis and geometry. Students who plan to work in cryptology might select a number theory course, while students planning a career that uses mathematical modeling in the biological sciences might choose a differential equations course.

UW-Platteville graduates with a major in mathematics have pursued a variety of careers such as teachers and professors, actuaries, statisticians, financial or market analysts, researchers, computer programmers or software engineers. A degree in mathematics can open the door to many opportunities.

Mission

The purpose of the mathematics curriculum is to provide all students with quantitative skills to function proficiently in a societal and professional capacity. In addition to offering majors and minors in mathematics, the UW-Platteville Department of Mathematics offers courses to support both the general education requirements of the university and the major and minor programs of other departments. Within this mission, the department of mathematics strives to furnish an open, enlightened environment, with frequent student/faculty interaction, resulting in a high quality undergraduate education that will develop and enhance students' computational and reasoning skills.

Educational Goals and Learning Outcomes

The goals of the mathematics major at UW-Platteville are to:

  1. prepare students with the skills needed to pursue careers in education, business and industry
  2. provide a theoretical foundation that will prepare students to continue their study of mathematics or statistics at the graduate level
  3. provide students with opportunities to experience mathematics outside of their regular coursework

Upon graduation, mathematics majors at UW-Platteville should be able to:

  1. communicate mathematics effectively
  2. demonstrate a computational ability in solving a wide array of mathematical problems
  3. differentiate between valid and invalid mathematical reasoning
  4. develop mathematical ideas from basic axioms
  5. utilize mathematics to solve theoretical and applied problems
  6. identify applications of mathematics in other disciplines and in society

Placement

Initial placement of students in mathematics courses will be determined by the UW-Platteville Department of Mathematics on the basis of scores on the UW System Mathematics Placement Test or acceptable college transfer credit in mathematics. Advanced placement credit for calculus and analytic geometry is awarded only to students who satisfactorily complete the College Entrance Examination Board Advanced Placement Examination in Calculus. Upon request students will receive: 1) four credits for MATH 2640 if they receive a score of four or five on the CEEB Advanced Placement Calculus AB examination; 2) three credits for MATH 2630 if they receive a score of three on the CEEB Advanced Placement Calculus AB examination; 3) eight credits for MATH 2640 and 2740 if they receive a score of four or five on the CEEB Advanced Placement Calculus BC examination; or 4) four credits for MATH 2640 if they receive a score of three on the CEEB Advanced Placement Calculus BC examination. Credit for MATH 1830 Elementary Statistics is awarded to students having received a score of three, four or five on the CEEB Advanced Placement Statistics examination.

Students taking sequential courses in mathematics must attain a grade of "C" or better before taking the succeeding course.

Calculator Policies

Many of the courses in the department require calculators. However, there are some restrictions as to what specific types of calculators may or may not be used in specific courses. Please go to the department website to find a link to the current calculator policies.

General Requirements

Bachelor of Science Degree

Total for Graduation -- 120 credits
General Education -- 44-58 credits
Major Studies -- 40 or 64 credits
Mathematics Major OR
Mathematics Major in Secondary Education -- 40 credits
Mathematics Major with Emphasis in Actuarial Science OR
Emphasis in Finance -- 64 credits

Academic Standards

A grade of "C" or better is required in all mathematics courses counted toward degree requirements.

Mathematics Major (40 credits)

Core Requirements

Mathematics majors are required to complete all of the following:

In-Depth Experience Requirement

Mathematics majors are required to complete a more thorough study of a particular area of mathematics. This requirement may be satisfied by one of the following courses: MATH 3830 Differential Equations II, MATH 4040 Statistics and Probability or MATH 4530 Complex Variables.

Elective Requirement

  1. Mathematics majors must complete at least one of the following courses: MATH 2730 Discrete Mathematics, COMPUTER 1130 Introduction to Programming or COMPUTER 1430 Programming in C++.

In addition to the elective requirement described above, all mathematics majors must complete at least nine additional credits in mathematics. If COMPUTER 1130 or COMPUTER 1430 was chosen above, then MATH 2730 may be used here as an additional elective. Courses numbered below 2640 or between 3000 and 3100 may not be counted toward this requirement. Students seeking a double major in mathematics and engineering may count up to six credits of selected engineering courses (CIVILENG 3100, CIVILENG 3300, ELECTENG 3140, ELECTENG 4310, ENGRPHYS 3240, ENGRPHYS 3640, INDSTEND 3530, MECHNCHL 3030, MECHNCHL 3300 and MECHNCHL 3640) as mathematics electives.

Mathematics Department Residency Requirement

A student majoring in mathematics must complete at least 12 upperlevel credits in mathematics at UW-Platteville. These credits must be from courses numbered above 3100, with the exception that MATH 2730 Discrete Mathematics may be part of the 12 credits. The 12 credits completed at UW-Platteville may include repeats of courses taken at another campus.

Natural Science Requirement

All mathematics majors must successfully complete one of the following courses:

Mathematics Major in Secondary Education (40 credits)

Core Requirements

Mathematics majors in secondary education are required to complete all of the following:

Mathematics Electives Requirement

In addition to the requirements described above, all mathematics majors in secondary education must complete at least nine additional credits in mathematics. Courses numbered below 2640 or between 3000 and 3100 may not be counted toward this requirement. Students seeking a double major in mathematics-secondary education and engineering may count up to six credits of selected engineering courses ( CIVILENG 3100, CIVILENG 3300, ELECTENG 3140, ELECTENG 4310, ENGRPHYS 3240, ENGRPHYS 3640, INDSTEND 3530, MECHNCHL 3030, MECHNCHL 3300 and MECHNCHL 3640) as mathematics electives.

Mathematics Department Residency Requirement

All mathematics majors in secondary education must complete at least 12 upper-level credits in mathematics at UW-Platteville. These credits must be from courses numbered above 3100, with the exceptions that MATH 2730 Discrete Mathematics and/or MATH 3020 Teaching of Mathematics in the Middle and Secondary School may be part of the 12 credits. The 12 credits completed at UW-Platteville may include repeats of courses taken at another campus.

Computer Science Requirement

All mathematics majors in secondary education are required to complete one of the following:

Natural Science Requirement

All mathematics majors in secondary education must successfully complete one of the following courses:

NOTE:The following policies will apply when calculating the G.P.A. for (i) admission to student teaching AND (ii) application for teacher licensure:

  1. The G.P.A. will be calculated from the 40 credits of mathematics courses counted toward the major. The required computer science course and natural science course are not counted in the G.P.A. calculation.
  2. Transfer courses at the time of matriculation to UW-Platteville will be counted in the 2.75 G.P.A. calculation for mathematics majors in secondary education.
  3. Transfer courses that are not repeats of courses taken at UW-Platteville will be counted in the 2.75 G.P.A. calculation for mathematics majors in secondary education.
  4. Transfer courses that are repeats of courses taken at UW-Platteville will not be counted in the 2.75 G.P.A. calculation for mathematics majors in secondary education.

Actuarial Science Emphasis (64 credits)

TStudents completing this emphasis must complete all the requirements for the 40-credit mathematics major, including MATH 4040 Probability and Statistics as well as completing 24 credits in the following business-related courses.

In addition to these required courses, students majoring in this emphasis should also consider taking BUSADMIN 4030 Financial Decision Making.

Finance Emphasis (64 credits)

Students completing this emphasis must complete all the requirements for the 40-credit mathematics major, including MATH 4040 Probability and Statistics as well as earning a minimum of 24 credits subject to the restrictions outlined below:

Core Requirements for Business/Accounting Courses:

Electives Requirement

All mathematical majors with an emphasis in finance must successfully complete at least two of the following courses:

In addition to these required courses, students majoring in this emphasis should also consider taking the following courses:

Mathematics Minor (24 credits)

Mathematics minors must earn a minimum of 24 credits in mathematics subject to the restrictions outlined below. Credit for courses numbered below 2640 or between 3000 and 3100 may not be included in this total. The courses selected to satisfy this requirement must include:

Required Courses:

At least one course from:

Mathematics Electives Requirement

In addition to the requirements described above, all mathematics minors must complete at least nine additional credits in mathematics. Courses numbered below 2640 or between 3000 and 3100 may not be counted toward this requirement.

Mathematics Minor in Secondary Education (27 credits)

Mathematics minors in secondary education must earn a minimum of 27 credits in mathematics by completing all of the following required courses:

In addition to these requirements, all mathematics minors in secondary education must successfully complete either COMPUTER 1130 Introduction to Programming or COMPUTER 1430 Programming in C++ (or equivalent), and either CHEMSTRY 1140 General Chemistry (or CHEMSTRY 1450 Chemistry for Engineers) or PHYSICS 2240 General Physics I.

Mathematics Minor for Middle School Teachers (24 credits)

(Intended for students who are majoring in elementary and middle level education. Other students should contact the UW-Platteville Mathematics Department for details.)

Mathematics minors for middle level teachers must earn a minimum of 24 credits in mathematics by completing all of the following:

Students may substitute MATH 1530 College Algebra and MATH 2530 Trigonometry and Analytic Geometry for MATH 2450 Precalculus.

Students may substitute MATH 2640 Calculus and Analytic Geometry I for MATH 2630 Calculus with Applications.