Mathematics Minor | Office | Website

The Minor in Mathematics is designed to enable a student to pursue his/her interest in mathematics while pursuing a degree in another field. Having a background in mathematics helps demonstrate a student’s ability to think critically, logically, and creatively. It also demonstrates his/her ability to find patterns, think abstractly, analyze and interpret data, solve problems, and make predictions in a variety of fields.

Work in mathematics is often characterized as either “pure” or “applied.” In general, this helps to describe the mathematician’s motivation and the types of problems they are interested in. (There is considerable overlap of these areas and many dispute this dichotomy.)

In pure mathematics, the primary motivational factors are aesthetic and philosophical, with an emphasis on inner coherence, rigor, beauty, and abstraction. In applied mathematics, the primary motivational factors are scientific, technological, computational, or social, with an emphasis on practical application and usefulness to other disciplines.

Pure mathematicians tend to work on problems in the field of mathematics proper and focus on generality and abstraction. Applied mathematicians often work with specialists from different disciplines to apply mathematical methods in order to solve complex problems from a variety of areas.

Students may choose a minor in Mathematics or in Applied Mathematics.

The courses for the minor are divided into four groups: Required courses; Course in “Pure” Mathematics; and Electives (courses in “Pure” or “Applied” Mathematics.)

The required courses (minimum of 18 credit hours) are given below.

Chose one additional course
Any other course numbered MTH 3000 through MTH 4690

Only 6 credits of mathematics courses that are required by the students’ major can count towards the minor. Additional electives may be taken to reach the required minimum of 18 credit hours.

Students must maintain a cumulative 2.0 (C) grade point average in all minor courses and earn a grade of ‘C’ or better in each course in order for the minor to be posted on the official transcript at the time of graduation.

Prerequisites must be satisfied if a course has them. In particular, a student must have passed Calculus I with a grade of ‘C’ or higher in order to begin the minor coursework.

At least 12 credits (or 4 courses) of the courses required for the minor must be taken at UDM unless the courses are taken as part of a consortium agreement.