The Mathematics Major: Prerequisite Structure

This is meant as an overview; in cases where there is a discrepancy with the catalog the catalog is assumed to be correct. Consult the catalog for more specific prerequisite information.

A printable pdf version of this chart is available here.

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• all courses coloured gold,
• one course numbered x4xx (an applied math course; choose from the ones coloured blue),
• a minimum of 5 additional credits in Math courses at the 2xxx level or above,
• a course with significant mathematical application outside the discipline. Courses which meet this requirement are listed here.

To get a math major and prepare to obtain Secondary Education teaching licensure, you will need the following:

• all courses coloured gold,
• the three courses with the green border,
• a course with significant mathematical application outside the discipline. Courses which meet this requirement are listed here,
• Secondary Education has additional course requirements for admission. These requirements are found on this web site.

Required courses may not be taken S-N unless offered S-N only.

Sample four year course plan for math major.

Sample five year course plan for math major seeking Secondary Education Teaching Licensure.

Academic Advising Resources

You should check out the Academic Advising Homepage. It has many useful resources for you, from four year plans for all majors to pre-professional guides.

Also of interest is the Career Center. If you are undecided as to your major, you should start here and see what sorts of jobs people are able to get with different majors. Think carefully about what you want to do with your life-this may not be easy, and probably never ends! You need to decide what your professional goals are, and how you can go about meeting them.

And, of course, you should be familiar with the UMM Catalog.

Spring Annual Planning

What is annual planning? It is choosing the courses you want to take in the future, and ensuring that you meet all the requirements for graduation. What does this mean to you? Depends how far along you are in your studies. Here are the important details.

Some students will need signatures of their advisors to register. If you are a returning sophomore next fall, you will need to plan your next year. If you are a returning junior next fall, you will need to plan your next two years. If you have fewer than 60 credits, or are on academic probation, you will also need to talk with your advisor about annual planning because you need your advisor's permission to register.

If you are a current senior who is going to be graduating this spring--make sure your APAS will have no minuses on it by the time you finish your current courses. If you've planned carefully in the previous years, this will not be a problem.

The things to keep in mind as you do your annual planning are the following:

• Your advisor will not pick courses for you. He or she is here to help you, you need to take on the responsibility of giving your planning enough thought before you meet. UMM offers many diverse opportunities, and it is up to you to seek out the ones that appeal to you.
• Learn to read and understand your APAS. It shows what requirements you have met, and more importantly, what requirements you still need to meet in order to graduate. You will have to turn every minus into a plus before you graduate.
• If you are unsure about exactly what to take, refer to the four year plan for your major.
• Make sure you are meeting General Education Requirements.
• If you have transfer credits from another institution, or AP credits, make sure they are being properly applied in your APAS.
• Deal with any errors on your APAS immediately! They will not fix themselves, and sometimes they aren't errors. For example, if you mistakenly think something should be a plus but it really is a minus, you need to know that as soon as possible so you can incorporate that minus into your planning.

The Gen Ed Check List:

Catalog Description of Gen Ed Requirements

You need to take the First Year Seminar (FYS).

You need to take five courses which satisfy:

• One College Writing (CW),
• Two Foreign Language (FL),
• One Mathematical/Symbolic Reasoning (M/SR),
• One Artistic Performance (ArtP).

You need to take six courses of at least two credits each which satisfy:

• One Historical Perspectives (Hist),
• One Human Behaviour, Social Process and Institutions (SS),
• One Communication, Language, Literature, and Philosophy (Hum),
• One Fine Arts (FA),
• One Physical and Biological Sciences (without lab) (Sci),
• One Physical and Biological Sciences (with lab) (Sci-L).

You need to take two courses, from each of two areas, of at least two credits each, which satisfy:

• Human Diversity (HDiv),
• People and the Environment (Envt),
• International Perspective (IP),
• Ethical and Civic Responsibility (E/CR).

The Mathematics Major

Getting the requisite courses together to get a major in mathematics at UMM is relatively straightforward. The Math Discipline has a sample 4-year course plan that can get you started. Since this is a only a sample plan, you should modify it to fit your personal needs.

In addition, Prof. McQuarrie has also created a sample 5-year plan for math majors who are seeking teaching licensure. Here, your choices are somewhat restricted. Note that Geometry and History of Math are offered in alternating years, so it is very important you take them when they are offered!

The important things to keep in mind as you set up your course schedule are the following:

• You need 120 credits to graduate
• Any math credits beyond 48 credits will NOT count towards the 120 credits required to graduate. (However, you are strongly encouraged to take more than 48 credits in math and ensuring you make up the slack by taking enough non-math courses--this will result in taking more than 120 credits at UMM)
• You need to meet the Gen Ed requirements (easy to do, but make sure you do!)

You should note that for the sample plan for teaching licensure, many of the Gen Ed requirements are met by taking specific courses which are required by the Secondary Education Discipline.

The requirement that 60 credits come from outside the major will automatically be met. Since only 48 credits from the major count toward the 120 total: 120-48=72 credits will come from outside the major. I should hedge this statement by saying that this is true if you don't take a bunch of elementary or secondary education courses, wellness or sports science, or accounting courses in management (since they don't count towards the Gen Ed requirement).

Back to Math Discipline's Homepage