Reasons to be a Math Major at Susquehanna University

• Favorable comments from our alumni.

• Mathematics is study of patterns: geometry is the study of shape, arithmetic is the study of counting, calculus is the study of change, probability is the study of chance. Everybody is intuitively aware of such patterns, so everybody is a mathematician, even if they don't realize it.

• Mathematics has been part of our cultural heritage for over 2500 years. The door to Plato's Academy in ancient Athens had inscribed over it "Let none enter here who is ignorant of mathematics."

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says jobs in computer and mathematical sciences are expected to grow quickest among all professional and related occupations in the next decade.

• Besides its traditional applications in physics and engineering, mathematics is being used more and more in other fields, such as biology, finance, and prime-time TV shows.

• The Susquehanna mathematics faculty is dedicated to teaching, and we really do like our students. Our offices are easily accessible on the ground floor of Seibert Hall, and our office doors are open.

• We offer a good variety of undergraduate courses, which can be seen in our catalog or handy chart.

• We offer a general-interest half-semester Topics course meant for non-majors. Typical topics are Math and Music, and The Mathematics of Voting. The course is also open to majors, although it does not carry major credit.

• We have no large classes. Our freshman-sophomore classes are capped at 30, and our upper level classes are capped at 20.

• Every math major gets an independent study and oral presentation experience in the Senior Colloquium course.

• In conjunction with the Business School, we offer a minor in Actuarial Science, which is the mathematics that insurance companies use to calculate risks and set premiums. We have had students intern at insurance companies in the summer after their junior year, and start their senior year with job offers in hand!

• Mathematics - Secondary Education is a major we offer in conjunction with the Education Department (which is in the same building as we are). Students preparing to become math teachers in secondary schools complete the regular math major plus some education courses and do student teaching the spring of their senior year. About a quarter of all our math majors are in this group.

• Our majors have had good success in getting into summer programs across the country. In recent summers, for example, we have had several students particpate in the Boston Summer Institute in Biostatistics.

• There are sometimes opportunities for excellent students to participate in faculty research through the university's Summer Partners program, which provides a student stipend for one-on-one summer work with faculty members.

• We provide several standard mathematics and statistics software packages over our campus network, and some others are installed in the math classroom and computer lab.

• There are math-related campus jobs available for students. The Center for Tutorial Services hires student math tutors, and the department hires homework graders for courses.

• The Department is housed on the ground floor of Seibert Hall, the second oldest building on campus, which was thoroughly remodelled in 1984. The top two floors are student dormitory, and several of our majors live up there.

∑

Π

∆

√

∞

∩

∫

≈

≠

≤