Mathematics

Overview

Mathematics, encompassing several of the original liberal arts, is valued for its exquisite intellectual beauty and its timeless exploration of all things spatial, quantitative and patterned through the lens of rigorous abstraction. As a vibrant modern science, it possesses an unparalleled analytical power for describing, detailing and deriving insight into numerous physical, biological, technological, economic and societal aspects of the world we all live in. The Mathematics department is committed to engaging a diverse range of students in the active study and creative application of the principles, ideas, and methods that characterize mathematics and the mathematical sciences, and offering preparation toward a wide variety of careers and educational pursuits.

Upon graduation, some mathematics majors go on to graduate or professional school while others begin careers in teaching, business, industry, or government. The major can be structured to provide a solid foundation in the mathematical sciences-pure and applied mathematics, statistics, and operations research-and fields close to mathematics like computer science, actuarial science, and engineering. A major or minor in mathematics can also provide an excellent technical and theoretical complement to a major or minor in other fields.

Requirements

Major

The minimum requirements for the major outlined below allow a student great flexibility in designing a course of study to meet their own intellectual and career goals.

Fundamental courses

Advanced Courses

All students must complete either MATH 310 or MATH 320, and twenty additional units units of Mathematics courses numbered 310 or above (excluding courses being used to satisfy the Comprehensive Requirement).  MATH 397 may be used to meet this requirement.

Colloquium Requirement

Breadth requirement

Students must take one course from the following approved list of courses (students can petition the department to have a course not on the list count for the breadth requirement): 

The Mathematics department has prepared guidelines for majors considering future study or careers in pure and applied mathematics, education, actuarial science, and computer science. These guidelines are available in the Students section on our website.

Honors in the Major

Students who wish to be considered for honors in Mathematics should have a grade point average of at least at a 3.5 in the fundamental courses. Honors students must also complete three approved upper-division courses beyond those required for the major by the end of their senior year (for a total of 36 units). Honors students must obtain signed approval from a mentor by the end of the junior year, and must enroll in MATH 499 for the fall semester of senior year. For  Honors students, MATH 499 is substituted for MATH 400 in satisfying the major requirements. To receive honors, a student must write a paper as well as give a talk to the department on the topic of the paper.  The paper, which typically will be 20 pages long, is graded by the mentor along with a second reader; the entire department evaluates the talk, which is typically at least 30 minutes long.  The paper and talk must both be completed no later than April 1 of the Honors candidate's senior year.  Consult the Mathematics Department for additional details.

Minor

The minor in Mathematics requires at least 20 units of Mathematics courses. Students must successfully complete each of MATH 210 or MATH 211, MATH 212, and MATH 214 in order to graduate with a Mathematics minor.  Additionally, students must complete eight more units of mathematics courses numbered 150 or above with at least four units numbered above 300 taken at Occidental or through college transfer credit. Students are required to take at least eight units at Occidental College.

Second-Stage Writing

Students majoring in Mathematics should familiarize themselves with this requirement at the time of declaring the major. The Second-Stage Writing Requirement is addressed in MATH 300. Students not taking MATH 300(e.g., study abroad students) may petition to satisfy the writing requirement at a different time. 

Students satisfy the Second-Stage Writing Requirement in Mathematics by creating and submitting a portfolio of papers on mathematical topics in MATH 300 that is evaluated by the Instructor as earning a letter grade of C or higher.

Students that fail to satisfy the Second-Stage Writing Requirement in Mathematics in MATH 300 have to submit a portfolio to the department chair before the start of the Senior year that is evaluated as earning a letter grade of C or higher.

Comprehensive Requirement

The comprehensive requirement in Mathematics has two parts. 

The first part is the successful completion of MATH 300: Junior Colloquium.  The second part requires successful completion for a letter grade for a total of four units in one or more of the following:

MATH 395 (Special Topics in Advanced Mathematics) 

MATH 400 (Senior Seminar) 

MATH 497 (Independent Study) 

MATH 499 (Honors Senior Seminar)

A student wishing to complete the senior comprehensive requirements through MATH 497 or MATH 499 must find a faculty member in the Mathematics Department willing to supervise the independent study/honors thesis. 

A student who successfully completes both parts of the Comprehensive requirement will receive a grade of P. To pass the comprehensive requirements with distinction a student must give a 20 minute talk and submit a 10-page paper that more than one faculty member evaluate as being distinctive. The paper and talk must be in the context of any of the courses  that fulfill the comprehensive requirement (MATH 395 or MATH 397 or MATH 400 or MATH 499).

Further information is available from the department.

Advising Information

The Mathematics major requires all students to complete Calculus I (MATH 110 or MATH 114) and Calculus II (MATH 120 or MATH 128). Students who have already completed Calculus 1 or Calculus 2 (see Placement Information below) should proceed to courses in the fundamental sequence: MATH 210: Discrete Mathematics, MATH 212: Multivariable Calculus, and MATH 214: Linear Algebra.

Placement Information

Most students who are interested in majoring in Mathematics should take the Calculus Placement Assessment (ALEKS) during the summer prior to their first year. You do not need to take the Calculus Placement Assessment if any of the following are true:

• You received a score of 4 or 5 on either the AP Calculus AB or BC exam;

• You received an IB Calculus HL score of 5 or above;

• You have already taken a Calculus 1 course at another accredited college or university.  

An AP Calculus AB score of 4 or 5, or an IB Calculus HL score of 5 or above, fulfills the major’s Calculus 1 requirement. An AP Calculus BC score of 4 or 5 fulfills the Calculus 2 requirement. Students should make sure that their official score reports are sent to the Registrar’s Office for processing. 

Sample 4-Year Plan

Mathematics Placement

Calculus

Placement in calculus courses (MATH 108, MATH 110, MATH 114, or MATH 128) is determined based on previous mathematical experience, advising, and the results of the Calculus Placement Exam. The Calculus Placement Exam is administered online prior to the beginning of Fall Semester. 

Students with qualifying scores on the Advanced Placement or IB Examination in Calculus are most often placed in calculus courses as follows:

In addition to the calculus courses, MATH 105, MATH 150, MATH 160, MATH 210, MATH 212, MATH 214, COMP 131, and COMP 146 may be taken by first-year students meeting the prerequisites.

Students with transfer credits should confer with the Department for advice on placement in an appropriate mathematics course.

*Students with IB Exam scores will be required to contact the instructor of the course for prerequisite override in order to register.

Mathematics Courses

Calculus is a prerequisite for all mathematics courses with the exceptions of MATH 105 and most Computer Science courses. All students planning to take Calculus must take the online Calculus Placement Exam prior to the beginning of the Fall Semester unless they are exempt due to having received an Advanced Placement exam score. (See Calculus Placement above or contact the Mathematics Department for further details.) Prerequisites for any course may be waived with permission of the instructor.

Transfer Credit Policies

The Mathematics Department may accept online courses in transfer, both as general elective credit and as credit toward the major or minor. 

Students who earned a score of 4 or 5 on the AP Calculus AB examination will earn four units of credit and will be considered to have completed the equivalent of MATH 110 (Calculus 1). Students who earned a score of 4 or 5 on the AP Calculus BC examination will earn four units of credit and will be considered to have completed the equivalent of MATH 120 (Calculus 2). Students who earned a score of 6 or 7 on the (higher level) IB examination or a grade of A or B on the A-level examination will earn four units of credit and will be considered to have completed the equivalent of both MATH 110 (Calculus 1) and MATH 120 (Calculus 2).

Students matriculating as frosh must take at least two of the required 200-level Mathematics courses (MATH 210, MATH 212 and MATH 214) at Occidental College except by approval of the chair.

Students transferring from another institution may transfer the 200-level Mathematics sequence (MATH 210, MATH 212, MATH 214) with approval from the department chair.

A student may apply no more than eight units of 300-level credit in transfer toward the major, except by permission of the chair.

Students should reference the Transfer Credit section for more details.

Courses

Mathematics Courses

Faculty

Tenure and Tenure Track Faculty

Treena Basu, chair

Associate Professor

B.S. Jogamaya Devi College: University of Calcutta; M.S. University of Texas-Pan American; M.S. Bengal Engineering and Science University; Ph.D. University of South Carolina

Jim L. Brown

Professor

B.S., Michigan State University; Ph.D. University of Michigan

Ron Buckmire 

Professor

B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tamás Lengyel

Professor

Diploma, Ph.D., Eotvos University, Budapest

Ramin Naimi

Professor

B.S., University of California, Los Angeles; Ph.D., California Institute of Technology

Timothy Rainone

Assistant Professor

B.S., M.S., McGill University; Ph.D., Texas A&M University

Eric Sundberg

Professor

A.B., Occidental College; Ph.D., Rutgers University 

Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Nishu Lal

Visiting Associate Professor

B.S., M.S., University of California, Irvine; Ph.D., University of California, Riverside

Don Lawrence

Visiting Professor

B.A., Pomona College; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara

Jeffrey Miller

Resident Associate Professor

B.S., University of California, Davis; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara

Sandra Ritz