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
Any student who places out of a Calculus 1 or Calculus 2 class satisfies the corresponding requirement for the Math Major.
Students must receive a grade of C or above in each of MATH 210 or MATH 211, MATH 212, and MATH 214 in order to graduate with a Mathematics major. If a student does not receive a grade of C or higher, the department chair will support a Petition for Special Consideration requesting to repeat the course. Only the most recent grade will count towards satisfying the 200-level requirement.
At least two of the required 200-level Mathematics courses (MATH 210 or MATH 211, MATH 212 and MATH 214) must be taken at Occidental College except by approval of the chair. Exceptions must be filed by submitting a Petition for Special Consideration.
Advanced Courses
All students must complete either MATH 310 or MATH 320, and twenty additional 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 numbered 150 or above, taken at Occidental or through college transfer credit. Students must take at least one 4-unit course at the 300 level. Students are required to take at least 8 of the 20 units at Occidental College.
Students must select at least three courses from the list below: