Chairperson: Scott Coble, SJ

Professors: R. Bryant, J. Burke, W. Carsrud, J. Firkins (Emeritus), K. Yerion

Associate Professors: P. De Palma, D. Hughes, J. Vander Beek

Assistant Professors: S. Coble, S.J., D. Larson, G. Nord, G. Roth

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science trains students to meet the expanding quantitative needs of society and provides them with the theoretical structures from which practical applications derive. Its curriculum, a blend of several broad areas of thought in both mathematics and computer science, has these major components: pure mathematics, classical applied mathematics, and computer science. Majors in this department are well-prepared for positions in industry and government demanding quantitative techniques or computer science, for teaching mathematics on the primary or secondary level, and for graduate work.

The department offers four degree programs: Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Bachelor of Science in Mathematics-Computer Science, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Majors must take the senior comprehensive (MATH 499 or CPSC 499) in the Fall of their fourth year. These courses review material in preparation for the ETS Major Field Tests, which is required of all majors.

Prospective teachers of mathematics on the primary level are required to take MATH 203 (or MATH 112 or higher with grade of C or better) and MATH 204. Prospective teachers of mathematics on the secondary level are required to take MATH 341. All prospective teachers of mathematics are encouraged to take MATH 204, MATH 321 and MATH 339.

It is recommended that majors in computer science and/or mathematics take PHYS 103, CHEM 105 or BIOL 101 to satisfy their College of Arts and Sciences laboratory science requirement.

The department has student chapters of the Mathematical Association of America and the Association for Computing Machinery. The MAA and the ACM sponsor lectures and social events for department majors. Mathematics majors may participate in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition held every December. Computer science majors may participate in the Annual ACM Programming Contest held every November.

The department has its own extensive computing laboratory which includes pentium-based microcomputers running Windows-NT and a Hewlett Packard 9000, K series machine running UNIX. This powerful machine was a gift of U.S. West and is capable of handling 100 users concurrently. The department also owns a network of microcomputers running Linux that was funded by the National Science Foundation and is used to study data communications and operating systems. The machines in the department's lab have C and C++ compilers, Java interpreters, graphics packages, Mathematica, and Oracle, the computer industry's premier database management system. Much of the software on these machines is a gift of the Microsoft and Oracle corporations. In addition, the university owns, for academic use, another Hewlett Packard 9000 and maintains microcomputer laboratories in many buildings across campus. All computer labs on campus, as well as all dormitory rooms, are connected to the campus-wide network and from there to the Internet via T1 line.

Mathematics Coordinator: Dean Larson

B.S. Major in Mathematics: 40 Credits
Lower Division