Information for Prospective Math MajorsA recent National Science Foundation study ranked CSULB first in the nation among comprehensive universities in the number of bachelors' recipients who went on to earn doctoral degrees between 1991 and 1995.
A brief description of California State University, Long Beach California State University,Long Beach is a comprehensive university which serves a highly diverse group of more than 30,000 students. It is located on a beautiful 322-acre campus just a few minutes from the Pacific Ocean and the Southern California beaches. The campus is in a residential area of Long Beach, the second largest city within the Los Angeles metropolitan area, which is the cultural, commercial, and professional center of Southern California. Three major freeways meet near the campus, and bus routes of both the Long Beach and Orange County transit systems bring students to the campus from large areas of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Brief description and purpose of each Math department degree program.Hello! We welcome your interest in the B.S. in Mathematics at CSULB. The department's Undergraduate Advising Coordinator, Dr. William Murray, does read and answer his e-mail and welcomes inquiries from prospective students. You may leave a message for him at wmurray@csulb.edu. The CSULB Department of Mathematics administers five different undergraduate majors and two minors. The five majors are:
Advice for a prospective CSULB Math major -- entering freshmen.High school preparation for a prospective Mathematics major should include at least four years of high school mathematics courses, at the most advanced level available to the individual student. The four-year planning guides on our advising sheets presume a student who has taken Precalculus (sometimes also called Math Analysis) in high school, has passed (or is exempt from) the ELM, and is therefore prepared to take MATH 122, Calculus I, as a first-semester freshman. It is possible to start at an earlier stage and still complete the major - many have done so - but it takes more time. We do recognize the AP calculus exams, so if you have the opportunity to take an AP calculus course, do so. A score of 3 or better on the Calculus AB level exam will earn you credit in MATH 122 and you may begin your studies here with MATH 123, Calculus II. A score of 3 or better on the Calculus BC level exam will earn you credit in MATH 122 and 123 and you may begin your studies here with MATH 224, Calculus III. On the other hand, the AP statistics exam only earns credit in a course which does not count toward any degree in mathematics. The rest of your high school courses should be selected to satisfy all CSU entrance requirements. Useful electives might include Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, and Economics. A well-prepared freshman who is willing to take 15 to 17 units per semester and who takes at least one appropriate Mathematics course in every semester can complete the requirements for a B.S. in Mathematics in four years without the schedule of math classes being crowded or rushed in any way. For such a student, the combination of the Mathematics major requirements and the university's General Education requirements falls about 20 units short of the 124 units required for a B.S. You should regard this as an opportunity to explore another interest, possibly to complete a minor in another subject. Advice for a community college transfer student planning to major in mathematics.First and foremost: take a Mathematics course at the appropriate level for you in every semester of your attendance at your community college. Students who have already completed Calculus III before they transfer have a very high success rate in completing the B.S. at CSULB in 4 to 6 subsequent semesters. Students who have not yet taken Calculus I before they transfer face a much lower ultimate success rate, a timetable of 7 or more subsequent semesters, and difficulty in filling out a schedule in the first 2 or 3 semesters. Community College courses to take to transfer as a Mathematics major: The most important:
Other courses that may be helpful:
Courses that probably don't transfer for a Mathematics major, but might in a few cases:
In all of these cases, do not prolong your community college career just to take a course outside the Mathematics Department that might transfer for major credit. If you've run out of Math courses to take, it's time for you to transfer and to take your remaining required courses at CSULB. Some general advice for the new (and continuing) Math major.For an upper division Mathematics major who doesn't work excessive hours, three MATH courses in a semester (and one or two courses in other fields) is a full load; four MATH courses in a semester is an overload, and five MATH courses in a semester is crazy. Get involved! Participate in the activities of the Math Students Association . Use your skills and knowledge to tutor high school students (check out the SAS center, or Student Access to Science for opportunities). Join the Mathematical Association of America as a student member (refer to wmurray@csulb.edu concerning such memberships). Don't get ahead of yourself - take courses in an appropriate order and respect our prerequisites. If you've just taken Calculus III, your next several courses should be selected from the "intermediate level" courses in the department: MATH 247 (Intro. to Linear Algebra), MATH 233 (Fundamental Concepts for Advanced Mathematics, or "Discrete Structures"), MATH 310 (History of Early Mathematics), MATH 364A (Ordinary Differential Equations I), and MATH/STAT 380 (Probability and Statistics). Are you a night student? Many, but not all, of our required courses are offered at night. To complete the requirements for a B.S. in Mathematics, you will need to take a few day classes, but can probably take the majority of the courses at night. Don't plan on taking upper division MATH classes in summer sessions. The only such course we routinely offer in the summer is MATH/STAT 380. |
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