Department of Mathematics

General Requirements for Majors in Mathematics

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Overview

The Department of Mathematics at Florida State University offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Science (BS) and Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees, in the areas of mathematics, applied mathematics and actuarial mathematics.

A student in mathematics can look forward professionally to employment in an industrial or financial firm, a governmental agency, or teaching in secondary, college, or university institutions. Alternatively, a degree in the department can be regarded as the central component of liberal education, either for its own sake or as preparation for professional study in another field.

General Requirements

Students desiring to major in mathematics must meet the following criteria: satisfactory completion of 52 semester hours; overall 2.0 GPA; and completion of MAC1113, MAC1140 and either MAC2311 or MAD3104 with a "C-" or better in each. If you have any questions regarding this major, please contact the Mathematics Academic Program Specialist.

A student who has accumulated more than five grades below "C-" (including grades of "U") in mathematics or computer science courses taken for college credit at Florida State University or elsewhere, whether repeated or not, will not be permitted to continue as a major in the department.

Mathematics courses at the 4000-level applied toward the mathematics major must be taken at Florida State University unless specifically exempted by the chair on written request.

The mathematics department is within the College of Arts and Sciences and students in the mathematics program must complete not only the mathematics requirements but also the requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences. Listed below are some of those requirements. For complete requirements, please consult the General Bulletin.

Distribution Requirements

Liberal Studies: All areas of liberal studies must be satisfactorily completed. Students who enter the University with an Associate of Arts (AA) degree from a Florida community college must have completed at least six (6) semester hours of English composition, three (3) semester hours of mathematics, three (3) semester hours of history, six (6) semester hours of humanities, and six (6) semester hours of natural sciences in order to satisfy the College of Arts and Sciences requirements. Students who did not complete these courses at their previous institution will need to do so at Florida State University.

Foreign Language: The College of Arts and Sciences requires that students be proficient at the intermediate level in one language other than English. Students may satisfy the requirement by completing course work through the 2000 level (2200 or equivalent course) of a classical or modern foreign language. (Mathematics majors who are considering doctoral work in mathematics are strongly encouraged to complete the foreign language requirement in French, German or Russian.)

Summer Requirement: Students who enter the University with fewer than sixty (60) semester hours of transfer credit must complete nine (9) hours of course work during the summer at any of the nine State University System institutions.

CLAST requirement: Unless students are exempt, they must show passing scores on all sections of the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST).

Minor: Students in the College of Arts and Sciences are required to complete a minor. Minors are typically twelve (12) to eighteen (18) semester hours.