About the Major
Mathematics has been a central feature of humanity's intellectual achievements over the past several centuries. Its role in the physical sciences and engineering is well established and continues to aid in their development. However, mathematics is becoming more important in the social sciences and life sciences which are all new application areas for applied mathematical sciences. Thus, the field is undergoing remarkable growth.
The Program
UC Merced offers an undergraduate major leading to a B.S. degree in the Applied Mathematical Sciences. This educational experience provides the foundations of mathematics and the skills needed to apply mathematics to real-world phenomena in the social sciences, natural sciences and engineering. The curriculum is designed to provide courses in the fundamentals while allowing for building expertise in an application area through the emphasis tracks. There is a core set of courses all mathematical sciences students take. Beyond those courses, students take an emphasis track consisting of courses in other fields. New emphasis tracks will be added along side new programs developing at UC Merced. Students may also design their own emphasis track with the approval of the faculty program leads for the Applied Mathematical Sciences major.
There are seven emphasis tracks within the Applied Mathematical Sciences major:
• Computational and Data Sciences
• Computational Biology
• Computer Science
• Economics
• Engineering
• Environmental
• Physics
Careers
A degree in applied mathematical sciences opens the door to a wide variety of careers. Employers understand that a degree in mathematics means a student has been trained well in analytical reasoning and problem solving. Moreover, applied mathematical sciences majors with skills in scientific computing have the additional leverage of substantial computing experience. The market for applied mathematicians has usually been good, especially for those who can relate their mathematics to real world problems. In particular, applied mathematics majors familiar with concepts in management, biology, engineering, economics or the environmental sciences among others are well suited for many specialized positions. In addition, the breadth and rigor of this program provide an excellent preparation to teach mathematics at the elementary or high school levels.
Applied Mathematics Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates from the Applied Mathematical Sciences program will have demonstrated:
- Solve mathematical problems using analytical methods.
- Solve mathematical problems using computational methods.
- Recognize the relationships between different areas of mathematics and the connections between mathematics and other disciplines.
- Give clear and organized written and verbal explanations of mathematical ideas to a variety of audiences.
- Model real-world problems mathematically and analyze those models using their mastery of the core concepts.
Current information regarding the requirements for the Applied Mathematical Sciences major can be found at the Office of the Registrar Catalog website.
Applied Mathematics courses can be found at the Office of the Registrar Catalog Course website.
