THE MATHEMATICS MAJOR AT THE COLLEGE OF ST. SCHOLASTICA

Mathematics at St. Scholastica is more than a major, more than a series of courses, more than a degree; it is a pathway that leads to a career, to advanced  study, to research, to a fulfilling life’s work.  The math curriculum capitalizes on what you have already learned and enables you to put into place the foundation blocks of logic and analysis that will take you on a journey from the abacus to the 21^st Century in a community of creative learning.  It is vigorous, it is exhilarating; it can be perplexing and it is full of promise.

Students at St. Scholastica pursue a math major to prepare for post-graduate study, for careers as teachers or perhaps to engage the challenges of industry.  Some choose to become engineers or doctors.  And we want you to derive more from your four years at St. Scholastica than the important objective of mastering mathematics.

Pursuing a liberal arts education involves selecting a minor, a secondary area of academic focus, and includes the option of pursuing a second major, in addition to mathematics, in a field to which mathematics might be profitably applied.  Consider economics, management, computer information systems or accounting.  Math has broad application.

Students who choose to launch a teaching career will find that the mathematics degree opens doors to instant employment, often bringing a signing bonus from their new employers.  America currently faces a shortage of accredited mathematics teachers at all levels.  You will be especially sought after should you choose education as your career and mathematics as your area of specialty.  Perhaps one day you will return to St. Scholastica as a professor of mathematics!  Many alumni return to our campus.

At St. Scholastica students learn in small classes taught by professors; individual attention is at the heart of the learning process.  While our students are intellectually competitive, they come to realize the benefits to be gained from working as a group.  There are opportunities for math majors not only to tutor students from other disciplines, but also to receive tutoring themselves along the way should the need arise.  Community and sharing are emphasized at St. Scholastica.  The quest for success engages us all.

Responding to the College's liberal arts orientation, math majors also explore course offerings in other areas of learning, whether in the humanities, the natural sciences or the behavioral arts and sciences.  Indeed you will choose from an array of minors to explore other disciplines that attract you as an individual.  Surely math is not your only interest.

When you don your cap and gown in four years to receive your degree, you will be more than a mathematician; you will be a well-rounded person who has sampled many areas of learning that can be further developed over a lifetime.  We look forward to welcoming you as a member of our learning community.