Undergraduate Studies in Mathematics at OU

The Mathematics Department at the University of Oklahoma has 30 permanent faculty members, three visiting faculty members, and a support staff of six (including a full-time undergraduate advisor.) The Department has approximately one hundred twenty undergraduate majors and sixty-five mathematics graduate students. The department teaches over 13,000 students in a typical calendar year. Virtually all of the department's faculty have active research programs (many externally funded) and regularly publish articles in mathematical journals and participate in conferences around the world.

The Mathematics Department offers the following degree programs for undergraduates:

1. Bachelor of Arts Standard Degree (1701A): the basic undergraduate mathematics degree;
2. Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Professional Degree (1701K): a rigorous undergraduate mathematics degree program for students intent on graduate work in mathematics;
3. Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) and Master of Science in Biostatistics (1701L): a five-year accelerated dual-degree program in conjunction with the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City.

The Mathematics Department also offers a full complement of graduate-degree programs: Master of Arts, Master of Science, dual MS/MBA, and Doctor of Philosophy. Other Bachelor/Master dual-degree opportunities are possible for exceptional students interested in a fast-track toward an advanced degree.

The Mathematics Department has structured its calculus course offerings so that Ph.D. faculty members teach the vast majority of students. Furthermore, we have introduced technology into the classroom making extensive use of the TI-86 graphing calculators. Many instructors have incorporated into their classes the use of electronic media and web-based instructional components.

The Mathematics Department has an active chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon, the National Collegiate Honorary Mathematics Society, which sponsors a number of special events throughout the year, including picnics, special undergraduate mathematics talks, a distinguished speaker during Math Awareness Week in April, and the annual Math Awards Banquet at which departmental scholarship awards are presented. The Department also sponsors a Putnam Team, which competes each year in the prestigious Putnam Mathematics Competition for undergraduates. Student chapters of MAA (Mathematics Association of America) and SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) are growing in popularity with University mathematics students as well.

For students interested in mathematics who choose to major in another discipline a Math Minor may present an attractive option. The requirements for a minor in mathematics are fifteen hours of courses acceptable for major credit, including Math 2443 (Calculus & Analytic Geometry IV), three hours of general math elective, and nine upper-division hours including six hours numbered 4000 or above.

The Mathematics Department has a number of endowed scholarship funds to support its undergraduate majors. Last year we awarded nearly $15,000 to eleven students and we expect to make a comparable number of awards this year. Scholarship applications are accepted from January to March each year with the awards announced in April.

For more information contact Dr. Patrick S. Cross, Academic Counselor, Department of Mathematics, 601 Elm Avenue, Room 425, Norman, OK 73019- 0315: Tel. (405) 325-2727, email: pcross...ou.edu.