College of Innovation and Solutions

Use advanced mathematics to develop and understand mathematical principles, analyze data, and solve real-world problems

The Bachelor of Science in Mathematics combines mathematics and computing fundamentals with mathematics applications. Graduates are critical thinkers equipped to investigate and communicate mathematical theories, as well as to build mathematical models of real-world problems, and to solve, analyze, and communicate the results. They become valuable members of quantitative analysis teams in business, or they continue their education in graduate programs in mathematics or other analytical fields.

Why Students Choose LSSU

All of mathematics courses required for this degree boast small class sizes. The typical course for freshmen and sophomore students has 30 or fewer students and the typical course for upper level course has 15 or fewer. Because of this, you have many opportunities to get to know your instructors who will serve as your mentors while at LSSU.

Because mathematics is such an in-demand need in many growing fields, our program graduates have gone on to work or further study in many different areas including mathematics, education, banking, operations research, meteorological sciences, statistics and computer programming.

In order to complete your degree at LSSU, you must complete a senior project.

Our Curriculum

All of our mathematics majors take many of the same core classes. If you know that you want to enter a mathematical field, but are unsure of your specific area of interest, you have time to make a decision about adding a concentration. Those core components include a foundational background and applications of calculus, linear algebra, discrete mathematics, abstract algebra, and mathematical modeling. In addition, students take two computer programming.

If you so choose, you may concentrate your studies in one of the three specific areas below (Actuarial and Business Applications, Elementary Teaching or Secondary Teaching). Click on these links to learn more about these options. Instead, many students decide to use those elective credit hours to add a minor or to customize their electives to gain the skills that match their future goals. There are so many differing careers in mathematics that level of personalization is ideal.

There are three specific options within the Mathematics program:

Actuarial and Business Applications Concentration

The Actuarial and Business Applications concentration combines mathematics and computing fundamentals with quantitative business applications. The resulting degree prepares graduates to think critically, communicate precisely, analyze thoroughly, model realistically, and solve problems creatively. These skills prepare graduates for many exciting career opportunities and also for graduate work in either business or an applied area of mathematics.

One possible career is to become an Actuary. Actuaries use mathematics, statistics, and financial theory to analyze and quantify the risk of business decisions. Many actuaries work in the insurance industry, an industry that thrives on risk. During the first several years of their careers, actuaries pass a sequence of certification exams. Graduates of this program should be ready to hit the ground running by taking the first two actuarial exams.

Other possible careers include building and solving mathematical models to help managers make the best possible decisions. Such professionals are typically called Analysts, Business Analysts, Quantitative Analysts, or even Decision-Support Analysts. They typically use multi-purpose tools such as Excel, MATLAB, Mathematica, C, or C++. They may also use special-purpose tools such as statistical packages like R, SPSS, or SAS, optimization packages like AMPL or CPLEX, or simulation packages like Simio or Arena. Our graduates are exposed to many of these software environments.

Experience Pays!

Salaries of actuaries with 5 years of experience and having passed 5 exams are in the $70-105,000 range. The average salary of a Quantitative Analyst (with typically less than 10 years of experience) is $82,000. Skills that increase pay for this job are VBA, C++, Python, MATLAB, and Financial Modeling.

Degree (Catalog)

BS Mathematics, Actuarial and Business Applications Concentration

Career Options

Actuary
Quantitative Analyst
Business Analyst
Financial Analyst
Data Analyst

Elementary Teaching

There are four academic areas essential to elementary school teaching: language arts, mathematics, natural science and social science. All academic majors and minors used for teacher certification undergo periodic review, evaluation and alignment with state standards.

Mathematics is problem solving, reasoning, and looking for patterns. Elementary teachers with advanced knowledge in mathematics are important for engaging students in learning mathematics. They are prepared to teach mathematics from kindergarten to grade 8 and to teach in elementary classrooms from kindergarten to grade 5. Although they work closely with the faculty of the math department, they are also involved in the School of Education taking the same education courses as other elementary teachers. They also take courses to prepare them to teach elementary content including science, English and social studies.

The program also includes general education requirements and a professional education sequence. Students complete their initial teacher education courses in their sophomore year, and then apply for formal admission to the Teacher Education Program.

Did You Know?

In the 2014 Educator Preparation Institution (EPI) score report, LSSU’s education score was 90.6. This saw LSSU outperform 28 out of the other 32 public and private colleges to train teachers.

Degree (Catalog)

BS Mathematics, Elementary Teaching

Career Options

Elementary School Teacher

Secondary Teaching

Mathematics is problem solving, reasoning, and looking for patterns. Secondary teachers with advanced knowledge in mathematics are important for engaging students in learning mathematics. They are prepared to teach mathematics grades 7 to 12. Although they work closely with the faculty of the math department, they are also involved in the School of Education taking the same education courses as other secondary teachers. They also earn a teachable minor of their choice, either Chemistry or English Language Arts.

This program leads to a bachelor of science degree in mathematics, secondary teaching. All academic majors and minors used for teacher certification undergo periodic review, evaluation and alignment with state standards. Computer science courses are included, and students work extensively with computer and calculator technology as it applies to classroom teaching. The program is highlighted by in-depth study in a subject major, extended teaching communities of diverse learners, and scholarly inquiry. This program also includes general education requirements and a professional education sequence. While working toward completion of a major, students take the first two teacher education courses and then apply for formal admission to the program during their sophomore year. Graduates earn a bachelor’s degree, which includes a semester of student teaching, in order to become certified to teach.

Did You Know?

In the 2014 Educator Preparation Institution (EPI) score report, LSSU’s education score was 90.6. This saw LSSU outperform 28 out of the other 32 public and private colleges to train teachers. Also in 2014, 100% of those students who took the MTTC exam in secondary mathematics passed the exam. Of those who have also completed their student teaching, 100% are employed as full time teachers.

Degree (Catalog)

BS Mathematics: Secondary Teaching

Career Options

Middle school or high school mathematics teacher

Andrew Doerr finished his student teaching in December of 2014 and was able to begin teaching full time in January of 2015.

When asked about his time here, he responded, “LSSU’s Math Education program prepared me to teach a variety of classes. Going in to LSSU, I was not nearly as confident with the material that I was going to be teaching as I am now. The professors were there for me in and out of the classroom, and were always available for when I needed extra assistance. I am very appreciative of the professors and the people that I met at LSSU, and they definitely have had an impact on who I am today.”

Regardless of your minor or concentration, we strongly suggest students pursue computer science beyond the two courses required in the mathematics program, because many graduates find job opportunities working closely with software development teams. Business, engineering, earth science, biology, chemistry, and social science all use mathematics in their research and development activities. Thus, a mathematics graduate with documented knowledge in one or more of these areas is an attractive addition to their team.

Senior Projects/Research

Applications of Order Statistics in an Actuarial Setting

Adam Anderson

Picture of Adam Anderson's Senior Poster Presentation Dating back to before the 19th century, but not formally named until the 1940s, the concept and application of order statistics has made its way into many different fields. In the majority of cases in which order statistics are used, we are concerned with the minimum, median, and maximum values of random events. What does ordering random variables do for us? Ordering random variables, along with knowing some basic statistical properties of these random variables, helps in finding the probabilities of the variable outcomes being less than or greater than certain values. These probabilities yield the ability to calculate the expected value of the minimum, maximum, or any of the ordered variables. Given a common density function and some independence relations, what is the expected value of the maximum claim amount from wind damages within a pool of policyholders? Or, given a fifty person race where each of the runners’ start to finish time follows a uniform distribution, what is the expected difference between the first place finisher’s time and the
last place finisher’s time? While actuarial applications were the focus of this study, order statistics can be applied in both of these scenarios.

Students in mathematics regularly participate in faculty-supervised competitions, including the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition and the Alma College Michigan Autumn Take Home Challenge. Students are also offered the chance to participate in a variety of individualized “special topics” experiences during the course of their undergraduate careers. Students in the non-education degree programs are expected to complete some type of senior-level research or applications project, again under the direct supervision of a departmental faculty member.

Our faculty is here to help you succeed!

Degrees

This degree provides a solid background in mathematics with supporting coursework in a concentration, if you choose to add one. Adding an appropriate minor field of study can complement the program, as well as give the graduate a competitive edge in the work force.

$52,821

Average Starting Salary of Mathematicians and Statisticians. National Association of Colleges and Employers Spring 2015 Salary Survey

$101,360

According to the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the median annual wage in May of 2012 for all mathematicians, who typically hold masters degrees

Choosing a Career in Mathematics

Career opportunities for mathematics often begin with a position title including the word “analyst,” working either for the government or in industry. Providing experience with these or similar tools, our program prepares professionals who hit the ground running within teams that use Excel, Matlab, Mathematica, C, or C++. They are also prepared use special-purpose tools such as statistical packages like R, SPSS, or SAS, optimization packages like AMPL or CPLEX, and simulation packages like Simio or Arena.

Mathematician
Statistician

Mathematicians use advanced mathematics to develop and understand mathematical principles, analyze data, and solve real-world problems. Mathematicians work in the federal government and in private science and engineering research companies. They may work on teams with engineers, scientists, and other professionals.

If you are one of the fortunate minority for whom mathematics has always been a favorite subject or one of the subjects in which you excel, then this should seriously consider exploiting this advantage by pursuing a mathematics major. Employment of mathematicians is projected to grow 23 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. Businesses will need mathematicians to analyze the increasing volume of digital and electronic data.

Our Graduates Succeed

Brad Pretzer

Brad Pretzer graduated from LSSU in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. In April 2014, Brad graduated from Oakland University with a Master of Science Degree in Industrial Applied Mathematics. His focus was on Operations Research and Computational Complexity Theory. Brad is currently an Adjunct Mathematics Instructor at Delta College.

Walter Bennette

Walter Bennette (BS Math 2009) completed his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Iowa State University in June, 2014. His dissertation title is Instance Selection for Model Based Classifiers. Much of Walter’s graduate education was supported by a SMART Scholarship from the U.S. Department of Defense. Now that he has completed his Ph.D., Walter is working for the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate, fulfilling the 3-year commitment required by the SMART Scholarship. His job title is Research Engineer, and at work Walter investigates large-scale simulations and data mining methods that have the potential to positively affect the Air Force. In his spare time, Walter enjoys running, hiking, fishing, and getting to know his new home of Rome, NY. Walter is the son of Dean and Julie Bennette. Dean worked many years at LSSU and has recently retired.

Laura Gamble

Laura Gamble is the 2015 Outstanding Graduate in Mathematics. Laura was accepted to graduate school in statistics at Oregon State University. She was offered a graduate teaching fellowship that will fully fund tuition and includes a monthly stipend for living expenses.