Colgate forms new applied mathematics major

HAMILTON, N.Y. — Colgate University earlier this month announced it has made its applied mathematics minor into the university’s 55th major.

The steady popularity of the minor and continued interest from students led to the university converting it into a full major this year, according to Daniel Schult, a professor of mathematics at Colgate.

Applied mathematics involves the use of mathematical theory and formulas to address real-world physical or computational problems, according to the university.

“It doesn’t describe what kind of math we’re using as much as it describes the philosophy of how we’re using it,” Schult said in a news release posted on Colgate’s website. “In a regular mathematical setting, we’re working to prove whether something is true or not. With applied math, we’re saying that something has been proven — now what can we do with that?”

Schult also noted that there has been a recent trend at Colgate of students creating their own applied-mathematics–themed majors through the natural sciences. That trend, plus feedback from senior exit interviews, resulted in the formation of the new major.

The new applied mathematics major requires a senior “capstone experience,” which is a project-based class, similar to a thesis development, that relates to the student’s focused area of application.

“We also decided there should be more computer interaction,” Schult said. “Most mathematicians are using computers in some way to do their mathematics now, so we’ve added a class at the sophomore level to introduce students to the mathematical computations that would normally be behind a website or in the guts of a software package. We’re trying to get to the nitty gritty software development level of programing. That will also allow us to use the computer in new ways in some of the higher level classes.”

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