B.S. Mathematics - Programs of Study and Four Year Plans

Click on any of our majors or concentrations for further information.  See below the description of each concentration for a 4-year plan to help you design your schedule to complete a Math Major.

Mathematics Major

Mathematics provides elegant and effective tools for solving problems in virtually every area of human endeavor, from the sciences to business and economics to the social sciences and is especially appealing to students who like to solve problems. The purpose of the Mathematics option is to give students an understanding of the structure of mathematics, to stimulate their interest in research, and to prepare them for later work. Students can use their background in mathematics as an entry to other fields such as physics, computer science, software engineering, economics, business, finance, medicine or law.  Our major also fully prepares our majors for further study in Master's of Ph.D. programs in mathematics or other related fields.  We invite you to join us in exploring the fascinating world of mathematics and its applications.  Students can select between a pure or applied math option if they choose a mathematics major without one of the following concentrations.

• 4-year plan for Mathematics Major
• 3-year plan for Mathematics Major 

Mathematics Education Concentration

The Mathematics Education concentration leads to a secondary certification in mathematics. The secondary certification licensure is designed for individuals desiring to teach mathematics in grades 7-12 in both middle and high school settings, altough additional coursework in education is also required.  School systems are always in need of graduates with strong mathematical backgrounds to teach and inspire our next generation of doctors, scientists, engineers, and mathematicians.  

• 4-year plan for Mathematics Education Concentration

Statistics Concentration

Statistics is the the science of gathering and analyzing data. Statisticians are employed all over the world in many capacities: to determine effectiveness and safety of new medicines for pharmaceutical companies; to control quality in manufacturing processes; to determine policy premiums and estimate probable payoffs for insurance companies; to analyze consumer demand; to plan and develop services for various segments of society by government agencies. For more information on careers in statistics, please visit the website for the American Statistical Association:http://www.amstat.org/careers

Although there are jobs for statisticians with undergraduate degrees, a number of employers require an advanced degree. The statistics concentration at Austin Peay provides excellent preparation for work at the Master's level; our graduates have gone to graduate school in statistics or taken actuary exams.

• 4-year plan for Statistics Concentration
• 3-year plan for Statistics Concentration

Actuarial Science Concentration

Actuarial science is the use of mathematics and statistics to study and manage risk, focusing on ways to evaluate the probabilities of future events occurring and finding ways to decrease the chances of or reduce the impact of negative events.  Actuaries combine their skills in math, stats, finance, and economics to solve problems invovling risk working in the insurance industry, for the government, and for banks and other financial entities.  Our Actuarial Science concentration prepares for a career as an actuary, which is consistently ranked as a top job in terms of salary, work environment, and employment outlook, along with many other careers in finance and insurance.

•  4-year plan for Actuarial Science Concentration

Minor in Mathematics

Mathematics plays increasingly important roles in many fields including economics, biology, medicine, manufacturing, and logistics just to name a few. Many graduate programs in these areas encourage or expect applicants to be competent in calculus, linear algebra, and statistics. An eighteen hour minor in mathematics can accomplish this requirement in most cases.

The following courses are required for a minor in mathematics:

• MATH 1910--Calculus and Analytical Geometry I
• MATH 1920--Calculus and Analytical Geometry II
• MATH 2110--Calculus

 Also required are six hours hours of approved upper division mathematics electives.

Applied Statistics Minor

Statistics is vital to every modern industry including forensic science, agriculture, engineering, medicine, business, finance, healthcare administration- statisticians play in everyone’s backyard!  General knowledge of even some basic statistical tools make you competitive in the job market, and using these tools can actually be fun!  Job prospects are very good for those with statistical sense, and statisticians with graduate degrees command very good starting salaries.  Regardless of your major, a statistics minor can be attractive on a resume and very useful on the job.

The following courses are required for a minor in applied statistics:

• MATH 1810--Elements of Calculus   or
• MATH 1910--Calculus and Analytical Geometry I
• STAT 3250--Statistical Methods
• STAT 4120--Regression Analysis
• STAT 4130--Experimental Design 

Select at least 2 courses from the following:

• MATH or STAT 4240--Probability
• STAT 4250--Mathematical Statistics
• MATH or STAT 4260--Stochastic Processes
• STAT 4270--Nonparametric Statistics
• BIOL 300--Biological Methods
• BIOL 4100/4101--Biostatistics and lab
• CHEM 3210/3211--Quantitative Analysis and lab
• DSCI 3530--Statistical Quality Control
• EDUC 4270--Classroom Evaluation and Assessment
• ENGT 3650--Statistical Quality Control
• GEOG or GEOL 3060/3061--Quantitative Geosciences and lab
• SW 3770--Research Methods
• MKT 4450--Marketing Research
• POLS 3760--Methods of Research
• PSY 3290-- Introduction to Psychological Measurement
• QM 3110--Statistics for Business and Economics
• SOC 3770--Social Statistics

Course Descriptions

You can find the list of math courses and their descriptions here.