Mathematics (BA)
Chair:
David Galvin
Associate Chair:
Peter Cholak
Director of Graduate Studies:
Samuel R. Evens
Director of Undergraduate Studies:
Andrei Jorza
William J. Hank Family Professor of Mathematics:
Anand Pillay
John and Margaret McAndrews Professor of Mathematics:
Mark Behrens
John A. Zahm, C.S.C., Professor of Mathematics
Stephen A. Stolz
Glynn Family Honors Collegiate Professor:
Claudia Polini
Notre Dame Professor of Topology:
Andrew Putman
Professors:
Peter A. Cholak; Francis X. Connolly (emeritus); Jeffrey A. Diller; Natasha Dobrinen; William G. Dwyer (emeritus); Matthew J. Dyer; Samuel R. Evens; Leonid Faybusovich (emeritus); David Galvin; Michael Gekhtman; Karsten Grove (emeritus); Matthew Gursky; Alexander J. Hahn (emeritus); Brian C. Hall; Qing Han; Alex A. Himonas; Richard Hind; Julia F. Knight (emerita); Francois Ledrappier (emeritus); Juan Migliore; Gerard K. Misiolek; Liviu Nicolaescu; Claudiu Raicu; Mei-Chi Shaw (emerita); Roxana Smarandache; Brian Smyth (emeritus); Dennis M. Snow (emeritus); Nancy K. Stanton (emerita); Sergei Starchenko; Laurence R. Taylor; Warren J. Wong (emeritus); Jiahong Wu; Frederico Xavier (emeritus)
Associate Professors:
Katrina Barron; Mario Borelli (emerita); John E. Derwent (emeritus); Pavel Mnev; Eric Riedl; Christopher Schommer-Pries
Assistant Professors:
Nicholas Edelen; Steven Karp; Alexandra Kjuchukova; Juanita Pinzón Caicedo; Nicholas Ramsey; Marianna Russkikh; Nick Salter; Shuddhodan Kadattur Vasudevan
Professors of the Practice:
Arthur Lim; Neil Nicholson; Annette Pilkington
Associate Professor of the Practice:
Andrei Jorza
Assistant Teaching Professors:
Brian Mulholland; Kathryn Mulholland
Program of Studies
Students in the College of Arts and Letters may pursue a major in mathematics with a concentration in honors. (Note that this program should not be confused with the Arts and Letters/Science Honors program and that several concentrations, including Honors, are available with a major in mathematics in the College of Science.) The mathematics major in arts and letters aims to give the student a thorough liberal intellectual discipline and to furnish an adequate background for other fields of study. At the same time it prepares the Mathematics student for graduate work in mathematics, and many of those who have taken the program have entered graduate schools in that field. Others have entered philosophy, medicine, law, economics and industrial management.
Students intending to follow this major in the College of Arts and Letters must declare their intention to the advisor indicated by the mathematics department and the dean of Arts and Letters at advance registration in the spring of their freshman year. Students must have completed or be completing satisfactory work in Honors Mathematics I (MATH 10850) and Honors Mathematics II (MATH 10860) The program of their studies is subject in its entirety to approval by the advisor.
Students whose first major is in the College of Arts and Letters may also pursue a second major in mathematics. See “Mathematics as a Second Major” in the College of Science section.
The Program of Courses
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | |
| English | 3 | |
| University Requirement | 3 | |
| MATH 10850 | Honors Mathematics I | 4 |
| Natural Science | 3 | |
| Language: (French, German or Russian recommended) | 3 | |
| Moreau First Year Seminar | 1 | |
| Hours | 17 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| Language: French, German or Russian | 3 | |
| University Seminar | 3 | |
| MATH 10860 | Honors Mathematics II | 4 |
| Natural Science | 3 | |
| Electives | 3 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Sophomore Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| College Seminar | 3 | |
| Language: French, German or Russian | 3 | |
| University Requirement | 3 | |
| MATH 20810 | Honors Algebra I | 3 |
| MATH 20850 | Honors Mathematics III | 4 |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| Introduction to Philosophy | 3 | |
| University Requirement | 3 | |
| Theology | 3 | |
| MATH 20820 | Honors Algebra II | 3 |
| MATH 20860 | Honors Mathematics IV | 4 |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Junior Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| Theology | 3 | |
| MATH 30810 | Honors Algebra III | 3 |
| MATH 30850 | Honors Analysis I | 3 |
| Elective | 5 | |
| University Requirement | 3 | |
| Hours | 17 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| Philosophy | 3 | |
| MATH 30820 | Honors Algebra IV | 3 |
| MATH 30860 | Honors Analysis II | 3 |
| English/American Literature | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Senior Year | ||
| First Semester | ||
| Mathematics Electives * | 6 | |
| Electives | 9 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Second Semester | ||
| Mathematics Electives * | 6 | |
| Electives | 9 | |
| Moreau Senior Capstone | 1 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Total Hours | 128 | |
- *
At least six credits of mathematics electives must be at the 40xxx level.
The Senior Thesis for Mathematics Majors
Students in the mathematics program have the option of writing a thesis on a subject in mathematics, or in an interdisciplinary area connected to mathematics. Such a thesis is strongly encouraged for math honors students and is intended to give the student a better sense of how mathematics is done and used, and to develop in the student the habit of learning mathematics and its applications in an independent setting. In most cases, this work would be expected to be expository, but based on advancedlevel readings. It should represent an effort that goes beyond what is found in an undergraduate course. It is especially desirable for a student to present a somewhat novel approach to an established subject, or to explore one of the many interesting connections that mathematics has with other disciplines.
In the second semester of the junior year and the first semester of the senior year, the student will work closely with a faculty advisor on a program of readings in preparation for the thesis. The thesis is to be crafted during the second semester of the senior year, and must be submitted to the director of undergraduate studies by April 15 of the senior year. If the thesis is approved, the citation of “Graduation with Senior Thesis” will appear on the student’s transcript.
In the second semester of the junior and senior years, the student attends the senior thesis writing seminar MATH 48900 Thesis, while in the first semester of the senior year, the student receives credit for MATH 48800 Undergraduate Research.
Students interested in writing a senior thesis should contact the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Mathematics.
Mathematics and Computing Program
This program is designed for students who plan to pursue graduate study or industrial careers in computing science. All of mathematics core courses are required, as well as 15 hours of mathematics electives, at least three hours of which are at the 40000 level.
In addition, students must take 5 CSE courses at the major’s level where 2 of the 5 courses are required to be CSE 20311 Fundamentals of Computing and CSE 20312 Data Structures.