Department of Mathematical Sciences
Mathematics
The Department of Mathematical Sciences offers courses designed to provide students with knowledge in the mathematical sciences that is necessary to function and succeed in an increasingly complex, technological world.
Specifically, the department serves students who plan to:
- major in mathematics, in computer sciences, or in other disciplines with mathematics requirements
- enter graduate schools or professional schools of medicine or engineering
- teach in elementary, middle, or secondary schools or in junior colleges
- enter careers in business, industry, or government.
Programs in the department lead to the Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Mathematics or Actuarial Science. Students choose one of the following concentrations if they major in Mathematics: Professional Mathematics or Mathematics Education. Minors are offered in Mathematics; in Mathematics for Managerial, Social, and Life Sciences; and in Statistics.
Additionally, the department offers graduate programs leading to the Master of Science (MS) with a major in Mathematics, and a minor in Mathematics at the graduate level. Five concentrations are offered under the MS: Actuarial Science, General Mathematics, Industrial Mathematics, Mathematics Education, and Research Preparation. Two concentrations are offered under the MST: Middle Grade Mathematics and Secondary Mathematics. The department also offers courses in the Master of Science in Professional Science (MSPS) degree program in which students can choose a concentration in Biostatistics.
Actuarial Science Program at Middle Tennessee State University Achieves Gold Level of New Casualty Actuarial Society University Recognition Program
October 31, 2023 Arlington, VA – The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) has announced that Actuarial Science Program at Middle Tennessee State University has received the highest honor through the CAS University Recognition Program, achieving the Gold Tier. This program recognizes academic institutions with a demonstrated commitment to preparing property and casualty actuaries through their educational offerings. The CAS is the world’s only actuarial organization focused exclusively on property and casualty risks, serving over 10,000 members worldwide. CAS members work for insurance companies, educational institutions, state insurance departments, federal government agencies, independent consulting firms, and many other organizations that require management of risk. The CAS offers three levels of recognition for universities, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Benefits offered through this program are designed to address the specific needs of universities depending on their established tier.
“We are thrilled to honor universities through the CAS University Recognition Program,” – Victor Carter-Bey, DM, CEO of the Casualty actuarial Society. “Universities that have achieved THE Gold Tier have achieved highest level of recognition offered by meeting part or all of the following criteria: offering dedicated property and casualty insurance courses, placing P&C actuaries on their faculty and/or department advisory boards, and graduating actuarial students with jobs in the P&C field and who have obtained credit for CAS credentialing requirements.”
Dolinger Recognized at MMA Mathfest for Thesis Work
Samuel Dolinger, a Math Major at MTSU, an Honors Buchanan Fellow and Calculus tutor, presented his Undergraduate thesis as a poster at the MAA MathFest held in Tampa. Samuel’s poster won an award for being an outstanding poster alongside other undergraduate researchers at MathFest. Samuel’s research was concerned with how calculus students understand the limit-definition of the derivative by seeing how they understand functions, limits, and rate of change. Congratulations Samuel! You are an outstanding young man. We are so proud of you!
Colloquium Talk with Micah Blake McCurdy
Micah is a mathematician who studied category theory, and then changed careers to become the creator and owner of hockeyviz.com, a hockey analytics website. His work has been featured, for example, in The Athletic and ESPN. The title of his talk was “Expected Goals in the NHL”, and his discussion included how we can use mathematical tools to make careful models of shot danger in the NHL. Modern hockey analytics are a blend of scientific and statistical modelling, with results of varied interest from teams looking for edges to journalists looking for stories; from bettors looking to plays and fans hungry to understand the sport they love. My most recent iteration of an expected goal (xG) model for NHL shots models every shot in layers, to see what makes a shot likely to be blocked, to be missed, to be saved, or to be scored. To help us understand we will use lots and lots of data visualization. For more information on his Micah Blake McCurdy’s talk, click here to read the article written by Randy Weiler with MTSU News.
32nd Cumberland Conference Touted as a Success
MTSU’s Department of Mathematical Sciences hosted the 32nd Cumberland Conference on Combinatorics, Graph Theory and Computing on May 13 and 14. Dr. Greg Van Patten, Dean of MTSU’s College of Basic and Applied Science, gave a warm welcome speech to the participants in the morning of May 13. The Conference speakers included Dr. Tomas Kaiser from University of West Bohemia, Dr. Luke Postle from the University of Waterloo, Dr. Jinyoung Park from Courant Institute of New York University, Dr. Yufei Zhao from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other 32 speakers on campus to share recent advances in graph theory, extremal and probabilistic combinatorics, and combinatorial scientific computing. There were total over 70 participants from various universities, including Columbia University, University of Delaware, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Vanderbilt University, the University of Mississippi, University of South Carolina, University of South Alabama, and many others from across the country attending the conference. Dr. J.C. Sanders, a math professor at Middle Tennessee State University, also gave a talk on the number of k-tons in the coupon collector problem at the conference. We were also glad to have two of our MTSU students present in the conference. Undergraduate Mr. Isaiah Osborne speak on the sign-invertibility of graphs, and recent graduate Mr. Will Cox gave a talk on Arithmetic Triangles and Pascal-Type Recurrence Relations. Dr. Dong Ye, organizer of the conference and MTSU professor, and Dr. Chris Stephens, Chair of the Mathematical Sciences Department, deemed the conference a success and look forward to hosting again in the future.
MTSU Junior Semifinalist for Department of Defense SMART Scholarship
Andrea DuBois, a junior at MTSU is a semifinalist for the SMART Scholarship awarded by the Department of Defense (DoD). A 35 year old mother of six and an entrepreneur, DuBois is pursuing a double major in Mathematics with a Concentration in Professional Mathematics of Business and Data Science with a minor in Risk Management and Insurance. She maintains a 3.7 GPA. DuBois plans to obtain her doctorate degree.
The SMART program provides STEM students the tools they need to pursue higher education and focus on research that will have a lasting impact. DuBois says, “I want to make an impact that will fulfill my desires of being part of something bigger than myself. The DoD is where I can make the biggest impact. The data that I can help supply to this mission is exactly the sort of ‘cause’ that I want to advance in my technical and professional field.” The SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program enables a civilian workforce with innovative scientists, engineers and researchers to help support the DoD’s mission and protect national security.
Dr. Ginger Rowell describes DuBois as “a woman of strength, independence, confidence, and tenacity. Not only does she exhibit the curiosity of a scientist, but she also demonstrates the habits of carefully examining the situation, making sure she investigates the problem thoroughly, conducting research, and having a healthy dose of skepticism that encourages one to double check their processes and conclusions.”
If DuBois is awarded the SMART Scholarship she will be the second student in MTSU’s history to be given this award. DuBois has the energy, passion and the ability to make a big impact in the field of mathematics and data science. Winners receive full tuition, a yearly stipend between $30,000-$46,000, a summer internship, and health insurance. In 2022 the DoD awarded 482 scholars. Winners will be notified by the end of April.
DuBois is studying abroad this summer at Lloyd’s of London, the world’s leading insurance marketplace.
Mathematics Grant Writers Recognized the MTSU Research Publication
The Spring 2023 publication of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs features our very own Dr. Mary Martin and Dr. Dovie Kimmins.
Dr. Martin is recognized as a gold medalist for her dedication to MTSU as a professor in the classroom and the contributions she has made through writing grants throughout her career. Dr. Martin has been apart of bringing a total of $7.04 million of funding to MTSU’s mathematics program. Click here to read the full article “Weaving a Web“.
Dr. Kimmins, a graduate and faculty member since 1983, has helped to raise $2.5 million in grants during her career at MTSU. Dr. Kimmins has worked extensively with providing inservice for middle school math teachers helping them better serve the students that come into their classrooms. Click here (page 50) to read the bronze medal winner exert on Dr. Kimmins.
The Mathematical Sciences Department received $3 million in grants last year in 2022 alone.
Riverdale High School’s Honors College visits MTSU
Riverdale High School’s Honors College visited MTSU on October 20th. MTSU offered sessions in various fields of study. The Mathematical Science Department held three sessions led by Dr. Chris Stephens. The topic was Arithmetic Patterns in Integers. The students were enthusiastic and actively engaged in testing Van Der Waerden’s Theorem established in 1927. These bright and inquisitive Riverdale students had an opportunity to explore the idea that although many mathematical concepts that were established long ago still hold true today, unlike some other concepts, that there are so many more theorems to test and number patterns to explore.
MTSU graduate math program boasts top-tier staff, outstanding alumni
The Mathematical Sciences Department has made the MTSU News!! Stephanie Wagner with MTSU News talks with Dr. Don Hong, the coordinator of the Actuarial and Financial Mathematics program, and discusses what he views as the key to helping students succeed in their course of study. MTSU Alumni, Zoe Zhang and David Matthews, share how Dr. Hong and other faculty in the Mathematical Science Department helped them to achieve their goals and prepare them for the amazing careers they have now. Read more…
Inaugural Tailgate
The Mathematical Sciences Department held an inaugural football tailgate on Friday, September 30th. It was MTSU’s Blackout game against UTSA. It was a beautiful fall day, and we had lots of delicious food. We had our tent set up in a prime spot in the grove to hear the rousing music of the band and a front row view of the Raider Walk. Our faculty and students enjoyed the time together. Although the Blue Raiders fell short of UTSA, there were lots of smiles, laughter, and fun had by all.
Are you struggling with your math courses? Our tutors can help.
MTSU offers free tutoring for a variety of mathematics courses. Many of our tutors are GTA’s, and they love to teach and talk about math. Come to KOM 252 to our Calculus Lab for help in Math 1630, 1720, 1730, 1810, 1910, 1920, and 3110. Tutoring for MATH 1000, 1010/1010K, 1530/1530K, and 1710/1710K is in KOM 124. The hours for both tutoring labs are Monday-Thursday, 9am-6pm, and Friday 9am-2pm.
2022 Raider RoundUp
