Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Mathematics
Undergraduate Degrees
Advanced Placement Examinations in Mathematics
The university grants four units of credit in mathematics for scores of 4 or 5.
Pre-major Requirements
MATH 125, MATH 126 or MATH 127, MATH 225, MATH 226 or MATH 227 are required.
Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics
Six math courses at the 400 level or above including MATH 410, MATH 425a and either MATH 434 or MATH 435, are required.
Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics
Eight math courses at the 400 level or above, excluding MATH 434 and MATH 450, but including:
| Required courses | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| MATH 410 | Fundamental Concepts of Modern Algebra | 4 |
| MATH 425ab | Fundamental Concepts of Analysis | 4-4 |
| MATH 471 | Topics in Linear Algebra | 4 |
| Required physics courses | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| PHYS 151L | Fundamentals of Physics I: Mechanics and Thermodynamics | 4 |
| PHYS 152L | Fundamentals of Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 |
| PHYS 153L | Fundamentals of Physics III: Optics and Modern Physics | 4 |
| Four additional courses in natural sciences or computer science, but excluding courses in mathematics, are required. At least two of these must be upper-division courses, and each of the four courses must be acceptable for the Bachelor of Science degree in the department in which it is offered. |
Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Applied and Computational Mathematics
Pre-major Requirements: MATH 125, MATH 126, MATH 225 or MATH 245, MATH 226
In Mathematics: MATH 407, MATH 458
At Least Four More Courses From the Following: MATH 370, MATH 408, MATH 410, MATH 425a, MATH 430, MATH 432, MATH 435, MATH 445, MATH 466, MATH 467, MATH 471
In Computing: At least one programming course such as CSCI 101L, ITP 109x, ITP 110x, ITP 150x, ITP 165x or other programming courses approved by the program advisers.
Electives: At least three additional courses with significant quantitative content, in mathematics, natural sciences, computer science, engineering, economics or other fields approved by the department. At least two of these must be outside the mathematics department; moreover, at least two of these three must be in the same department, one of which must be an upper-division course.
Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Applied and Computational Mathematics
Pre-major Requirements: MATH 125, MATH 126, MATH 225 or MATH 245, MATH 226
In Mathematics: MATH 407, MATH 408, MATH 425a, MATH 458. At least three courses from MATH 370, MATH 410, MATH 425b, MATH 430, MATH 432, MATH 435, MATH 445, MATH 466, MATH 467, MATH 471
Students contemplating a graduate degree in mathematics are advised to take MATH 410, MATH 425b and MATH 471.
In Computing: At least one programming course such as CSCI 101L, ITP 109x, ITP 110x, ITP 150x, ITP 165x or other programming course approved by the program advisers.
Electives: At least five additional courses with significant quantitative content in mathematics, natural sciences, computer science, engineering, economics or other fields approved by the department. At least three of these must be outside the mathematics department; moreover, at least three of these must be in the same department, and at least two must be upper-division courses.
Grade Point Average Requirements
For each undergraduate degree an overall GPA of 2.0 in all upper-division courses taken for the degree is required. In addition, any upper-division course specifically listed as required must be passed with a grade of C (2.0) or better (e.g., MATH 410, MATH 425ab and MATH 471 for the B.S. degree).
Minor in Mathematical Finance
This interdisciplinary minor was created for students in business, economics and mathematics, whose majors already require some of the introductory course work. Students in other programs are welcome but should expect the minor to require more units than it does for students in these programs. For more information, see Mathematical Finance.
Minor in Statistics
(213) 740-2400
This interdisciplinary minor should appeal to students from any discipline who are interested in acquiring a basic understanding of the mathematics underlying modern statistical analysis and inference techniques, in learning how to handle and analyze large data sets, and in gaining insight into the applications of modern statistics. Students who complete this minor should be able to critically interpret statistically based conclusions, should be viable candidates for entry level positions requiring some knowledge of modern statistics and data analysis, and should be prepared to enter a graduate-level program in applied statistics. The only prerequisite for this minor is one semester of elementary calculus.
As with all minors, students must include at least four upper-division courses and four courses dedicated exclusively to this minor (which may be the same four courses). Finally, students must select four courses outside their major department. These may be the same four courses used to meet the first two conditions. Note that Math B.A. and B.S. economics/mathematics students may complete this minor by taking MATH 407 and MATH 408 and at least 16 additional upper-division units approved by the Department of Mathematics, which are not in their major department and not being used to satisfy a requirement for their major. Note also that if calculus must be taken to satisfy the prerequisite for MATH 307, 20 units would be required to complete the minor.
| Requirements | units | |
|---|---|---|
| MATH 307 | Statistical Inference and Data Analysis I (prerequisite: MATH 118 or MATH 125), and | 4 |
| MATH 308 | Statistical Inference and Data Analysis II, or | 4 |
| MATH 407 | Probability Theory (prerequisite: MATH 226) and | 4 |
| MATH 408 | Mathematical Statistics | 4 |
| Electives* | 8 | |
| Total | 16 units | |
Mathematics Minor Requirements
MATH 125, MATH 126 or MATH 127, MATH 225 or MATH 245, MATH 226 or MATH 227 and four math courses at the 400 level or above, one of which must be from MATH 410, MATH 425a, MATH 435, MATH 440 or MATH 471. These four courses at the 400 level or above must total at least 16 units.
Honors Program in Mathematics
Admission to the Program
The honors program is available for mathematics majors. A student must apply to the department for admission. A minimum grade point average of 3.5 is required in the first two years of university work as well as in the lower-division mathematics courses MATH 125, MATH 126 or MATH 127, MATH 225 and MATH 226 or MATH 227.
Requirements
The students must complete all requirements for the degree program in which they are enrolled. MATH 410, MATH 425ab and MATH 471 are required. The remaining courses at the 400 level or higher must be acceptable for the B.S. degree.
In addition, students in the honors program must register for at least four units of MATH 490x Directed Research. The student must have an overall GPA of at least 3.5 in all courses at the 400 level or higher.
Combined Mathematics/Economics Major Requirements for the Bachelor of Science
Students are required to take seven courses in economics, seven courses in mathematics and one course in computer programming languages.
Pre-major Requirement: MATH 125
In Economics: ECON 203, ECON 205, ECON 303, ECON 305, ECON 414 and at least two other ECON courses at the 400-level or above
In Mathematics: MATH 126 or MATH 127; MATH 225 or MATH 245; MATH 226 or MATH 227; MATH 407, MATH 408 and at least two other MATH courses at the 400-level or above
In Computing: At least one course chosen from ITP 110x, ITP 150x, ITP 165x, CSCI 101L
Electives must be approved by the program advisers.
Language
Those students intending to go on to graduate school should satisfy the language requirement in French, German or Russian.
Progressive Degree Programs in Mathematics
Outstanding undergraduate students may apply for a master’s degree in any area for which their major is relevant. If accepted into the master’s degree program, the student may work simultaneously toward their bachelor’s degree and the master’s degree. To apply for a master’s degree, a student must have completed at least 64 units, but fewer than 96 units, toward their major. The application requires two letters of recommendation from USC faculty, at least one of whom must be in the department of the student’s major. For more information on progressive degree programs, see here.