Program Description Booklet

The Department of Mathematics offers programs leading to Undergraduate degrees in three faculties:

BA Minor, Major, Double Major, Mathematics/Economics Major, Honours, Combined Honours, Mathematics/Music Honours. Co-operative Education Program options are also available.

BSc Minor, Major, Double Major, Combined Major, Mathematics/Economics Major, Mathematical Sciences Major, Honours, Combined Honours. A dual-degree BSc/BEd program and Co-operative Education Program options are also available.

BASc Minor in Honours Mathematics

The Honours degree is the usual route for students intending to proceed to graduate school in Mathematics. It is necessary to have a PhD degree in order to obtain an academic position at a university; an MSc degree may be sufficient to obtain a position at a two-year college, although many such advertised positions give preference to applicants with PhD degrees. An Honours degree, with appropriate courses in analysis, discrete mathematics, probability, and statistics, is an appropriate route to graduate programs in Commerce, especially Management Science (Operations Research). Typically, a postgraduate degree is needed for jobs with a strong Mathematics component.

Our Majors programs (BA or BSc) offer substantial flexibility in math course selection as well as plenty of elective room. Students can get a fine "Liberal Arts" degree in either case by a suitable selection of courses but should note the requirements of their Faculty.

Currently, a Mathematics degree is one of the best entry routes to BEd programs since there has been a significant shortage of qualified Mathematics teachers at the secondary school level. The current job market for teachers in BC is very weak but should recover. Students in a Major program intending to enter the BEd program should consider taking courses in geometry, number theory, probability, statistics, and mathematics history, such as MATH 302, 303, 308, 309, 312, 313, 342, 414, 446, and STAT 200. The Department of Mathematics runs workshop programs for BC students in Grades 6-12 and welcomes participation from Mathematics undergraduates interested in teaching as a potential career.

The business world has employed many Mathematics graduates, especially in the actuarial field, investment, and banking. For such employment, it is worthwhile to take courses in Statistics, in particular STAT 200, 305, 306, and 404. Students interested in the actuarial field should contact Dr. Joel Friedman. Note that one can take a Major in Mathematics with a Minor in Commerce (BA or BSc degree) as well as a Mathematics/Economics Major (BA or BSc degree).

One area of great employment opportunity appears to be in the software industry - systems analysis, software engineering, computer programming, and management information systems. Mathematics graduates seeking such employment opportunities should consider taking Computer Science courses such as CPSC 111, 210, and 221.

For career information, students are encouraged to look at Jobs Rated Almanac by Les Krantz, which lists the following among the ten best American jobs (out of 250): actuary, computer-systems analyst, software engineer, and statistician. See also the American Mathematical Society website, www.ams.org/employment. For all career choices, good communication skills in both oral and written English are essential.

Detailed information (including prerequisites) for all UBC Mathematics courses is available in the UBC Calendar. Some additional comments are given below.

Major students sometimes wonder which third- and fourth-year Mathematics courses to include in their degree. In practice, typical choices come from the following:

For reasons of breadth, it is a good idea to include MATH 302, 307, 308, 312, and 340, and then to take follow-up courses as interests dictate. Major students, especially those considering graduate school in the Mathematical Sciences, are also encouraged to take some of the courses required in the Honours program, such as MATH 300, 320, 321, and 322. Another suggestion is to take some higher-level elective courses in an area of application, such as Economics, Computer Science, or Statistics.

Students planning on an Honours or Combined Honours degree are advised to take the Honours version of first- and second-year courses, specifically MATH 120 (Honours Differential Calculus), 121 (Honours Integral Calculus), 223 (Linear Algebra), 226 (Advanced Calculus I), and 227 (Advanced Calculus II). For each of these courses, the syllabus in the regular and the Honours versions is similar enough so that the regular course with a sufficiently high grade will be accepted as a prerequisite for a subsequent Honours course. However, in general, the Honours versions cover the material in greater depth, offer more challenging problems, and anticipate concepts which are important in upper-level courses. Note that an Honours student who takes MATH 200 or MATH 253 instead of MATH 226 must also take MATH 220 (Mathematical Proof).

The core third-year courses are MATH 300 (Introduction to Complex Variables), 320 (Real Variables I), 321 (Real Variables II), and 322 (Introduction to Algebra). Almost all fourth-year courses have these courses as prerequisites. A highly recommended course, MATH 331 (Problem Solving), may be profitably taken in second, third or fourth year. The prerequisites are MATH 223 (152, 221) and MATH 226 (200). The remaining upper-level courses are organized into the areas of analysis, algebra, geometry and topology, applied mathematics, and a course in graph theory. See the UBC Calendar for detailed descriptions. Some higher-level courses are not offered every year. Advanced students are encouraged to take 500-level (introductory graduate) courses. Note that the Math Honours program (not Combined Honours) allows some Math Major courses.

Notices of interest to undergraduates are posted on the bulletin board located in the hallway outside the main Mathematics Office (Room 121 in the Mathematics Building).