Why Study Mathematics and Statistics?
Undergraduate Majors
The study of mathematics or statistics can serve as the foundation for many careers, such as actuarial, teacher, financial analyst, data scientist, game designer, or animator.
Undergraduate majors have exciting opportunities. These include conducting research and computer analysis, as well as pursuing special studies with highly regarded faculty members. Students have the opportunity to participate in industry internships and competitive research programs in the United States and abroad. A student may earn a stipend as an undergraduate teaching assistant by tutoring, grading papers, or leading tutorial sessions for introductory level math classes.
Undergraduate Minors
You may earn a minor in mathematics or statistics. Students majoring in agriculture, engineering, biology, business, computer science, chemistry, economic sciences, physics, or other majors, may find that earning a minor in either mathematics or statistics requires only one or two additional courses. Click here to learn more about obtaining a minor in mathematics.
Graduate Studies
Graduate students study with graduate faculty who are on the forefront of research in areas of current global interest such as: mathematical modeling in population genetics, muscle physiology, and biomolecular systems; optimization problems on high performance computing environments; partial differential equations in control theory, swimming phenomenon, materials research, microwave heating and inverse problems; geometric analysis with a parallel focus on applications to data modeling and analysis; statistics related to bioinformatics and large data, multiple comparisons, experimental design, linear models, change-point problems, quality control, engineering reliability and risk analysis; probability including martingale methods, stochastic differential equations, stochastic simulation, and extreme value theory; matrix algebra including both computational and theoretical analyses; mathematics education research associated with teacher preparation, use of technology, and culturally relevant pedagogy; discrete mathematics that includes cryptography, combinatorics, and number theory; and environmental mathematics such as contaminant transport in groundwater, population ecology, and predator-prey problems. Graduate students participate in graduate seminars and undertake collaborative and cross-disciplinary research.
Middle Level Mathematics Endorsement
A partnership was formed in 2010 between the Mathematics Department and the Teaching and Learning Department to provide classes for a Middle Level Mathematics Endorsement in teaching. The endorsement has five classes to add to a secondary or elementary certificate, and is designed for both in-service and pre-service teachers. For more information please visit our Math Education page.
Research and Grant Information
Faculty collaborate with researchers from other disciplines within Washington State University, other academic institutions, and federal research laboratories. These collaborations have been extremely productive in generating joint research publications and research funding. For information on faculty funded grants please click here.
We are an institutional member of the following organizations:
- American Mathematical Society www.ams.org
- American Statistical Society www.amstat.org
- Association of Women in Mathematics www.awm-math.org
- Math Alliance mathalliance.org
- Mathematical Sciences Research Institute www.msri.org
- National Association of Mathematicians www.nam-math.org
Recent Faculty Authored Books
Pulling Rabbits Out of Hats: Using Mathematical Modeling in the Material, Biophysical, Fluid Mechanical, and Chemical Sciences - by David Wollkind and Bonni Dichone |
Bio-Mimetic Swimmers in Incompressible Fluids: Modeling, Well-Posedness, and Controllability - by Alexander Khapalov |
Statistical Methods For Reliability Data - by William Q. Meeker, Luis A. Escobar, Francis G. Pascual |
Matrix Positivity - by C.R. Johnson, R.L. Smith, M.J. Tsatsomeros |
Application-Inspired Linear Algebra - by Heather A. Moon, Thomas J. Asaki, and Marie A. Snipes |
For more information about these books and to read about other recently published books click here.
Students - get paid to be a Peer Mentor!
Did you know you can earn $1,500 over a semester by being a peer mentor? Prep for and lead weekly small group tutorials, support your peers in mathematics, and build a community of learning assistants. For more information click here.