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Minors

Mathematics Minor

The Minor in Mathematics consists of successful completion of at least 2 units of academic activities in mathematical sciences.

Students should discuss course selections for the minor in advance with a member of the mathematical sciences faculty who will serve as the Minor Advisor. The student must complete the Mathematics Minor Program Planning and Approval Form and have it signed by the Minor Advisor. Students are encouraged to do this as early as possible, but it must be done prior to starting the Capstone. The following requirements must be satisfied. 

1. At least 5/3 units must be coursework in the Mathematical Sciences Department at the 2000 level or above, of which at least 2/3 units must be upper-level courses, i.e. 3000-level, 4000-level, or graduate mathematics courses. Courses selected at the 2000 level, if any, must include at least one of the following courses:
   MA 2073 Matrices and Linear Algebra II
   MA 2251 Vector and Tensor Calculus
   MA 2271 Graph Theory
   MA 2273 Combinatorics
   MA 2431 Mathematical Modeling with Ordinary Differential Equations
   MA 2631 Probability
2. The final 1/3 unit Capstone Experience: The experience may be satisfied by certain 3000-level, 4000-level or graduate courses offered by the department or by a suitable independent study with a Mathematical Sciences faculty member. The Capstone must be approved in advance by the instructor. This is done by having the Capstone instructor sign the Mathematics Minor Planning and Approval Form. After completion of the Capstone Experience, the Mathematics Minor Program Planning and Approval Form is submitted to the Mathematical Sciences Program Review Chair for final approval.

Here are some examples of 5/3 units of coursework for four thematically-related minors. Other options are available.

Applied Analysis	Computational Analysis	Differential Equations	Discrete Mathematics	Operations Research
MA 2051	MA 2051	MA 2051	MA 2201	MA 2071
MA 2071	MA 2071	MA 2251	MA 2271	MA 2073
MA 2431	MA 2073	MA 3471	MA 2273	MA 3231
MA 3831	MA 3257	MA 4411	MA 3233	MA 3233
MA 3832	MA 3457	MA 4473	MA 533	MA 4235 or MA 4237

For more information about the Mathematics minor, see Professor Farr, who is the coordinator for Mathematics minors.

Approval Form

Download the Mathematics Minor Planning & Approval Form (PDF).

Statistics Minor

Statistical methods are widely used in science, engineering, business, and industry. The Statistics Minor is appropriate for all WPI students with interests in experimental design, data analysis, or statistical modeling. The minor is designed to enable a student to properly design studies and analyze the resulting data, and to evaluate statistical methods used in their field of study. Students should discuss course selections for the minor in advance with a statistics faculty member, who serves as the Minor Advisor. The student must complete the Statistics Minor Program Planning and Approval Form, and have it signed by the Minor Advisor. Students are encouraged to do this as early as possible, but it must be done prior to starting the Capstone. 

The statistics minor consists of completion of at least 2 units of work, which must consist of:

1. At least 5/3 units of coursework, which must be drawn from the following lists of Foundation and Upper-Level Courses, and which must include successful completion of at least 2/3 units from each list:

   Courses for Statistics Minor (5/3 Unit Required)
   

   Foundation Courses (2/3 Unit Required)
   MA 2073 Matrices and Linear Algebra II
   MA 2611 Applied Statistics I
   MA 2612 Applied Statistics II
   MA 2631 Probability, or
   MA 2621 Probability for Applications
   

   Upper-Level Courses (2/3 Unit Required)
   MA 3627 Applied Statistics III
   MA 3631 Mathematical Statistics
   MA 4213 Risk Theory
   MA 4214 Survival Models
   MA 4237 Probabilistic Methods in Operations Research
   MA 4631 Probability and Mathematical Statistics I
   MA 4632 Probability and Mathematical Statistics II
   Any statistics graduate course:
    MA 509 or any course numbered MA 540 through MA 559

2. The final 1/3 unit Capstone Experience: The capstone experience may be satisfied by certain 3000-level, 4000-level or graduate courses offered by the department or by a suitable independent study with one of the department’s statistics faculty. The Capstone must be approved in advance by the instructor. This is done by having the Capstone instructor sign the Statistics Minor Program Approval Form. After completion of the Capstone Experience, the Statistics Minor Program Planning and Approval Form is submitted to the Mathematical Sciences Program Review Chair for final approval.

For information about the Statistics Minor, see any of the statistics faculty: Professors Joseph D. Petruccelli, Balgobin Nandram, or Jayson D. Wilbur.

 

Approval Form

Download the Statistics Minor Planning & Approval Form (PDF).

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Last modified: February 02, 2009 12:41:44