General Information about the Department of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences

Mission

Description of Academic Programs

In addition to the Ph.D. program, the department offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Science in mathematics (converted from a Bachelor of Arts in 1991), the Master of Science in Applied Mathematics, and has a large presence in the campus-wide Master of Basic Science (M.B.S.) program. The department continues to provide service courses to students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and the College of Business and Administration. The roughly 6000 student credit hours generated by the department in the fall of 1999 corresponds to approximately 1900 students (head count) of which only 15% are mathematics majors or mathematics graduate students.

UC Denver is an urban university that attracts a large percentage of non-traditional students. The average age of UC Denver students is 30 years, and more than 90% of incoming students already live in the metropolitan Denver area. Of the 11,089 students who enrolled at the University in the fall of 1992, 52% were female, 45% were graduate students, 54% were part-time students and 15% were minority students (a figure that has increased every year since 1988). By state statute, UC Denver is in a group of universities that uses the highest tier of admission standards in the state.

The undergraduate degree program offers options in pure mathematics, applied mathematics, probability and statistics, computer science, actuarial science and mathematics education. The graduation requirements in all options consist of two computer science courses, three semesters of Calculus, three core upper division mathematics courses (Introduction to Abstract Mathematics, Applied Linear Algebra, Undergraduate Seminar) plus an additional seven option-specific courses for a total of ten upper division mathematics courses (30 semester hours). All options lead to the same B.S. degree. The department also offers a minor in mathematics and an honors program.

The graduate degree programs feature options in applied probability, applied statistics, computational biology, computational mathematics, computer science, discrete mathematics, mathematics of science and engineering, and operations research. The M.S. degree requires two common courses, Applied (Real) Analysis and Applied Linear Algebra, plus eight additional courses; a thesis option is available and recommended. The requirements for the Ph.D. program follow established traditions with a course work requirement (42 semester hours), two preliminary examinations (applied real analysis and applied linear algebra), a written and oral comprehensive examination, residence requirements, and a dissertation.

The following features of the program are notable or unique.

• Within the department, the Center for Computational Mathematics serves to focus the activities of faculty members whose teaching and research interests lie in the areas of numerical analysis, parallel processing and supercomputing.
• The Mathematics Education Resource Center (MERC), a laboratory of networked PII PCs that is used for calculus and pre-calculus courses, has been the platform for curriculum reform during the last four years.
• The Math Clinic has provided UC Denver students with problems and projects from the private and public sector for more than 15 years.
• The Statistics Consulting Service has provided UC Denver students with problems and projects from the private and public sector for more than 5 years.
• The department continues to strengthen its bonds with Denver's business community, public schools and colleges by providing well-trained graduates and by offering educational and research opportunities.
• We offer four courses in mathematical modeling: Continuous, Discrete, Optimization, and Probabilistic.

Departmental Annual Reports