Contacts | Joint BA/MS or BS/MS in Computational and Applied Mathematics | Course Requirements | Master's Thesis Option | Apply
Joint BA/MS or BS/MS in Computational and Applied Mathematics
This four-year joint program enables exceptionally well-prepared undergraduate students to complete an MS degree in Computational and Applied Mathematics (CAM) along with a BA or BS degree during their four years at the College. The undergraduate degree does not necessarily have to include a major in Computational and Applied Mathematics.
The program admits a small number of students through a competitive admissions process. The program strongly encourages students who are interested in applying to consult both the departmental adviser for their undergraduate major and their College adviser early in their third year. The application deadline is the first Monday in February of a student's third year for admission to candidacy for an MS in CAM during the fourth year.
To be considered, students should have completed almost all of their undergraduate requirements, including all of their general education and language competence requirements, by the end of their third year.
Participants in the joint BA/MS or BS/MS program must meet the same requirements as students in the master's degree program in CAM. Of the nine courses that are required at the appropriate level, up to two may also meet the requirements of an undergraduate major and/or minor, while the others may count as general elective credit toward the undergraduate degree. Students also have the option of pursuing a master’s degree with thesis, which involves writing and defending a master’s thesis under the guidance of a CAM advisor.
Course Requirements
The graduate component of the proposed BA/MS or BS/MS program consists of at least nine courses, as described below. All course programs must be approved with the signatures of the student's graduate program advisers.
Three courses from one of the following tracks (300 units):
These courses correspond to required coursework for students in the CAM PhD program. They are offered every year as three-quarter sequences. Students in the CAM joint master’s programs select at least one of the tracks to complete during their degree.
Applied Analysis and Modeling Track
CAAM 31410 | Applied Dynamical Systems | 100 |
CAAM 31210 | Applied Functional Analysis | 100 |
CAAM 31220 | Partial Differential Equations | 100 |
Total Units | 300 |
Computational Mathematics Track
CAAM 30900 | Mathematical Computation I: Matrix Computation Course | 100 |
CAAM 31015 | Mathematical Computation IIA: Convex Optimization | 100 |
or CAAM 31020 | Mathematical Computation IIB: Nonlinear Optimization | |
CAAM 37710 | Machine Learning | 100 |
or CAAM 31050 | Applied Approximation Theory | |
Total Units | 300 |
Three elective courses within the CAM program (300 units)
Students are able to choose three CAM elective courses. These electives can be chosen from the track that they did not pursue above or from other courses offered as part of the CAM graduate programs, chosen in consultation with a student’s graduate advisers.
Three additional graduate-level electives related to CAM (300 units)
Students may choose these electives from the above lists or from graduate-level courses related to CAM offered through the Physical Sciences Division, Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, or the Booth School of Business.
Master's Thesis Option
Students may optionally choose to write a master's thesis under the direction of a faculty adviser. Completing this option requires submission of an adviser-approved version of the thesis and the presentation of a public 30-minute master's seminar. Students may ask any member of the Committee on Computational and Applied Mathematics to advise their master's thesis; advising is by mutual agreement between the student and potential adviser. Students in the joint BA/MS or BS/MS program may complete the thesis option during their three quarters of graduate enrollment.
Apply
Applications are to be submitted through the PSD graduate application site. (In the Application tab, select Master’s Degree as the Degree Type, and then BX/MS in Computational and Applied Mathematics as the Program Name.)
To be considered for admission, students must: (1) complete all general education (core) requirements prior to their expected first quarter in the joint degree program, (2) provide a copy of their Stellic report showing completed and in-progress courses as part of their application materials, and (3) meet with the appropriate contact in the MS program as required per that graduate program.