• Mathematics and statistics are rich areas of inquiry ranging from pure abstractions to concrete applications. At Amherst College, the study of Mathematics includes both its pure and applied aspects as well as offerings in Statistics. The language of Mathematics is remarkably powerful and flexible, and the modes of thinking learned in Statistics can yield remarkable insight into the many numbers that pervade modern life. The ideas of Mathematics and Statistics are not only beautiful and valuable in themselves but also relevant to many other disciplines, including Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Environmental Studies, and Physics.
  • Our introductory course offerings include Calculus, Linear Algebra and Applied Statistics. For students interested in Mathematics as a liberal art, we also have courses such as Number Theory, Mathematical Modeling, and Discrete Mathematics. In these courses, suitable for majors and non-majors alike, students learn the power of applications and enjoy the satisfaction of constructing rigorous proofs. For students who wish to inquire more deeply into the subject, a major in Mathematics or Statistics offers a full range of courses, together with the possibility of doing a senior honors thesis in Mathematics or Statistics.

    • About the Mathematics Major

    • The mathematics major is fun and rewarding and can lead to great jobs!
    • If you are thinking about majoring in math, you should go to Seeley Mudd and talk to a math professor. In the meantime, this page provides an outline of the requirements for a major. (The catalog is the official word on these matters, so read it, too.)
    • Once you have decided to declare the major, you will need to obtain the appropriate form from the Registrar's page, complete it, and have the current Math Department chair, as well as your current advisor, sign it, before returning it to the Registrar.
    • As you proceed through the major, or are trying to decide if you can complete it, check out our checklist for the Math Major
    • Every mathematics major needs to take the comprehensive examination in mathematics, and any student wishing to write a senior honors thesis in mathematics needs to take the honors qualifying examination in mathematics in their junior year.
    • Any statistics major who wishes to pursue honors and write a thesis in statistics must pass the honors qualifying exam in statistics during their junior year. These students should reference the mathematics core exam for the first part of their examination and the probability subject examination page for the second part.
    • The sub-pages of this page contain the information you need to understand the exam in mathematics and prepare for taking it:
    • The departmental policy for the comprehensive and honors qualifying examination in mathematics
    • The syllabi for the courses covered on the examination
    • Advice for how to study for the exam
    • Old comprehensive examinations
    • Solutions to old comprehensive examinations

    • About the Statistics Major

    • Every statistics major needs to successfully complete the comprehensive evaluation in statistics. For most students, the evaluation involves an extension of the capstone project from Stat 495. For students pursuing a thesis in statistics, see instructions below on completing the evaluation.
    • In the fall of their senior year, all Statistics majors will enroll in the capstone course STAT 495, and complete a capstone project under faculty supervision. An extension of the capstone project completed individually by the student (in the spring semester of senior year) or a preliminary version of the thesis (for thesis students) will serve as the basis for a comprehensive evaluation of each student's achievement in the major. Each student's project will be assessed by the Statistics faculty in the Department to determine if the student has successfully completed the comprehensive evaluation. (Those for whom the second semester of the junior year occurs in the fall should enroll in STAT 495 in that semester in order to complete the extension of the capstone project and satisfy the comprehensive evaluation).
    • The comprehensive evaluation submission must contain reproducible analysis. A hard copy of the main document and an electronic copy with technical appendix as well as any necessary data files is required at time of submission. See example files for submission below. (These files are still under development.)