In April, 2021, the MSCS department approved changes to the majors that we offer. The old Mathematics and Applied Mathematics and Statistics (AMS) majors were split. Under the new structure students may major in Mathematics (encompassing both theoretical math and applied math) or a new Statistics major or a new cross-disciplinary Data Science major or Computer Science. The computer science major remains unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Existing Mathematics and AMS majors can continue their major under the old requirements, which are listed below<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New major declaration will need to meet the new requirements, except with permission for unusual circumstances. If you are interested in declaring one of the MSCS majors, please follow the new requirements<\/a> and see the instructions on declaring an MSCS major or minor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Computer Science Major <\/a> | Computer Science Minor<\/a> | Mathematics Major<\/a> | Applied Mathematics and Statistics (AMS) Major <\/a> | Mathematics Minor <\/a> | Statistics Minor<\/a> | Data Science Minor <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements for a minor in computer science are:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Any five courses in computer science numbered 120-489. Minor plans including more than one crosslisted course require departmental approval. (Note: Credit can be awarded for only <\/span>one<\/span><\/i> of the introductory courses <\/span>COMP 120<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>COMP 123<\/span><\/a>.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n No more than two courses can count toward any other minor or major.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Students earn a major in Mathematics by choosing between two paths: Mathematics<\/em> or Applied Mathematics and Statistics.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n To obtain a minor in mathematics, you must complete the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n No more than two courses can count toward any other minor or major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Five courses total (with a maximum of two counting toward other majors, minors, or concentrations). These must include STAT 155<\/a> and STAT 253<\/a>, and any three courses from the following: STAT 112<\/a>, STAT 125<\/a>, MATH 354<\/a>, STAT 453<\/a>, STAT 454<\/a>, MATH 455<\/a>, COMP 123<\/a>, COMP 440<\/a>, ECON 381<\/a>, GEOG 225<\/a>, GEOG 378<\/a>, POLI 269<\/a>, PSYC 301<\/a>, SOCI 269<\/a>, or another course approved by the Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Chair. At most, one course may come from outside of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science<\/p>\n\n\n\n The requirements for the minor are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two courses in each of the three areas below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No more than two courses can count toward any other major, minor, or concentration. Pre-Approved Domain Courses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Astronomy Bioinformatics Computational Linguistics<\/p>\n\n\n\n LING 100 Introduction to Linguistics<\/a> and Data-Driven Journalism Ecology Environmental Science and Policy Geographic Analytics Political Analytics Quantitative Economics Quantitative Public Health Social Processes and Relations In April, 2021, the MSCS department approved changes to the majors that we offer. The old Mathematics and Applied Mathematics and Statistics (AMS) majors were split. Under the new structure students may major in Mathematics (encompassing both theoretical math and applied math) or a new Statistics major or a new cross-disciplinary Data Science major or […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-959","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/mscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/mscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/mscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/mscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/mscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/mscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1759,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/mscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/959\/revisions\/1759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/mscs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Old Major Requirements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Computer Science Major<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Major Requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
<\/span>
<\/span>Mathematics and statistics courses that support a Computer Science major particularly well include: <\/span>STAT 155<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>MATH 236<\/span><\/a>, <\/span> STAT 253<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>MATH 313<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>MATH 365<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>MATH 379<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>Students who plan to attend graduate school in computer science are encouraged to take <\/span>COMP 361<\/span><\/a>, more than the minimum number of computer science electives, as well as additional supporting work in related disciplines.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>Students planning a Computer Science major who enter Macalester without prior experience should take <\/span>COMP 123<\/span><\/a> in their first year.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nComputer Science Minor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Minor Requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Mathematics Major<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Requirements for Mathematics are:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
At least one of MATH 377<\/a> or MATH 378<\/a>
At least one of MATH 376<\/a> or MATH 379<\/a>
At least one 400-level Capstone Course taken before<\/em> spring semester of senior year<\/li>\n\n\n\nRequirements in Applied Mathematics and Statistics are:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
Mathematics Minor <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Statistics Minor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Minor Requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Data Science Minor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
*COMP 123 – Core Concepts in Computer Science<\/a> AND
* One of: STAT 112 Introduction to Data Science<\/a> or COMP 127 – Object-Oriented Programming and Abstraction<\/a> or COMP 128 – Data Structures<\/a> or COMP 302 – Introduction to Database Management Systems<\/a> or COMP 365 – Computational Linear Algebra<\/a> or COMP 440 – Collective Intelligence<\/a> or COMP 484 – Introduction to Artificial Intelligence<\/a>, or others as approved by the department.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
*STAT 155 – Introduction to Statistical Modeling<\/a> AND
*One of: STAT 253 – Statistical Machine Learning<\/a> or STAT 453 – Survival Analysis<\/a> or STAT 454 – Bayesian Statistics<\/a>, or others as approved by the department.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
* Two courses in a single domain<\/strong> meeting the following criteria: the courses should be focused around a theme (e.g., bioinformatics) and not a broad discipline AND that theme should
one that allows the possibility of data science-related activities, either within the courses themselves or in the student\u2019s future career or further education.
* Pre-approved domain courses are listed below. Proposals for other areas of domain expertise (supported by two courses) will be approved on a case by case basis by the department.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Applied Mathematics and Statistics Majors may not also earn a Data Science Minor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PHYS 120 – Astronomical Techniques<\/a> and
PHYS 440 – Observational Astronomy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
BIOL 190 – Genetics<\/a> and COMP 320 – Computational Biology<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
LING 294<\/a> Computational Methods in Linguistics<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MCST 114 – News Reporting and Writing<\/a> and one of the following:
MCST 355 – Advanced Journalism: Electronic<\/a>
MCST 357 – Advanced Journalism: New Media<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
BIOL 170 – Ecology and the Environment<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two of the following:
ENVI 231 – Environmental Economics and Policy<\/a>
ENVI 133 – Environmental Science<\/a>
ENVI 240 – The Earth\u2019s Climate System<\/a>
ENVI 150 Climate and Society<\/a>
ENVI 160 – Dynamic Earth and Global Change<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
GEOG 225 – Introduction to Geographic Information Systems<\/a> and one of the following:
GEOG 262 – Metro Analysis<\/a>
GEOG 362 – Introduction to Remote Sensing<\/a>
GEOG 364 – GIS and Community Partnerships<\/a>
GEOG 365 – Urban GIS<\/a>
GEOG 366 – GIS for Global Urban Environments<\/a>
GEOG 367 – Environmental Geographic Information Systems (GIS)<\/a>
GEOG 368 – Health GIS<\/a>
GEOG 378 – Statistical Research Methods in Geography<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
POLI 269 – Empirical Research Methods<\/a> and
one of:
POLI 214 – Cyber Politics<\/a>
POLI 242 Political Economy of Development<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two of the following:
ECON 381 – Introduction to Econometrics<\/a>
ECON 472 – Quantitative Macroeconomic Analysis<\/a>
ECON 485 – Empirical Finance<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two of the following:
BIOL 402 – Seminar in Virology<\/a>
BIOL 357 – Immunology<\/a>
GEOG 256 – Medical Geography<\/a>
STAT 125 – Epidemiology<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
SOCI 269 Social Science Inquiry<\/a> and
one of the following:
SOCI 190 Criminal Behavior\/Social Control<\/a>
SOCI 283 Economic Sociology<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"