NIU Department of Mathematical Sciences
Dear Prospective Students:
Welcome to the Department of Mathematical Sciences webpage for
prospective students. We have a lot to tell you about
our department academic emphases/programs,
faculty members' teaching and
research,
students' extra-curricular activities,
mathematics assistant center,
(also NIU's
tutoring centers),
scholarships and
jobs.
Ultimately, our goal is to help you successfully prepare
for your career goals.
Why Mathematics at NIU?
- The Department offers six emphases/programs, each of which
is carefully designed for students' specific interests and career goals.
- The General Mathematics emphasis offers the broadest and most
theoretical program of study. It is often an appropriate choice for students
who wish to pursue graduate degrees or attend professional school or teach
in a community college or above.
- The Applied Mathematics emphasis offers a course of study which
focuses on the application of mathematics to real-world problems. This
is an appropriate choice for students interested in problems arising
from industry or engineering, and prepares them for many technical
fields.
- In the Computational Mathematics emphasis, students investigate
the nature of computation, and the methods used to compute
mathematical quantities accurately and efficiently. Such skills are
increasingly valuable in a world which uses computers heavily.
- The emphasis in
Probability and Statistics investigates the use
and theory of probabilistic and statistical methods. Students within
this emphasis become familiar with several statistical computer
packages which are commonly used in industry and business. This
emphasis develops skills which are of value in industry, finance, and
insurance.
- The emphasis in Mathematics Education prepares math teachers for
the middle and high schools. Students in this emphasis usually earn both a
mathematics degree and Illinois State Certification to teach in
secondary schools.
- Students with the emphasis in
Actuarial Science would typically
enter the actuarial profession upon graduation. The rigorous
curriculum carefully combines training with all the
learning objectives of the first three examinations of the Society of
Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society.
- All classes required by majors are taught in small sections by our
faculty. This includes the first courses in Calculus. Most
mathematics majors will never have a math class with more than
twenty-five students at NIU. Some upper-level math classes usually
only have about ten students in a section.
- The Department values its excellent reputation for quality teaching, and
is proud of the large number of award-winning teachers within the
Department. Currently, there are eight faculty members in the department
having been recognized with the Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
and three faculty members are awarded the Presidential Teaching Professors,
a university-wide award for extraordinary excellence in teaching.
- The Department is also proud of the recognition achieved by some of
our most active researchers.
Currently, there three faculty members who have been awarded the
Presidential Research Professors, a university-wide award for extraordinary
excellence in research.
- The Department of Mathematical Sciences offers the Doctor of Philosophy
degree and the Master of Science degree. They are necessary for one
to land a research oriented job or teach in a junior college or
a four-year college.
-
The Department of Mathematical Sciences is
committed to the development of the best mathematics teachers in the
state and has a long history of producing top quality teachers in the
state, too.
- The Math Education emphasis prepares teachers to teach the full spectrum of
high-school mathematics, including Advanced Placement courses.
- The Department has at least five professors whose area of research is
mathematics education, who teach a wide variety of
methods of mathematical instruction and the theory behind these methods;
most have also had public school teaching experience.
- Students in the Mathematics Education emphasis work closely with
advisors within the Department. This is a particular strength of the
Department, about which our Mathematics Education students are universally
enthusiastic.
- Mathematics Education majors at NIU student-teach in some of Illinois' best
school districts, and our graduates teach in many of the middle and high
schools in the suburbs of Chicago, the collar counties, and throughout
Northern Illinois.
- Graduates of this program are recognized as some
of the best high school mathematics teachers in Northern Illinois.
- The core requirements of the emphasis enable students to go
to a graduate school studying mathematics without too much deficiency and
be competitive in the job market beyond teaching.
- The main campus of NIU (in DeKalb, population: 40,000) is 65 miles west of downtown
Chicago, 35 miles southeast of Rockford and spans 755 acres.
Thank you for your interest in NIU. We are exited about the future of
our programs and hope that you will consider joining us. If you/your parents
want to talk to me or one of our faculty, do not hesitate to send me an
email, or, call me at 815-753-6739.
Director of Undergraduate Studies:
Dr. Qingkai Kong
E-mail:
ugradprog@math.niu.edu
Back to the NIU Math Department Web page
Last modified: 2009/02/11 (zjy)