We offer six emphases/programs, each of which is carefully designed for students' specific interests and career goals.
TheGeneral Mathematicsemphasis 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.
TheApplied Mathematicsemphasis 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 theComputational Mathematicsemphasis, 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 inMathematics Educationprepares 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. 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.
Graduate
The Department of Mathematical Sciences offers a program of instruction and research leading to the Master of Science, Master of Science in Teaching, Master of Science in Statistics and Probability, and Doctor of Philosophy. The Master of Science degree in Mathematics offers specializations in Pure Mathematics, Mathematics Education, Applied Mathematics and Computational Mathematics. The Master of Science degree in Teaching is for licensed teachers seeking to enhance their professional knowledge of middle school mathematics education. The Master of Science degree in Applied Probability and Statistics is offered through our Division of Statistics.