Many mathematics and statistics majors study away during their junior year.
If you are planning to study away and be a math major, you should see a mathematician in the department in the Spring of your sophomore year to talk about your plans. More information for mathematics majors can be found just below.
If you are planning to study away and be a statistics major, you should see a statistician in the department at the start of the Fall semester of your sophomore year to talk about your plans. More information for statistics majors can be found by scrolling down past the mathematics information.
No matter which major you are planning, you should also make use of the school resources like the Office of Global Education. You can also read comments by previous mathematics majors who studied away on our Study Away comments page.
Studying Away as a Mathematics Major
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Study away programs often require that you declare a major before submitting an application. Hence you should consider declaring your major early in the Spring semester of your sophomore year. This way, you can discuss your study away plans with your advisor in mathematics.
- Some study away programs are specifically aimed at mathematics, such as the Budapest program (which has math and math ed options, as well as a year-long Fullbright) and MASS program from Penn State. For other programs, it is not always possible to take math courses while away, and even if you can, sometimes you can't determine which courses are appropriate until you get there. This is why it is important to discuss your plans with your advisor in your sophomore year.
- If you take one or more math courses while away, you need to petition the department to have the courses count toward the major. Your petition should include as much information as possible about the courses, including the title, professor, text, course description, and syllabus. If the course has a web site, this information is often available at the web site, so that all you need to give us is the url for web site. Petitions should be sent to your math major advisor via email. We encourage you to contact us to let us know what math courses you are taking.
- For study away petitions, approvals are contingent on submission of a transcript showing the grade earned in the course, in order to aid in student advising. In other words, you make the petition as outlined above, then after taking the course(s), submit a copy of your transcript to your mathematics advisor. Upon receipt of that transcript, the courses will be applied towards your major as specified in the petition approval.
- It can be difficult to take required courses like Math 350 or 355 while away, so plan ahead for how you will fit these core courses into your schedule.
- If you study away during the Spring and want to participate in the honors program, you will need to take the Honors Qualifying Examination while away. This is easy to do provided you find someone (professor, teaching assistant, or administrator) who is willing to proctor the exam. We email a copy of the exam to the proctor, who then either faxes or mails your exam paper back to us. If the exams are mailed back, you may need to pay the postage.
If you have any questions about the math major and study away programs, you should discuss them with the department chair or your advisor.