Math at St. Mary’s, above anything, teaches students how to think. 

Mathematics has been studied by early civilizations, systematically explored in ancient Greece, widened by the mathematicians of the intervening centuries, and put on solid logical foundations during the past two hundred years. Today, we are exploring many new branches of mathematics, solving old problems, formulating new ones, and steadily extending the boundaries of our knowledge. Without mathematics, there would be little of the modern world we now know.

The Math major at St. Mary’s teaches vital life skills hidden in the solutions of math problems. We discuss, uncover, and explain math concepts while doing much, much more. We seek to show and explain math’s applications and how they work. We provide our majors with a solid knowledge and understanding of abstract mathematics as well as some of its applications.

The department demonstrates the applicability of these core ideas through a broad curriculum, experiential learning, and undergraduate research. This prepares students to put these ideas into practice and to continue on to future learning whether at graduate school or in the workplace.