Undergraduate Program: FAQ
- How do I declare a major or minor?
- How do I petition to graduate?
- What textbook should I buy?
- Can I take an Independent Study class?
- What if I want to study abroad?
- How do I get credit for math courses taken away from NU?
1. How do I declare a major or minor?
Call the math office at (49)1-3299, and make an appointment with Professor Stein, the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Bring along to that appointment:
- a filled out declaration of major (or minor) form (these are available in the Office of Undergraduate Studies and Advising, 1922 Sheridan Road, or from the Math Dept office)
- a copy of your current unofficial transcript printed out from CAESAR
- your ideas about what courses you might take to fulfill the major or minor requirements
2. How do I petition to graduate?
Download and fill out an Application for a Bachelor's Degree as completely as possible. Then call the math office at (49)1-3299, and make an appointment with Professor Stein, the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Bring the petition form along with you to that appointment. In the unlikely event that you have not already declared your math major or minor, you should also bring along a copy of your current unofficial transcript printed out from CAESAR.
3. What textbook should I buy?
| Fall 2007 | ||
| Course Sections |
Texts to buy | |
| Required | Optional | |
| 220, 224 All |
James Stewart, Essential Calculus, Early Transcendentals ISBN: |
ISBN: ISBN: |
| 230 All |
||
| 234 Non-engineering section 71 only |
James Stewart, Essential Calculus, Early Transcendentals ISBN: |
|
| 234 Engineering sections 67 and 87 |
Edwards/Penney, Calculus ISBN: |
|
4. Can I take an Independent Study (399) class?
a. General Requirements
Students interested in a mathematical topic or area not covered in our standard curriculum may wish to pursue Independent Study. There are several general conditions that must be met:
- the topic should be mathematics at the 300-level or higher
- the topic must not be one covered in a course that is normally offered in the department
- written materials (texts and/or mathematics papers) must be available covering the topic
- the work must be supervised by a member of the Mathematics Department
- the student must have mastered any prerequisite material required for the independent study topic
- the student and his/her supervisor must submit a 399 petition to the Director of Undergraduate Studies for approval
b. Choosing a topic and a supervisor
Independent study most often arises from a student's desire to continue deeper study of a topic encountered in course work. For example, someone fascinated by the material in our one-quarter topology course (344-0) might want to learn more about that subject. In such a case, the first step is to have a discussion with the professor who taught the course. Even if s/he is unable to supervise an independent study project, s/he might be able to suggest another instructor who can.
The desire to understand the mathematics underlying another subject, such as relativity theory or finance sometimes leads to independent study. Browsing the faculty list is a way of identifying a faculty member with expertise in the relevant mathematics.
Topics not covered in our current curriculum, such as algebraic geometry, can make interesting material for independent work.
Students who need help in pinpointing exactly what to study, as well as those seeking help in finding a supervisor, should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
c. Procedural Matters
Once a topic has been chosen, an appropriate member of the department should be asked to supervise the independent study. The same person may be consulted about finding a specific topic within a general area. (Suggestions for identifying potential supervisors are in the preceding paragraph.) Agreement should be reached on what texts will be used, what specific chapters or sections will be read, what specific work must be done, and how often meetings with the supervisor will take place. That agreement should be formalized on a copy of the 399 petition. The petition should then be submitted to the Director of Undergraduate Studies (in most cases, it will be sufficient to leave it in the Math office for the DUS) for approval.
The staff in the Math office will assign a section number and a permission number for registration in Math 399-0 upon presentation of the approved petition.
These steps take time! The process of finding a supervisor should commence at least 3 weeks before registration opens for the quarter in which the independent study is to take place.
5. What if I want to study abroad?
If you are a math major or minor considering foreign study and hope to include math courses in your curriculum while abroad, a careful choice of study abroad program and advance preparation are essential. You should be sure to ask NU's Study Abroad Office specifically about the availability of math courses at the programs you are considering. For example, our recent experience has been that several programs in England, Australia, and Switzerland offer many options, while math courses are unavailable to those studying in Seville.
The Study Abroad Office offers some general information on studying math and science abroad. NU is affiliated with the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program which is specifically designed for math majors.
Taking Math 300 early is good preparation for foreign study, since math courses that you take abroad are often theoretical (like our Math 320/321 or 330/331), and presuppose familiarity with a course like 300.
If you are planning to be abroad only part of the academic year and want to fulfill the math major sequence requirement by combining course work abroad with course work at NU, careful advance planning is necessary. In general, it is easier to do this if your foreign study is during the Fall Quarter.
The Director of Undergraduate Studies is available to discuss math course options abroad and sign the major approval part of your study abroad application. You can make an appointment with him by calling 491-3299. It's essential that you bring along to that appointment as much information as you can find about specific math course offerings which will be available at the programs you are considering.
6. How do I get credit for math courses taken away from NU?
If you plan to do academic work away from Northwestern, you must get prior approval to apply the credit earned toward your Northwestern degree. The first step is to bring a copy of the course description to the Office of Undergraduate Studies and Advising (1922 Sheridan Road) and fill out a form (available from Weinberg: "Policy on Study Away from Northwestern") requesting transfer credit. A staff member will check to see that the school is one from which we accept transfer credit (i.e., that it is an accredited four-year institution).
Next, call the math office at (49)1-3299, and make an appointment with Professor Stein, the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Bring the form along to that appointment, together with as much of the following information, printed out or photocopied from an official source, as possible:
- the course title and description
- a syllabus
- the title page showing the title and author of the course text or texts
- a copy of the course texts' tables of contents, marked to show what sections will be covered
If some of these items are not yet available, bring as many of them as possible.
Professor Stein will determine whether the course is equivalent to one taught here, and what, if any, requirements it fulfills. In the absence of complete information about the course, his determination can only be a preliminary one; a final determination will be made when all the necessary information is available.
After you have completed a course elsewhere, make sure that a transcript is sent to Northwestern's Registrar's Office. You should also keep in mind that there is a limit to how many non-Northwestern courses can be counted toward the Undergraduate Residence Requirement. Limits are also discussed in Weinberg's Policy on Study Away from Northwestern.
