Math with Engineering

Students enrolled in the School of Engineering can complete a mathematics major in addition to their primary engineering major. The amount of overlap between the two majors depends on the specific type of engineering that is being done. Additionally, a minor in mathematics is quite easy to complete as an engineering major, requiring at most four additional courses.

Overlapping courses

Calculus

All SoE students must take Calculus I-IV. These are required courses for the math major; for the minor, Calculus IV will be counted towards one of the four required electives. While the most commonly taken Calculus IV course among SoE students, 244 (Differential Equations for Engineering and Physics), is not marked as counting for the major on Degree Navigator, rest assured that it should count.

421 (Advanced Calculus for Engineering), sometimes referred to as “Calc V”, is a required course for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering majors; additionally, it counts as a technical elective for most SoE majors (though not for Electrical/Computer Engineering). This course will count towards math electives for either the minor or major.

Other overlapping courses

Some SoE majors require probability courses, a requirement that Math 477 (Mathematical Theory of Probability) often meets. For the Discrete Mathematics (332:312) requirement of ECE majors, Math 300 may be used as a substitute. In this case, there is no grade requirement for Math 300 to count, unlike the situation with using 300 towards a CS major.

Many mathematics courses can count towards technical elective requirements. The most common of these is likely Math 250; linear algebra is fundamental, and seeing the basics may be very beneficial to engineering students.