College of Science
Department Office: 233 John Widtsoe Building
Mailing Address: 155 S. 1400 E. Rm 233, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0090
Phone: 801-581-6851
Web Address: www.math.utah.edu

Chair:  Tommaso de Fernex, Ph.D.
Associate Chair (Student Affairs & Scheduling):  Jingyi Zhu, Ph.D.
Associate Chair (Faculty Affairs):  Christel Hohenegger, Ph.D.
Undergraduate Advisors: advisor@math.utah.edu
Graduate Advisor: grad-info@math.utah.edu

Placement and Prerequisites

Your first math course at the University of Utah is determined by your test scores (ACT, SAT, ALEKS, AP, IB, etc.), concurrent enrollment or transfer math courses, and your chosen field of study.   If you are unsure which course is appropriate for your intended major, your academic advisor or the Mathematics Undergraduate Advisors will be happy to help you.

The table below shows your placement into introductory math courses based on test scores or coursework:

If you are not happy with your current placement into one of these introductory courses you may take the ALEKS assessment to see if you are able to place into a higher course.  Taking the ALEKS assessment will open learning modules tailored to you that will increase your chance of placing into a higher course.  You may take up to 3 un-proctored ALEKS assessments (may not be used for placement) and up to 2 proctored ALEKS assessments (used for placement).  To take an un-proctored ALEKS assessment and/or access learning modules, visit the Math Placement website.  This website also has instructions for taking a proctored ALEKS assessment.

If you have AP, IB, or other credit bearing test scores, you can see course equivalencies on the Prior Learning Credit page of the Office of Admissions.

If you have a transfer course that isn’t already in the Transfer Credit Equivalency Guide you may submit information about your course through the Transfer Course Evaluation Form on the math department website.

Prerequisites are enforced on all MATH classes.  A grade of at least C or better is required, with a few courses requiring a higher grade.

Students graduating high school Spring 2017 or later with an ACT math score of at least 26 or an SAT math score of at least 640 will receive 3 credits and have the QL requirement waived.  This does not serve as a prerequisite for other math classes or fill math course requirements in any particular major.

Undergraduate Program

To become a mathematics major one must have an interest in and talent for mathematics. There are no special departmental admission requirements. Mathematics majors must earn a grade of C or better in all required mathematics courses. Mathematics Teaching majors must earn a grade of C+ or better in all required mathematics courses.

Mathematics majors take Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, and Foundations of Analysis.  Students (other than teaching majors) then choose, in consultation with the departmental advisor or a departmental mentor, elective courses in mathematics. The allowed choices depend on the emphasis chosen.  Please see the links below for detailed information on the requirements/electives for each program.

Bioinformatics majors take calculus, statistics, linear algebra, basic and cell biology, genetics, and genomics (including laboratory hours), general, organic, and biological chemistry, and programming classes.  They then choose from an approved list of elective courses.

Allied course requirements are typically physics and computing courses. Majors whose emphasis is statistics replace the physics requirement with two approved courses offered by other departments.

Graduation Requirements
There are additional requirements for this degree. Please see the program pages for more information.

Combined BS/MS Program

Undergraduate math majors who would like to be admitted to the combined BS/MS program must apply during their junior year. To be eligible for the program a student must have maintained a 3.5 GPA overall and in their major (which must be mathematics), and indications must be that the student will successfully satisfy the requirements for both the Bachelor's and Master's degrees within two years after beginning the program. Interested students must apply to the department's graduate program and submit a detailed program of study that has been prepared with the help of the student's advisor(s). Students must also submit a graduate application to the admissions office. Students wishing to participate in this program are strongly encouraged to participate in research early in their program of study. Transfer students may be considered for the program only after completing 24 hours of coursework at the University of Utah. For more information please contact our Graduate Program Coordinator.

Graduate Program

Areas of Specialization
Algebraic Geometry
Applied Mathematics
Commutative Algebra
Data Science and Machine Learning
Differential Equations
Ergodic Theory
Geometry/Topology
Materials and Fluids
Mathematical Biology
Number Theory
Numerical Analysis
Optimization and Inversion
Probability
Representation Theory
Statistics

Admission Requirements
There are additional admission requirements for these degrees. Please see the program pages for more information.