Program overview
Major/minor: Mathematics
Mathematics is a language and like all languages is learned best through immersion. Cornell's One Course At A Time schedule gives students the opportunity to focus intently without artificial time constraints, allowing learning to occur quickly and deeply.
The block plan and Cornell's small class sizes benefit math students of all abilities in several ways:
- Exams are not timed.
- Group work is often used in class.
- Extended contact time with professors enables individualized learning -- nobody is left behind or held back.
Heartland Mathematics Partnership
We have extended our curriculum by joining the Heartland Mathematics Partnership with the University of Iowa and 12 other regional colleges. This partnership gives our students a connection to the U of I's prestigious graduate program while still enjoying Cornell's small classes, close faculty relationships, and liberal arts framework. One benefit of this relationship is that Cornell students have the opportunity to participate in VIGRE, a summer REU program sponsored by the University of Iowa mathematics department.
Graduate study
Our students frequently attend graduate school, often in conjunction with other disciplines. Recent graduates have pursued advanced degrees in physics, chemistry, statistical genetics, sociology/statistics, and actuarial science, among others.
Tutoring & assistance
Students have the opportunity to give or receive assistance in math and statistics through the library's Quantitative Reasoning Studio. The studio is directed by a full-time academic consultant who also delivers subject-specific lessons in math and statistics to a wide range of Cornell courses.
Facilities
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics is housed in Law Hall, the college's technology center. Our classrooms are equipped with a variety of instructional technology and were designed especially with activities-based statistics in mind.