Double Major: 2 Birds, 1 Stone

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>Noticed that Actuarial & Financial Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences are listed as 2 separate majors within LSA. I want to pursue a concentration in Financial Mathematics and Mathematical Economics. The requirements for both seemed vastly similar. </p>

<p>Finance Math Requirements
I. Pre-Concent
Math 215-217, EECS 183, Econ 101, 102 **
II. Basic Courses
1. Differential Equations: Math 216, 256, 286 or **316
2. Probability: Math 425
3. Finance: Math 423
4. Statistics: Stat 426
III. Finance Concent.
Math 525, Math 526, Econ 435, and Math 472 or 471</p>

<p>IV. 2 additional intermediate/advance courses related to Financial/Actuarial Mathematics
Approved Courses
Math 422, 427, 462 and 623;
All Accounting courses over 300, except 471;
Econ 401, 402,** 406 and 409**;
Finance 300 and 310;
IOE 310 and 452;
LHC (Bus. Ad.) 305;
Statistics courses numbered above 400;
Sociology 330; and</p>

<h2>Philosophy 361, 414 and 429.</h2>

<hr>

<p>Math Econ Requirements:
I. Pre-Concent
Math 215-217, EECS 183, Econ 101, 102 **
II. Basic Courses
Differential Equations: Math 256, 286, or **316
Discrete Mathematics/Modern Algebra: Math 312, 412, 465 or 512
Analysis: Math 351, 354, 450, 451, or 454
Probability: Math 425 or 525
III. Math Econ Concent. At least 3 of the following
423 Mathematics of Finance **
424 Compound Interest & Life Ins.
462 Mathematical Models<br>
*471 Intro. to Numerical Methods
472 Num. Meth. with Fin. App. *<br>
523 Risk Theory
561 Linear Programming I<br>
562 Cont. Optimization Meth.
623 Computational Finance<br>
**ECON 406 Intro. to Econometrics
Stat. 426 Intro. to Theor. Stat.<br>
ECON 409 Game Theory
IV. Two additional advanced courses in Math/related area.
300 course level or above outside department</p>

<p>***Bold* denotes course overlap
Currently taking Calc BC in high school, estimating a 4/5 on AP and will place into Math 215.
Will UMich seriously let me overlap this many courses?</p>

2

<p>These are both subconcentrations of the Math major, so basically you’re “sub-concentrating” i.e. not majoring in actuarial and financial mathematics and mathematical science, and actually majoring in Math. That being said, double majoring is not difficult at all with the way LSA is set up, so if you do legitimately want a double major in something econ related, just also concentrate in Econ.</p>

3

<p>One thing about placing straight into Math 215 is that it is usually a difficult adjustment for freshmen, even if he or she does get a 5 on the AP. I have quite a few friends who did that and those who were not real math geniuses had some serious trouble with doing so. I obviously don’t know anything about you and your situation but I’m just saying that going to Math 116 should be something you consider. Michigan math tends to be very difficult for those straight out of high school and some people say its better to get your math requirements done outside of Michigan if possible. I think the big difference is that in high school, as long as you worked hard, you would get an A because of how much homework mattered how much extra credit there was. In college, you can work hard and still get a B since homework takes up maybe 5% of the grade and the rest is determined entirely by exams, which are difficult, not necessarily because of the sheer difficulty but because of the time constraints. Personally, I had BC credit but I gave it all up and started again with Math 115, partially because I hadn’t done any math for almost two years but also because of how much I saw my friends struggle with even Math 116 straight out of high school. It’s obviously up to you but this is something I think you should consider.</p>

4

<p>I don’t like the idea of starting all over again from Calc 1 and being two semesters behind. Plus, most of the people I’ve known usually started out with Calc 3 and did fine( usually A- or B+).</p>

5

<p>If you get a 5 I’d start with Calc 3, with a 4 I’d say you can start with Calc 3 still, but only if your AB subscore is a 5. AB really gives you the majority of the background you need to be successful in Calc 3, the only reason people suggest taking Calc 2 first is to get used to Michigan Math with a bit of review. However, Calc 3 is half review in itself, as it simply adds more dimensions to material you learned in Calc 1 and 2.</p>

6

<p>Umich for majors will overlap as many courses as you want, but you cannot double major in Math and Math. They won’t let you do that.</p>

<p>You can however double major in Math and Econ, and you will have at least 3 overlapping classes.</p>

<p>I highly recommend NOT starting in 116 if you pass out of it.</p>

7

<p>I think I’ve decided not to start from Calc I since not only will I be 2 semesters behind in math, I will not have the prerequisites to take some of the econ/engineering courses. I’m still not entirely sure what my career goals are, so I don’t want to add any unnecessary extra years of tuition.</p>