How good at math do you need to be to succeed in Computer Science

College Majors Math/Computer Science Majors
1

<p>Just curious </p>

2

<p>As a current math/CS major at MIT, good math background helps. In particular, algebra, calculus, number theory, logic, graph theory, and other discrete topics.</p>

3

<p>You need to be good at math to get through the typical CS degree program, but in the real world, most programmers don’t use much math beyond basic arithmetic and statistics.</p>

4

<p>@simba9
That’s kind of what I figured. </p>

5

<p>Being able to think logically, similar to how one thinks about math, is important in CS. That is probably more important than specific math topics like calculus.</p>

6

<p>Applied logic is the key… probably highly correlated with strong number sense which in turn is highly correlated with ‘good in math’ but not necessarily…</p>

7

<p>Hmm. I’m taking 6.006 (Introduction to Algorithms) at MIT and the first problem set requires a good amount of logic, ability to write proofs, and algebra/pre-calculus. You probably won’t need more advanced topics such as group theory or abstract algebra in CS, but the ability to think like a mathematician or a computer scientist is essential.</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes, exactly.</p>

<p>(Although abstract algebra and number theory can be useful if you want to go into cryptography.)</p>

9

<p>For a computer science degree you’ll probably need to take calculus and linear algebra at the very least. If you can get through calculus you will be able to get through any other math classes the degree might require.</p>