<p>How good is the math program (regular, not applied/stats)? Are there a lot of research opportunities, and would I be able to get into a good grad school from here if I took advantage of everything?</p>
<p>I've already looked at what courses they've offered for the past four years and stuff like that, but I wanted some general opinions on how good the program is.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman computer science major so I may not be the best to speak to about this, but from my understanding it depends on what your looking to do with your math degree. Most of the professors who do research in math do something more on the applied side, a lot of the scientific computing and analysis work. If your looking to go into research in fields such as differential equations and linear algebra the math department will have good opportunities and course offerings, however if you want to do something more pure there isn’t much going on. There is also a handful of professors who do work with mathematical biology. One thing you will notice about case is that almost all departments have a researcher or group that does significant work relating to biology.</p>
<p>While the information above is correct, Id like to add that while there is a focus on applied math, there is a reasonable amount of theoretical research going on as well. I recommend you go on the math faculty website. You’ll find lists of research interests for each of the professors as well as associate and assistant professors and many have links to personal websites.</p>
<p>I also would guess (as a freshman I don’t have much experience here) that if you have your own interest that doesn’t overlap with any of the professors’ they would still be willing to help and guide you in an individual project.</p>
<p>Finally, for the most part, the instruction at Case is extremely good. I have no doubt that you will be very well prepared for the tests required for grad school as well as the graduate level work itself after going through the math program here.</p>
<p>I thought I would resurrect my thread to ask how I would actually go about looking for math research opportunities when I start going to Case. Is it possible to find anything as a freshmen (with no previous experience, in case that doesn’t go without saying)? How advanced would I have to be in math?</p>
<p>If you can READ the professor’s papers after spending some hours in the library trying to understand some of the basics, then I don’t see why you can’t participate in some research. </p>
<p>I would start at: <a href=“Support of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors | Case Western Reserve University”>http://www.case.edu/provost/source/</a></p>
<p>This is the centralized office for undergraduate research.
<a href=“http://www.case.edu/provost/source/opportunities/5things.html”>http://www.case.edu/provost/source/opportunities/5things.html</a></p>
<p>Also look at : <a href=“Research – Department of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics”>http://math.case.edu/research/</a></p>
<p>I’ve been looking through all the opportunities listed on Case Western’s website, and I’m curious about the [url=<a href=“http://engineering.case.edu/coop/]co-op[/url”>Engineering Co-op Program | Engineering Co-Op Program]co-op[/url</a>] program. (I have a pipe dream of going to grad school for pure math, and I don’t want to do anything that would make that more difficult than it already will be, but I’m looking into other math-related careers because I don’t want to rest all my hopes on something so competitive.) They list mathematics as one of the participating majors, but it’s called the Engineering Co-Op Program, so does that mean all the jobs are related to engineering?</p>
<p>Looking at currently related jobs, there are a couple of postings that have math listed as a wanted major, but it also looks like they want a computer science background in addition to it. So I think you can try to participate in the program, but you’ll need to broaden your background a little to remain in the employers’ radars. Unfortunately, although you don’t want to rest your hopes on something competitive, the co-op program for math will probably end up being extremely competitive.</p>
<p>While it may not be computer science that you need, you do probably want to develop some programming skills like python, Matlab or Octave (free Matlab equivalent). YOU can learn these on your own over the next few weeks. You seem really smart and there are enough online tools available. Maybe just do Octave and Python. </p>
<p>Not many places in corporate America are going to pay you to do proofs, but there are many areas where advanced mathematics are required to develop sophisticated algorithms. </p>
<p>
How extensive would my computer science background need to be? I’m thinking of getting a minor in computer science, which would mean taking discrete math and six computer science classes. I’m taking EECS 132 (Introduction to Programming in Java) in the fall, and probably EECS 233 (Introduction to Data Structures) in the spring depending on how the first class goes. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I can’t answer that question. A minor might be enough depending on the classes you take, but this question would be much better answered by an advisor or chair of the math department.</p>
<p>Remember picking a major before you get to college gives you a goal to work toward…but you may find you love programming or don’t love it…so as you go along you can figure out what is best for you.</p>