<p>how is the major?</p>
<p>good........</p>
<p>Are there any particular questions I can answer for you? Like course requirements, or what not? I'm afraid the question as it is posed now is much too broad for me to know what to write. Could you please specify?</p>
<p>i was just wondering about the specifics because this is the first college that i have come across that offers it. I wanted to know how the students feel about the quality of the major as well as its preparation for careers in fields such as medicine. I wanted to know how prestigious the major is as well as the research opportunities available to students in the program.
thanks!</p>
<p>To be honest, I do not know enough Mathematical Biology majors or pre-med Mathematical Biology majors to definitively answer the question about how they feel regarding its quality and preparation. Part of this is due to the fact that it is a relatively new major (first graduate was in 2004 I think) so there are not that many alumni or current students. I will say that it is getting more and more popular and a lot of students are considering it, so perhaps that says something to its growing reputation.</p>
<p>Research opportunities for the major, I can confidently say are readily available and top-notch. Mathematical biology itself is a relatively recent field, and full of diverse problems that can be tackled by undergraduates. Harvey Mudd requires research of all of its students in order to graduate, and I've seen some pretty impressive theses by senior math majors that are related to mathematical biology. Several faculty at Mudd do research in biology/mathematics intersections.</p>
<p>As far as prestige, like I said there have not been that many graduates in the major yet, so it is too early to give a definitive answer. I will say that the first ever graduate in 2004 in now at Harvard doing a Ph.D in Systems Biology. Furthermore, a math major last year who did her senior thesis work in mathematical biology is now at Cambridge doing her Master's degree, and headed to Princeton for the Ph.D next year. </p>
<p>If you want more information, check this page out: <a href="http://www.bio.hmc.edu/academics/biomath.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.bio.hmc.edu/academics/biomath.html</a> and browse around. In particular, I encourage you to contact the major advisors, Dr. Stephen Adolph and/or Dr. Lisette de Pillis via email. They will undoubtedly have more detailed information and can answer your questions better than I can. I had Dr. Adolph for General Biology last semester, and rest assured he is an extremely pleasant and accessible professor who will be more than willing to answer any questions you have.</p>