Tulane Mathematics Department and Major

How is Tulanes mathematics department regarded as compared to other colleges? And what do other students usually major along with mathematics?

Thanks

@ZainSD

I have known quite a few math majors at Tulane. It is a strong department and will give you an excellent undergraduate foundation for grad school or whatever plans you have. As far as other majors, I have seen them all over the map. Physics, German, Music, etc. Computer Science is now what is called a coordinate major at Tulane, meaning you join it to another major in an interdisciplinary approach. I suppose some might choose that route. But math is actually a fairly popular major at Tulane and the ones I know that chose it seem quite happy that they did.

Comparing it to other colleges is obviously too broad to answer, and kind of irrelevant anyway. I know that seems surprising, but the truth is most higher level universities (for the sake of argument, say the top 100 in USNWR, as much as I hate rankings) will give you a very strong grounding in the field. They all have lots of courses to choose from in various areas of mathematics, mostly good profs (all schools have a clunker or two when it comes to teaching, maybe especially in math), and will prepare you for grad school if you are willing to do the work to get there. The real issue is which school fits you best overall. Financially, academically in general, and in miscellaneous factors like size, location, teaching style, weather, etc.

Don’t underestimate that last category (miscellaneous). You will be there for 4 years. Also, some of the most prestigious schools will have TA’s teaching your lower level courses. You may not see a math prof until your junior year in some cases. Tulane doesn’t do that, the courses are primarily taught by profs, with TA’s handling the problem solving sessions and the like. That is why I say you want to look into various aspects of a school when deciding, not just the supposed reputation of their math department. Besides, even when the rankings are advertised as being for the undergraduate department, the reputations are primarily based on their grad schools. That is where schools like Harvard, MIT, Princeton, etc. really shine. I am not saying you won’t get a good undergrad math education at schools like that as well, of course you can. I am just saying it probably won’t be any better than at a school like Tulane, which will offer you virtually the same courses and same material to learn at the undergrad level.

Finally, double majoring at Tulane is very easy in terms of having little hassle with regard to paperwork and applying to separate schools within the university. Tulane doesn’t do it that way, you are free to major in any other subject the university offers, regardless of which school it is housed in. Most Tulane students double major, I think. It not most, then certainly a large minority.

@fallenchemist Thank You :slight_smile:

My D just finished her second year as a math major at Tulane and is transferring to Iowa State this fall. She was disappointed in their math department (although that is not the only reason she is transferring). While I think she got a great start in math at Tulane in classes that are much smaller than the typical calc 1, 2, and 3 at most large universities, there just weren’t the opportunities she was looking for within the math department. At the same time, a high school friend of her hers graduated from Tulane with a major in math and finance and liked it. Perhaps if you have other interests than just math, it might be a better fit, but she is really focused on the math part.