Mar 29, 2024  
University Catalog 2016-2017 
    
University Catalog 2016-2017 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Department of Mathematics


Division of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

NCF Annex 530 - (504) 520-7461 - http://www.xula.edu/math/index.html

The Department of Mathematics offers three majors:

Mathematics 
Mathematics Education 
Statistics  

The Mathematics major has been designed to accommodate a wide variety of career options and to encourage students to pursue a second area of interest by means of a double major, a double minor, or a combination of concentrations. A major in Mathematics coupled with a strong minor in accounting, biology, business, chemistry, computer science, economics, physics, psychology, sociology, or statistics or a double concentration in two of these areas uniquely fits one for a number of career choices as well as for graduate school. A Mathematics major takes 42 semester hours of mathematics, three hours of statistics and three hours of computer science.

The Mathematics Education degree fulfills all the requirements for a state teaching certificate in addition to providing the student with a strong background in mathematics. Students who choose this major are well prepared either to enter the teaching field immediately upon graduation or to go to graduate school. The Mathematics Education major takes thirty-one semester hours of mathematics, thirty-three semester hours of education, three semester hours of statistics and three hours of computer science.

The Statistics degree is offered in cooperation with the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans (LSUHSC). The Statistics program offers Xavier students the opportunity to obtain both a B.S. degree from Xavier in Statistics and an M.S. degree in Biostatistics from LSUHSC in only five years. This program contains 27 semester hours of mathematics and 59 semester hours of statistics along with a computer programming course. Forty-four (44) of these 59 hours in statistics are taken at LSUHSC and are credited toward both the B.S. degree in Statistics at Xavier and the M.S. degree from LSUHSC (See the policies for this program below.)

During the senior year, the student in each major must pass a written comprehensive examination. For the Mathematics and Mathematics Education major, the examination covers mathematics courses required in the programs; for the Statistics major, the examination covers mathematics and statistics courses required by the program and taken on Xavier’s campus.

In order for a mathematics or statistics course to be counted for degree credit, students must earn a grade of “C” or better. Furthermore, all students in these programs are required to attend all departmental meetings.

Honors in Mathematics - For placement in the Honors in Mathematics Program, students should apply to the Mathematics Department. To receive the distinction “Honors in Mathematics,” students must satisfy one of the following two criteria:

  1. Students must take MATH 1070H  and MATH 2070H  and at least four (4) additional hours of mathematics or statistics at the 2000 level or above. Examples of additional course work that satisfy these requirements are third semester calculus (MATH 2080 ); basic statistics with a technology lab (STAT 2010  and STAT 2150L ); MATH 2030  or MATH 2530  or MATH 2550  together with a technology lab (MATH 2160L ). Students must receive a cumulative grade point average of 3.3 or higher in all mathematics and statistics courses taken with no grade of “C” or below.
  2. Students must take MATH 1070  (or MATH 1070H ) and MATH 2070 , and at least six (6) additional hours of mathematics or statistics at the 2000 level or above. Students must receive a cumulative grade point average of 3.3 or higher in all mathematics and statistics courses taken with no grade of “C” or below.

Policies for the Joint XU/LSUMC Statistics Program – The following policies apply to the statistics major:

  1. Xavier students having at least a 3.0 GPA in mathematics and statistics courses listed in the first three years of the program and having an overall GPA of at least 2.5 are eligible, upon approval of the LSUHSC Department of Biostatistics, for admission at LSUHSC to those courses listed in the fourth year of the program.
  2. During the fourth year of the program, students will register at both LSUHSC and Xavier. In addition to their Xavier courses,
    1. in the fall semester, students will register at Xavier for 14 semester hours of courses to be taken at LSUHSC, and
    2. in the spring semester, students will register at Xavier for 10 semester hours of courses to be taken at LSUHSC. These students will be considered full-time students at Xavier and pay full Xavier tuition. At LSUHSC, the students will be considered special students, paying no additional tuition. (LSUHSC will bill Xavier directly for the LSUHSC courses in which the students are enrolled.)
  3. To graduate from Xavier at the end of the fourth year of this program with a B.S. in Statistics, students must:
    1. maintain at least a “C” grade in each of the courses taken at LSUHSC,
    2. pass a comprehensive examination covering mathematics and statistics courses taken at Xavier, and
    3. satisfy all other Xavier University general degree requirements.
  4. Admission as a regular graduate student at LSUHSC in the fifth year of the program is contingent upon approval of the Department of Biostatistics at LSUHSC.
  5. To graduate from LSUHSC with an M.S. degree from the Department of Biostatistics, students must:
    1. maintain at least a “B” average at LSUHSC,
    2. make an acceptable score on the Graduate Record Examination which must be taken prior to the fifth year of the program, and
    3. satisfy all other regular requirements of the LSUHSC School of Graduate Studies and the Department of Biostatistics.

Programs

    Bachelor of ScienceNon-degree