Mathematics Minor Changes
Since the 2018-19 Undergraduate Catalog year, the Mathematics minor curriculum has changed multiple times. This has resulted in confusion for both students and academic advisors. Since the Math minor is one of the most popular minors on campus, it is hoped that this is a helpful guide to the changes.
Here is a brief overview of where we were and where we are now:
2018-19 and Older
The Mathematics minor had two options: Plan A, for students with one major and one minor and Plan B, for students with more than one major or more than one minor. The curriculum centered on the Calculus sequence (MATH 106, MATH 107, and MATH 208). Everything was built around finishing MATH 208 and possibly more Math courses.
2019-20
The Mathematics minor had two options: Plan A, for students with one major and one minor and Plan B, for students with more than one major or more than one minor. The curriculum was opened up a bit to take advantage of prerequisite changes to MATH 221/221H and MATH 314/314H. However, the total number of courses and credit hours required remained unchanged.
2020-21 & 2021-22
The Mathematics minor had two options: Plan A, for students with one major and one minor and Plan B, for students with more than one major or more than one minor. The Math faculty determined that completion of just the Calculus sequence was not enough to justify earning the minor credential, and it was noted that many students were completing the Plan B minor option by just finishing one course at UNL (mostly, MATH 208) after their high school Math coursework. Thus, both the Plan A and Plan B minor options were expanded by one course. Lastly, the list of Advanced Math courses was better defined on the Undergraduate Catalog.
2022-23 and Newer?
The Mathematics minor has only one option, and this option is the Plan A Math minor option from 2020-21 and 2021-22. The College of Arts and Sciences is beginning to move away from offering Plan A and Plan B minor options, and the Math faculty agreed to be one of the first to eliminate a Plan B minor option. The Math minor is a robust curriculum with the flexibility to allow students to explore Advanced Math courses that could be useful to a variety of disciplines. Students changing to the 2022-23 Undergraduate Catalog will be held to the updated minor curriculum.
Additional Notes
The STAT 380: Statistics and Applications course is still allowed toward a minor in Mathematics as the course serves as a prerequisite for more Advanced Math courses like MATH 428, MATH 435, and MATH 489. At one time, the STAT 380 course was cross-listed as a Math course, but this cross-listing was dropped several years ago.
Other Statistics courses like STAT 218, STAT 318, STAT 450, STAT 462, and STAT 462 are not allowed to count toward the Math minor. These courses are a part of the minor in Statistics, which has a curriculum maintained by the Department of Statistics.
Other courses covering Statistics and/or Probability Theory, like MECH 321: Engineering Statistics and Data Analysis and ECEN 305: Probability Theory and Statistics for Electrical and Computer Engineers, are not allowed to count toward the Math minor. A student choosing to pursue a double major in Mathematics who needs to complete the STAT 380 course may be allowed to substitute such a course on a case by case basis after declaring the second major in Mathematics.
Questions?
Please don't hesitate to contact Doug Pellatz (2-4319 or dpellatz@unl.edu or on Teams).
More details at: https://catalog.unl.edu/undergraduate/arts-sciences/mathematics