Department Pages (MAT)

Berea’s Mathematics Department is well-known for its caring faculty and strong programs. The Department offers a major in Mathematics. The Department also supports students in a variety of ways outside of its traditional classroom programs. Each year, many Mathematics students are placed in a wide variety of research and internship programs. Through the College Labor Program, prospective mathematics teachers are provided opportunities to develop skills in working one-on-one with students in the Developmental Mathematics classroom setting. The Department also regularly invites outside speakers and arranges for students to visit mathematical conferences and sites.

Please see the section on General Education requirements in this publication for information on the role of MAT 010, 011 and 012 in the first-year requirements. Placement in or waiver of 010, 011, or 012 is based on test scores or transfer work.

Students interested in gaining certification to teach in the area of Mathematics (8-12) must double major in Teaching and Curriculum with Certification and in Mathematics. For more information, see the requirements for majoring in Teaching and Curriculum with Certification under the Education Studies section of this publication.

Majoring in Mathematics or Mathematics Education

Mathematics is both a tool for solving practical problems as well as a very creative field of study, combining logic and precision with intuition and imagination. The basic goal of mathematics is to reveal and explain patterns—whether the pattern appears as the growth a population of animals, electrical impulses in a computer, fluctuations in stock market prices, or as intricate detail of an abstract geometric figure.

Each application to the Mathematics Major or Mathematics Education Major is considered individually and is approved or rejected based upon departmental discussion of the applicant’s potential to satisfactorily complete the major. For this reason, students interested in pursuing either major should begin taking Mathematics courses as early as possible.

Students desiring a degree in Mathematics Education must be accepted as a Mathematics Major and also be accepted into the Education Program. Students considering a major in Mathematics Education should contact julian_viera@berea.edu by email or phone 859-985-3574 and enroll in EDS 200 as soon as possible.