FAQs and Forms

You can find this information on our Courses and Registration page. This includes information about which courses are typically offered during the Fall and Spring semesters.

Information about transfer credit, including all relevant forms, can be found on our Transferring Credits page.

Our department updated the math major for the 2022-2023 academic year and changed the old combined Pure and Applied Math track to two separate tracks: Pure Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. (Neither the stats track nor any of the joint majors changed.) Students are by default held to the major requirements from the Bulletin in the year they declared, which means that students who declared a math major prior to Fall 22 may continue to follow the old combined Pure and Applied Math track (but they can switch to the new major if they like). Even though the Bulletin entry has changed, the Degree Advice pages of students who declared the old combined Pure and Applied Math track prior to Fall 22 should not change and should still reflect the old requirements (unless they ask to switch to the new major). For links to the current and old Bulletin entries please see our Degree Programs page.

Students who were admitted to the BA/MA program in Fall 2022 or later will need to write a thesis for the MA portion of their degree. Please see the MA in Mathematics page for more information about this thesis. Students who were admitted to the BA/MA program before Fall 2022 may choose to either write a thesis or take the written preliminary exam for the MA portion of their degree. In this latter case, please consult with your advisor about which option is best for you. 

No. However, a student could naturally choose the topic of their honors and MA theses to be essentially the same. In this case, the student could write a two-part thesis, where Part I consists of the portion corresponding to the honors undergraduate thesis, which would typically be at least 20 pages, and Part II consists of the portion corresponding to the MA thesis, which would typically be 15-25 pages. The material in Part II would need to be more advanced, at the MA level, than the material from Part I, which is at the undergraduate level.

Both the honors thesis and the MA thesis have corresponding oral exams that are administered by three-person committees. The committee for each exam can be the same, and the exams can both take place at the same time. In this case, the oral exam would also consist of two parts: one where the student is examined on Part I of the thesis, with the questions being at the undergraduate level, and one where the student is examined on Part II of the thesis, with the questions being at the MA level.

It is possible for only one part of the thesis to be determined to have met the required standards, or for a student to only pass one part of the oral exam. For more information about the honors undergraduate thesis, please see the section on this page on Honors in the Major, and for more information about the MA thesis, please see the MA in Mathematics page.

PY211, PY212, PY251, PY252, CS330, and EC 403 can all count here (up to a maximum of two). For questions about whether another course can be used as a related course, please contact your advisor.

If you took EK103, CS132, or DS121, you do not need to take MA 242 to fulfill the requirements of a math major. However, if you choose not to take MA 242 you must replace it with another MA course at the 200 level or above. Also, if you take any MA courses that have MA242 as a prereq, it is your responsibility to make sure you are familiar with all topics typically covered in MA242 prior to taking that course.

If you took EK381 or CS237 you do not need to take MA 581 to fulfill the requirements of a math major. However, if you choose not to take MA 581 you must replace it with another MA course at the 500 level or above.  Also, if you take any MA courses that have MA581 as a prereq, it is your responsibility to make sure you are familiar with all topics typically covered in MA581 prior to taking that course.

DS122 cannot be used to receive any credit for MA581.

If you took DS120 you can use this course to fulfill the MA124 requirement of a math major. However, as a math major you will be required to take MA225, which builds on MA124. If there is material covered by MA124 that is not covered by DS120 it is your responsibility to learn that material on your own prior to taking MA225. DS120 cannot be used to receive any credit for MA293.

The standard calculus sequence is MA 123 (Calculus I), MA 124 (Calculus II), and MA 225 (Multivariate Calculus). Students who have taken AP Calculus or similar placement exams may receive credit for one or more of these courses; here is more information about Advanced Credit, including AP and IB credit. Some students choose to start in the most advanced calculus course possible, based on their Advanced Credit, whereas others may choose to take a calculus course they already have Advanced Credit for, in order to further solidify their background in that material. We also offer MA 230, Honors Vector Calculus, which is the honors version of MA 225. This course is for students who wish to understand calculus in a deeper, more abstract way. These courses also prepare students for Honors Differential Equations (MA 231) and Honors Linear Algebra (MA 442). For more information about which calculus course is right for you, contact our advising team at advising@math.bu.edu.

The first statistics course that mathematics and statistics majors should choose is MA213: Basic 统计数据 and Probability; this course is the prerequisite for the next statistics course, MA214: Applied 统计数据.  Mathematics and statistics majors should generally not take MA113, MA115, or MA116, although if you have taken one of these courses before becoming a mathematics or statistics major there are certain situations in which you may still be able to count it towards your major. For further information, please contact our advising team at advising@math.bu.edu.

Check out our advising page to learn who your advisor is and how to contact them.

You can join the waitlist for a course through MyBUStudent. If you are concerned about your degree progress or your ability to graduate as planned due to a course being full, please contact your advisor.

MA193 is not equivalent to MA293. If you have taken MA193, MA 293 is required for your major, and do not wish to take MA293, you may substitute another MA 200-level 4-credit course in its place. Also, if you take any MA courses that have MA293 as a prereq, it is your responsibility to make sure you are familiar with all topics typically covered in MA293 prior to taking that course.

No, QM121 and QM122 are not equivalent to MA213 and MA214.

CAS Advising Forms include add/drop forms, major/minor declaration forms, and intent to graduate forms.

Information about transfer credit, including all relevant forms, can be found on our Transferring Credits page.

Please see the Grader Applications page.