Director's Welcome Message

Welcome to the Web page of the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences. The change in status as an academic unit from a department to a school allows us to pursue better our dual missions of providing quality instruction to a wide range of students and being a powerhouse of research in many aspects of the mathematical and statistical sciences, making our expertise available to serve the mathematical needs of the ASU community and beyond.

Whether you are a student considering a career in the mathematical and statistical sciences or looking to take courses for your own interest or to fulfill requirements for your course of study, you will find a lot of useful information about our programs on these pages.

If you are a prospective graduate student, please be sure to check out our Ph.D. programs in mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics and mathematics education. The last three programs are new, and we would be pleased to consider your application for admission to the inaugural classes.

Stereotypes about mathematics and mathematicians abound. We will not repeat them here, but we would like to mention some facts you might not know. For example, did you know that mathematician was ranked recently as the best job in America (see www.careercast.com/jobs/content/JobsRated_10BestJobs). That mathematics ranks in the top ten of highest starting salaries for someone with a bachelor's degree? Or that a major in mathematics is very attractive to admissions committees of professional schools such as law, business and medicine? This is because people who have studied mathematics know how to, among many other things, construct logical arguments, spot fallacies in widely accepted arguments, make useful models of real-world situations, learn new things quickly, and find a common structure in seemingly disparate phenomena. Thus a major in mathematics can lead to many other satisfying careers in addition to teaching and research. So, if you like mathematics, but are not sure what it might lead to, come and pay us a visit and we can give you some ideas.

If you are thinking about a career in mathematics, you may wonder, what does a mathematician really do? Depending on the particular field, s/he will invent new mathematics and/or apply existing mathematics to solve real-world problems. Mathematicians teach courses, conduct research, and travel to talk to their colleagues all over the world. Mathematics does not require expensive equipment, so almost anyone can make profound contributions if they are sufficiently clever and industrious. Since mathematical symbols transcend any particular language, mathematics is universal, and yet each country has its own particular style.

At ASU, we teach almost 25,000 students per year in more than 750 sections of courses. These range from the most elementary mathematics to the latest, cutting-edge research. We are proud of what we do and invite you to come and join us. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me at wraskind@asu.edu

Wayne M. Raskind, Director