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A Place for Everyone

We offer majors in Mathematics and Statistics, as well as minors in Mathematics, Statistics, and Data Science, that provide unique experiences to support students growth and preparation for their future goals and careers. Here are a few reasons why you should consider our programs - we offer:

A student explaining a question to a professor who is standing next to him helping him on a paper.
Mathematics and Statistics

Discover a program where mathematics and data come to life. We offer degrees in pure mathematics, applied mathematics, mathematics for teaching, and statistics & data science—each designed to help you grow intellectually, professionally, and personally.

Personalized, Student-Centered Learning

With small class sizes (36 students or fewer), you won’t get lost in the crowd. Our courses emphasize active learning, collaboration, and course-based research—so you engage deeply with ideas instead of just listening to lectures. You’ll build real connections with faculty who know your name and support your goals.

 

 

 

 

 

I am a first generation, low income college student and have felt like the department creates a supportive environment for all types of students. I am motivated by my peers and professors to work hard and achieve my dreams. 

~ Mathematics Major, Class of 2024

 

Award-Winning Faculty Who Invest in You

Our professors are dedicated mentors, committed to your success inside and outside the classroom. They provide individualized guidance, research opportunities, and career support to help you thrive.

Faculty and Staff

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our instructors are dedicated to the success of our students, both inside the classroom and outside the classroom. Our faculty care for each student as individuals and are here to support you in your goals. Here are a few of the honors and innovative practices our faculty have received:

    • Professor Ali Lynch was recently honored by the Mathematical Association of America, the premier professional organization for mathematics educators in higher education, for her dedication to teaching with the Henry L. Alder Award.

    • Professors Ali Lynch, Lipika Deka, and Jeff Wand have a grant from the California Learning Lab to adapt new strategies for grading to aid the growth and success of students in Precalculus and Calculus.
    • Professor Steven Kim won the 2023 CSUMB Outstanding Research and Creative Activity (ORCA) Faculty Award in part due to his mentorship of undergraduate researchers, which includes 14 publications co-authored with 22 undergraduates. Professor Kim also oversaw a special Research Experience for Undergraduates in the summer of 2023 funded by the Mathematical Association of America. 
    • Professor Alana Unfried was invited to give the 2021 United States Conference on Teaching Statistics Keynote Address on Expanding Opportunities for Underprepared Statistics Students. She is also the lead investigator on the MASDER Project which is building instruments to assess student and instructor attitudes towards statistics and data science.
    • Professor Judith Canner won the CSU Wang Family Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award in 2021 and the Faculty Innovation and Leadership Award in 2018, for her exceptional leadership in building the statistics program and redesigning the general education mathematics and statistics courses to support student success.

Each program in mathematics and statistics has a special service learning course. For future mathematics teachers, you get to serve your local community classrooms while gaining teaching experience and completing requirements for admission into a future credential program. For students interested in statistics or industrial mathematics, you work as consultants for local non-profit organizations helping them wrangle their data, apply for grants, and make decisions. 

I really feel like before the [service learning] course I was ignorant about the importance of my talents and how large of an effect it has on people in our everyday lives…. I [became] more informed and aware of all the ways math has affected me and society... it makes me want to be involved wherever it is possible for me to contribute to the greater good of society.  ~ Mathematics Major, Statistics Concentration `18 
Service Learning really tests our skills in real life and that is something most schools do not offer. I know more than I thought I did.  ~ Mathematics Major `19

Our faculty regularly work with students on research projects - often providing paid mentored research experiences through our own grants or through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) at CSUMB. Students also engage in research in their courses so that every students has the opportunity to experience what it is like to conduct research in mathematics and statistics.  We want to support you as you explore your interests and maybe even publish your research, like many of our other students, in academic journals. Here are two examples of published student research (student names bolded):

  • Kim, S.; Rickard, C.; Hernandez-Vazquez, J.; Fernandez, D. (2022) Early Night Fog Prediction Using Liquid Water Content Measurement in the Monterey Bay Area. Atmosphere, 13, 1332. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13081332
  • Lynch, A. G., & Pugh, R. (2018). Early Undergraduates’ Emerging Conceptions of Proof and Conviction. Proceedings of the Twenty-first Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education. pp. 917-923. San Diego, CA.

I got to write a program in Shiny R, which is a version of the ‘R’ programming language that can run on the Web. I also got to write a part for an article in a scientific journal to explain how to run this app. Finally, I gained an appreciation for the peer review process that occurs when attempting to publish an article in a scientific journal.  ~ Statistics Major `22

 

The program brought me confidence in my academic abilities. Furthermore, the curriculum at CSUMB embedded research and computer programming. Both of which are extremely applicable to academic and industry careers. There were multiple research opportunities outside of the curriculum through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center and the Mathematics and Statistics Department, which I took advantage of.   ~ Mathematics Major, Statistics Minor `21