Mathematical and Computational Science (MCS) will stop accepting students to its program on August 30, 2022. The program will remain available only to currently enrolled students who declared prior to that deadline. MCS students who change majors can NOT switch back to MCS. Students who are interested in this field of study in the future should consider the Data Science major, whose B.S. option is very similar to MCS.

The mission of the Mathematical and Computational Science (MCS) Program is to provide students with a core of mathematics basic to all the mathematical sciences and an introduction to concepts and techniques of computation, optimal decision making, probabilistic modeling, and statistical inference. The program is interdisciplinary in its focus, and students are required to complete coursework in mathematics, computer science, statistics, and management science and engineering. A biology option is offered for students interested in applications of mathematics, statistics, and computer science to the biological sciences (bioinformatics, computational biology, statistical genetics, neurosciences); and in a similar spirit, there are engineering and statistics options.

Utilizing the faculty and courses of the departments listed above, this major prepares students for graduate study or careers in the mathematical and computational sciences or in those areas of applied mathematics which center around the use of computers and are concerned with the problems of the social and management sciences. 

The MCS program offers a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical and Computational Science. Eligible students may also pursue a Bachelor of Science with Honors.

How to Declare the Major

*Please note: Mathematical and Computational Science (MCS) will stop accepting students to its program on August 30, 2022. The program will remain available only to currently enrolled students who declared prior to that deadline. MCS students who change majors can NOT switch back to MCS. Students who are interested in this field of study in the future should consider the Data Science major, whose B.S. option is very similar to MCS.*

To declare the MCS major prior to August 30, 2022, a student should use the MCS planning sheet to plan their course of study and share that document with the student services officer. They should then meet with the MCS student services officer to discuss the major and declare in Axess. Students should have taken several of the required courses prior to declaring, and they should have an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or above.

Suggested Preparation for the Major

Students ordinarily would have taken two of the required Math courses (typically Math 51, 52, or 53) and one of the required Statistics core courses (typically Stats 116 or Math 151) before declaring MCS during their freshman or sophomore year.