Professor of Mathematics John Schommer presented a colloquium lecture Monday, Jan. 13, entitled The Return of the Bachelor of Arts of Mathematics.

Schommer said that the nation’s schools aren’t preparing students for careers as mathematicians; math averages across the country have dropped considerably in the last 20 years. Also, students interested in math are being attracted to other majors, such as Computer Science. To attract more math majors, Schommer proposed that the Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics be revamped in order to attract humanities students. This way, Schommer said that the Math department could attract more students without changing its focus.

Both UTM’s BS and BA degrees in Math require 42 hours of classes. As a comparison, UTM’s BA degree in Philosophy only requires 30 hours of classes. Other universities, such as the University of Miami and the University of Mississippi at Oxford, have degrees similar to the ones Schommer proposed. Their degrees require anywhere from 30 to 34 hours of coursework.

He said that a new BA probably would not affect the number of math majors pursuing BS degrees. As an example, of the 306 math majors at the University of Miami, only 65 are pursuing the “easier” BA degree; of these, roughly one-third are double majors.

Schommer gave two options for a new BA degree. The first, a more traditional BA in math degree, would be aimed at those who enjoy “pure” math, rather than its applications. Also, students in majors such as Economics or Computer Science may pursue the BA as half of a double major. This option would require 33 hours of coursework. A paper may also be required.

A second, less traditional, option would be aimed at students interested in math as “cultural artifact.” This would also require 33 hours of coursework (including Calculus for the Humanities courses).

These degrees would fit well within the recommendations of the CUPM, the accreditation committee for math sequences.

However, neither of these degrees would be aimed at students who want to be mathematicians. Schommer compared this proposed BA degree to an Art History degree.

“There is a clear difference between an artist and an art historian, between a musician and a music historian,” said Schommer.

Schommer proposed several ways of “quality control” for these majors. First, he proposes forcing those taking the degree to pursue it as half of a double major. Secondly, he proposed forcing BA students to pass the exit exam. Finally, he said that if there was confusion over what the degree was for, it could be renamed appropriately (i.e. Bachelor of Mathematical Arts).

However, keep in mind that there are currently no plans to revamp the any of the Mathematics degrees.

The PowerPoint presentation given during the lecture is available at http://www.utm.edu/~jschomme/BAMATH2/BAMATH3_files/frame.htm.

The next lecture in this series will be given at 3 p.m. on Monday, February 10, 2003, in room 408 of Humanities. The speaker will be Dr. Maeve McCarthy of Murray State University.

A Web site for the series is located at www.utm.edu/departments/math/colloq.htm.