Advising Resources

Advising is taken very seriously in DU's College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and especially within the Department of Mathematics. The resources on this page will help current or prospective students navigate coursework and discover on-campus entities who can help guide students throughout their academic career.

This video will answer questions for current undergraduate math students. 

AI/Natural Requirement

The general education requirement at the University of Denver is designed to introduce students to the different approaches to knowledge and analysis found within academia. In particular, the analytical inquiry/natural requirement presents students with the sort of reasoning found within the formal sciences. Every undergraduate student at the University of Denver must satisfy the AI-natural requirement from the common curriculum by taking one course within a limited list, available below, or by obtaining equivalent credits.

  • What are the objectives of the AI/Natural requirement?

    In the courses designed for this requirement, students will:

    • Apply formal reasoning, mathematics or computational science approaches to problem solving within mathematics or computational science as well as other disciplines.
    • Understand and communicate connections between different areas of logic, mathematics or computational science or their relevance to other disciplines.
  • What courses satisfy this requirement?

    Undergraduate students will satisfy the AI/natural requirement by passing one of the following course, or obtain equivalent credits. Please note: certain majors impose some constraints on your choice of AI/natural course, as follows:

    • Any BS except psychology; BSCh; BSCPE; BSME; BSEE; BA in math, chemistry, physics, or computer science must take MATH 1951.
    • BSBA; BSAcc must take MATH 1200 or MATH 1951; MATH 1951 is recommended for finance or cconomics majors.
    • BM; BS in psychology; BFA; BA other than in math, chemistry, physics, or computer science may take any of: COMP 1101, COMP 1671, MATH 1150, MATH 1200, MATH 1951, MATH 2050, PHIL 2040, and PHIL 2160 to satisfy the requirement.
  • AI/Natural requirement course descriptions

    COMP 1101 Analytical Inquiry 

    Analytical Inquiry will combine basics of mathematics and computer science through creative channels of communication using artistic media resources and techniques. This course will strive to answer questions surrounding mainstream technology and media arts topics. We will also explore the evolution of technology in our daily routine and environment. We will rediscover mathematics (including trigonometry and geometry) as one of the most important aspects of "New Media Design" for interactive products such as web pages, multimedia presentations, movies, television, etc. This course is taught by the Computer Science Department.

    COMP 1671 Introduction to Computer Science I 

    Characteristics of modern computers and their applications; analysis and solution of problems; structured programming techniques; introduction to classes, abstract data types, and object-oriented programming; implementation of solutions in C++. This is a required course for computer science majors.

    MATH 1150 Foundations Seminars

    These seminars offer challenging and interesting mathematical topics with a computer science component that require only high school mathematics. The seminar topics vary with each class and they are designed for all students. These seminars are taught by the Mathematics Department.

    MATH 1200 Calculus for Business and Social Sciences 

    This is a one-quarter terminal course for students in Business, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts. It covers elementary differential calculus with emphasis on applications to business and the social sciences. Topics include functions, graphs, limits, continuity, differentiation, and mathematical models. Students are required to attend weekly labs. This class satisfies the AI-Natural requirement for all business majors (may be replaced with MATH 1951). The course is offered in two formats, Lecture and Combined/Hybrid, which differ in their methods of content delivery, learning activities, and assessment. More detailed information on the difference in formats can be found on the Math 1200 Portfolio page here.

    MATH 1951 Calculus I 

    Differentiation of functions of one variable. This is a required course for mathematics majors. Prerequisite: MATH 1750 or equivalent experience with high school algebra and trigonometry.

    MATH 2050/PHIL 2160 Symbolic Logic 

    Modern propositional logic; symbolization and calculus of predicates, especially predicates of relation.

    PHIL 2040 Practical Logic 

    Politicians, bloggers, religious figures, parents, lovers, and teachers use arguments to try to convince us to do and believe certain things. This course is a systematic study of the principles of good reasoning that will enable students to assess the quality of reasons given by others, to develop quality arguments of their own, and even to perform better on tests such as the LSAT. We will cover translation from English into sentential logic, inferences within sentential and Aristotelian logic, and other argumentative forms. Reasoning skills are learned by actual practice, so a healthy percentage of class time will be devoted to actually working on developing these skills via an examination of philosophical arguments dealing with the nature of matter, souls, abstract objects, and more.

Courses

The DU catalog of math courses lists all named courses currently offered by the Department of Mathematics. Additional specialized courses are taught occasionally. Note that not every course in the catalog is offered every year. See links below for course offerings for a given quarter.

The chart of math courses correspond to the catalog and displays all courses and their prerequisites at one glance.

Math Advising Tool

Which first math course as an undergraduate student should you take? The main considerations are the intended program of study, the need to fulfill the requirement Analytical Inquiry: The Natural and Physical World (AI/Natural), and your level or preparedness.

We have developed a Math Advising Tool to help incoming students and their advisors determine the most appropriate first math class to take. 

The full assessment will take approximately 45 minutes. There is no pass or fail associated with this survey and it is not a placement exam. The results will simply help students to chart the right course.

Area-Specific Advising

  • Actuarial Science

    Students interested in pursuing a career in actuarial science should know that entry into this career usually requires passing one or more actuary exams. To prepare for the first actuarial exam, a student should take the following courses:

    • MATH 1951,2,3 Calculus 1, 2, & 3
    • MATH 2080 Calculus of Several Variables
    • MATH 3080 Introduction to Probability
    • MATH 3090 Mathematical Probability

    Other recommended courses include:

    • MATH 3350 Mathematics of Finance
    • Finance courses offered through Daniels College of Business
  • Engineering

    Students majoring in math with an interest in Engineering may consider a minor in mechanical engineering. Note that this is only recommended for students with University Physics I, II, and III in their curriculum.

    Learn more about mechanical and materials engineering at DU.

  • Graduate Studies in Mathematics

    Students with an interest in graduate studies in the mathematical sciences are recommended to take as many advanced courses in foundational mathematics as their schedule will allow. These include courses such as the following:

    • MATH 3050 Set Theory
    • MATH 3060 Mathematical Logic
    • MATH 3110 Introduction to Topology
    • MATH 3151 Linear Algebra I
    • MATH 3161 Introduction to Real Analysis I (Required for the major)
    • MATH 3166 Group Theory
    • MATH 3170 Introduction to Abstract Algebra (Required for the major)
    • MATH 3260 Metric Spaces
    • MATH 3851 Functions Complex Variable

    Advanced students may be allowed to take 4000-level courses with instructor permission.

  • Teaching

    For students interested in teaching mathematics at the secondary level (7-12th grade), selecting certain courses within the mathematics major is necessary in order to acquire teaching licensure.

    The Morgridge College of Education offers a “4+1” dual degree program which awards students a bachelor’s degree in Math (in four years) and a Masters degree in Curriculum & Instruction with embedded Colorado state teaching licensure in secondary mathematics (at the end of the fifth year). Students seeking this dual degree apply in their junior year and then take 12 credit hours of specific coursework in Morgridge College of Education in their senior year while completing their bachelor’s degree. In the fifth year students complete additional graduate coursework and field experience through the Teacher Education Program. Completing the coursework for the program and a Math major requires careful academic planning. Students should speak to an Education advisor early on (in their first year or early in their second year) if they are interested.