MATHS 369: Paid Professional Experience in Mathematical Sciences (1-8)

Syllabus

1. Prerequisite: permission of the department chairperson. A total of 8 hours of credit may be earned in MATHS 368 and 369 combined.

Note: No more than 3 hours can be counted as electives toward a departmental major or minor.

2. Course Description: Supervised paid work and learning experience as a practicing mathematician, statistician, or actuarial scientist. Practical problem-solving experience will be gained through an internship, practicum, or other such situation.

3. Course Objectives: The student will experience using mathematics in a setting less structured than the classroom and will encounter common difficulties in applying the mathematics learned in earlier course work. Each student experience should satisfy some of the following objectives:

(a) The student should be involved in constructing a mathematical description of a real-life situation.

(b) The student should experience both the power and limitations of this mathematical model.

(c) The student should experience the conflict that often arises between theoretical solutions to problems and solutions which can actually be implemented.

(d) The student should deal with mathematical problems of a magnitude not practical in a classroom setting.

(e) The student should have to learn independently new mathematical and non-mathematical material.

(f) The student should have to communicate with non-mathematicians about mathematical ideas.

(g) The student should experience the process of “selling” ideas to others.

4. Course Rationale: The increasing importance of internship, cooperative education, and other types of career experience prior to graduate is frequently presented in professional publications. The Journal of Career Planning and Employment (National Association of Colleges and Employers, Fall 1995) reports, “The three biggest trends in staffing coming out of organization reorganization today support increased opportunities for internships. Recruiting of inexperienced recent graduates is down. The focus is on upgrading internships and co-op programs where the organizations hire full-time employees from this source. The third trend is toward hiring experienced candidates who have developed their skills as interns or temporary employees somewhere else.” The results of a survey of approximately 3000 employers conducted by the National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce found that slightly more than one-fourth said they use internship programs to bring students into their work environments. Internship opportunities are currently available for our departmental majors, and we anticipate that internship opportunities will continue to present themselves.

5/6. Course Content and Format: Supervised paid work and learning experience as a practicing mathematician, statistician, or actuarial scientist. Practical problem-solving experience which embraces the Course Objectives above. All individual proposals will be reviewed for approval by a committee appointed for this purpose by the Departmental Undergraduate Programs Committee. Student logs or other written reports will document the professional experience.

7. Methods of Evaluating Student Performance: The course is graded Credit/No Credit. Written reports by the student, consultations with the on-site supervisor, and a final interview with the student will be used by the official course instructor in assigning a course grade. During the course, the instructor will periodically contact the student (electronically or in person) to advise and evaluate the student.

8. Evaluation of the Course: The course is reviewed and revised periodically by the Departmental Undergraduate Programs Committee.

R. Bremigan, April 2001