Applied Mathematical Sciences, Computational Biology Emphasis, B.S.

Requirements for the Applied Mathematical Sciences Major

Applied Mathematical Sciences Requirements (80-82 units): In addition to the UC Merced and School of Natural Sciences General Education and Courses Required Outside of Natural Sciences and Engineering, the Applied Mathematical Sciences major consists of 20 or 21 courses (10 lower division and 10 or 11 upper division, depending on the emphasis track chosen) designed to give all students a common foundation of core knowledge specific to the discipline, plus breadth in an application area.

Emphasis Tracks [18-20 Units]

The student must complete between 18 and 20 units of approved course work toward the completion of an emphasis track. At least 11 of these 18 units must be upper division courses. Some examples of emphasis tracks include physics, computational biology, economics, computer science, engineering and environmental. These examples appear in the sample course plans available on the Natural Sciences website, naturalsciences.ucmerced.edu. More application themes will become available as new programs on campus develop. Students may design their own emphasis track with approval from the faculty program leads for the Applied Mathematical Sciences major.

Requirements for Computational Biology Emphasis Track

• BIO 002: Introduction to Molecular Biology [4 units]

Transfer Students

To be admitted to the Applied Mathematical Sciences major transfer students must meet the following requirements:

Applicants will, at the time of admission have completed at minimum each of the following courses (or their equivalent) with a “C-” or better:

• CHEM 002: General Chemistry I [4 units]
• MATH 021: Calculus I for Physical Sciences and Engineering [4 units]
• MATH 022: Calculus II for Physical Sciences and Engineering [4 units]
• PHYS 008: Introductory Physics I for Physical Sciences [4 units]
• PHYS 009: Introductory Physics II for Physical Sciences [4 units]

Applied Mathematical Sciences Program Learning Outcomes

The over-arching goal of the Applied Mathematical Sciences program is to build a community of life-long learners that use the analytical and computational tools of mathematics to solve real world problems.

Upon graduating, we expect students completing the Applied Mathematical Sciences major to have become effective problem solvers, meaning that student will be able to

1. Solve mathematical problems using analytical methods.
2. Solve mathematical problems using computational methods.
3. Recognize the relationships between different areas of mathematics and the connections between mathematics and other disciplines.
4. Give clear and organized written and verbal explanations of mathematical ideas to a variety of audiences.
5. Model real-world problems mathematically and analyze those models using their mastery of the core concepts.

Sample plans of study for the Applied Mathematical Sciences degree may be found in the School of Natural Sciences website naturalsciences.ucmerced.edu.