Entry
Level Courses
The selection of a mathematics course should reflect
the student's college requirements, major requirements,
mathematics preparation, and interests. Flexibility
should also be considered, since students often change
majors or colleges. The information below provides an
overview of the 100-level mathematics courses to assist
the student in making an informed course selection.
Students are encouraged to contact a representative
of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics or their
academic advisor. Additional information is available
at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics website: http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/math/.
The
Math
Course Maps show the sequencing of Math
courses. MATH
131, the first course in the standard
calculus sequence, is required for all students
in the Bachelor of Science degree program
in the College of Arts and Sciences. In
addition, it satisfies the mathematics requirement
for the B.S. in Business Administration
degree and is required or recommended for
a variety of additional majors. MATH 131
provides a high degree of flexibility in
meeting requirements and is prerequisite
to the higher-level mathematics curriculum
and courses in other areas.
The
MATH
134-135
sequence includes all the topics from MATH
131. Completion of this sequence is equivalent
to completion of MATH 131 in terms of requirements
and prerequisites.
MATH
126 includes topics from differential
calculus, integral calculus, and some matrix
theory. It satisfies the mathematics requirement
for all specializations in the B.S. in Business
Administration degree and some majors in
other degree programs. This course does
not satisfy the mathematics requirement
for the Bachelor of Science degree in the
College of Arts and Sciences, nor does it
satisfy some major or program requirements
in other areas, including some minors in
the College of Business Administration.
Students who complete MATH 126 and subsequently
change to a program of study in computer
science, mathematics, statistics, or the
natural sciences may be required to take
MATH
131 and possibly MATH
128, MATH
129, or MATH
130.
Because
MATH
131 satisfies all requirements met by
MATH 126, the department recommends that
qualified students take MATH 131, since
it provides greater flexibility in meeting
requirements and prerequisites.
MATH
128 and MATH
130 serve as preparatory courses for
calculus students and also satisfy some
program or degree requirements. MATH 130
is an accelerated version of MATH 128. MATH
128 and MATH 130 satisfy the prerequisites
for both MATH 126 and MATH 131.
MATH
129 satisfies some program requirements
and, in combination with MATH
120 or MATH
122, prepares students for MATH
131 or MATH
134. It is offered only at BGSU Firelands
College.
MATH
112, MATH
120, and MATH
122 are College Algebra courses. MATH
120 is offered only at BGSU Firelands College.
The MATH 112-122 sequence is equivalent
to MATH 120 in terms of requirements and
prerequisites. MATH 112, 120, and 122 prepare
students for MATH 126 and also satisfy some
program or degree requirements. In general,
MATH 128 and MATH 130 will satisfy any requirement
or prerequisite satisfied by MATH 112, 120,
or 122, so qualified students are advised
to take MATH 128 or MATH 130 instead of
MATH 112, 120, or 122.
MATH
115 is an introductory statistics course
and is taken by students in various colleges
to satisfy programmatic requirements or
for general background purposes.
MATH
090 and MATH
095 are offered for students who are
not prepared to enter higher-level mathematics
courses. These courses are offered without
credit toward any degree program.
Mathematics
Placement
The mathematics placement examinations are designed
to determine an appropriate first mathematics course.
Placement testing and advice on course selection are
available at Orientation and Registration sessions.
On
main campus, placement tests can be taken during business
hours in the Mathematics and Statistics Department
office (450 Mathematical Sciences Building). On the
BGSU Firelands campus, placement is made using recent
(less than one year old) ACT scores or by taking the
COMPASS test. Students who want to take the COMPASS
test for placement should contact the BGSU Firelands
Student Services office (101 West Building).
Students
are not allowed to take a course above their
mathematics placement. This policy is strictly
enforced for the benefit of the individual
student and for the benefit of other students
with appropriate placements. Historically,
students who have taken a course above their
mathematics placement have done worse than
students who placed into the course.
Students
are encouraged to review material and retake the placement
test if they believe their placement is inappropriately
low. On main campus, students may take the placement
test a total of three times. Students on the BGSU
Firelands campus who believe that their placement
(via ACT or COMPASS) is inappropriately low are permitted
to take (or retake) the COMPASS test only once in
order to obtain a better placement.
Students
are allowed to take a course which comes
later in this list than the course they
placed into: MATH
131H, 131, 130, 126, 128, 122, 112, 095,
090.
Prerequisite
Policy
Prerequisites are strictly enforced with exceptions
made only by the instructor. A grade of A, B, C, or
S must be earned in the prerequisite course(s).
Advanced
Placement
Students who have taken a calculus course
in high school may be eligible to enter
the calculus sequence (MATH
131, 232,
233)
at the MATH 232 or MATH 233 level and may
be eligible for credit for one or more calculus
courses. These students are advised to take
the Calculus AB or Calculus BC advanced
placement examinations from the College
Entrance Examinations Board given at their
high school. Credit and placement depends
on the test taken and the score received;
see Registration
Policies and Records Policies: Advanced
Placement for full details and procedures.
Students
who have taken the Statistics AP exam may
get credit for MATH
115. See the link above for details.
