Math summer
orientation
Help for students in
mathematical majors
planning the
Fall 2014 schedule.
Your adviser today
You will be advised today by one
of
• Alison Champion, Assistant
Director of Undergraduate
Studies
• Dr. Bob (Professor Robert
Muncaster), Director of
Undergraduate Studies
Proficiency tests
• A placement exam helps us choose courses; a
proficiency exam can earn you college credit.
• Note that on THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 1-2:30
PM, 314 Altgeld Hall, is a Calculus I proficiency
exam for new students. No sign-up needed. If
you have learned calculus but do not already
have official University of Illinois credit for Math
220, please sit for this exam. There is no penalty
if you do not pass. Calculators are not permitted,
but the exam is multiple-choice, so you may be
able to pass even if you don’t have time to study
before the test. Please bring your i-card and a
pencil to the exam. Results are available in 313
Altgeld Hall from 1-4 pm on Friday, August 22, in
person.
• There is another proficiency exam date available
for almost any math class, but you must sign up
online by 5pm, Monday, August 25, to take the 3hour long-answer exam from 7-10 pm on
Thursday, August 28. No calculators. Only one
exam may be taken on that date.
Credit for Transfer
Courses
• If your DARS audit lists any of
your courses as “LAS 1—” or
“ENG 1—” or “TRAN 1—” then
the course is being counted for
university credit but has NOT
been reviewed by the
appropriate department.
• Such courses can count for
elective credit but NOT for
specific requirements until they
are properly reviewed.
Transfer articulation
• To start the transfer articulation
process, please get a copy of the
course syllabus. A syllabus usually
has a list of lecture topics,
information about the textbook
used, and information about
grading.
• If the syllabus is in a language
other than English, an official
translation is usually required.
Transfer articulation
• You may submit electronic
versions at
• https://secure.admin.illinois.ed
u/Admissions/eAdmit/OnlineSyl
labus
• Submit your paper syllabi to
Admissions, CCAU, 901 West
Illinois St, Urbana IL 61801,
USA
• This process is slow—please
do it as soon as possible!!!
Composition I
• Several different ways to
complete this freshman writing
requirement
• ESL 111+112 or ESL 115
composition courses, based on
English Placement Test score
• Rhetoric course, depending on
ACT English score
• CMN 111/112 (strong English
skills and strong ACT English
score). Short speeches +
writing.
ESL Composition
• Students who complete ESL
do NOT need to take Rhet
courses; ESL 112 or 115
completes the Comp I
requirement.
• ESL instructors have special
training to help with writing
issues of non-native speakers
of English AND general
composition.
• Rhet instructors are NOT
qualified or trained to help nonnative speakers of English
ESL Composition
• Some students are required to
take the English Placement
Test (EPT)
• Other students may choose to
take the EPT, even if they are
not required to do it.
• ONLY students who take the
EPT may take ESL
composition courses.
English Placement Test
• If English is not your native
language, you can sign up for
the EPT at
http://go.illinois.edu/ept
Transfer Writing
• Transfer students who have
credit for “UCI” or “UCII” partial
Composition I credit can fulfill
BOTH Composition I and
Advanced Composition by
taking Rhet 233, Principles of
Composition.
• This option is only available to
transfers with UCI or UCII
credit.
Advanced Composition
• Must be done AFTER Comp I
• Learning to write well in a
specific discipline
• Math majors with Calculus III
credit might like Math 348
• BTW 250, Principles of
Business Communication, is
also a good choice
• Usually NOT done in freshman
year.
• Math 348 is full at this time.
Language Other
Than English
•
•
•
•
•
Ways to fulfill this requirement
are…
4 years’ study in high school
(one language)
4 semesters’ study in college
(one language)
Reach 4th level another way
Reach 3rd level of two
languages
Proficiency exam here on
campus
Language Other
Than English
• Not exempt if you are a native
speaker of another language
• Proficiency exams available
• EALC department offers
Japanese, Korean, Chinese
exams in August (22nd)
• Spanish offers exam in August
• Many other departments
arrange individual exams
Language Other
Than English
• If you wish to continue with a
language you started in high
school, you MUST take the
placement exam.
• You MUST start with the
course you’re placed in, even if
it’s lower than you expect
• Example: Placed in Span 103
after 4 years of Spanish in high
school. Cannot jump to 4th
level Spanish.
General Education
• General education gives you
breadth in your studies
• Gen ed courses can be spread
throughout your time here, but
it’s good to cover most of them
before junior year
General Education
Requirements
• 6 hours of Humanities & Arts
(Historical/Philosophical and
Literature & Arts)
• 6 hours of Social & Behavioral
Sciences
• 6 hours of Natural Sciences &
Technology (Physical Science
and Life Science)
General Education
• 1 Western/Comparative
Cultures course
• 1 Nonwestern or U.S. Minority
Cultures course
• These two courses may
“double-dip” with the previous
18 hours if chosen carefully
• Courses listed for both
Western and Nonwestern may
be counted for one, not both!
(You choose which one.)
General Education
• Many general education
classes fill up quickly
• Some general education
courses have sections
reserved for special groups.
Those sections are not
available unless you’re in the
special group.
• Please identify many courses
which you might like to take!
Transfer orientation
• LAS 199 Transfer Advantage
• Orientation for transfer
students
• 1 credit hour, not difficult to
earn an A
• Nice way to meet other transfer
students
• Nice way to find out how Illinois
rules may be different from
your previous school
Electives!
You must complete 120 credits
to graduate. Your major and
general ed courses use less
than 90 hours, so you MUST
take some courses just for fun!
Consider a minor, learning a new
language, exploring courses
which look fun or interesting...
Computer Science
• CS 101: Programming for
science/engineering (3 hrs)
• CS 125: Programming for CS
majors, Math/CS, Stat/CS, CS
minors (4 hours)
• No space available in CS at
this time.
Computer Science
• CS 101 recommended for
math majors. Weekly labs, two
major programming
assignments. Currently uses
Matlab and C.
• CS 125 required for Math/CS,
Stat/CS, CS majors. Weekly
labs, 7-8 major programming
assignments. Uses Java.
Math Courses
• Math 220: Calculus – limits,
derivatives and basic integrals
• Math 231: Calculus II - more
integration, infinite series,
parametric equations
• Math 241: Calculus III,
multivariable calculus
Advanced Placement
• AP Calculus AB: score of 4 or
5 gives credit for Math 220.
• AP Calculus BC: score of 4 or
5 gives credit for Math 220 &
Math 231.
• AP Calculus BC score of 3, AB
subscore of 4 or 5 gives credit
for Math 220.
• Lower scores give no credit
Advanced Placement
• If you don’t see credit for AP
scores in your Illinois records,
check your score report to see
whether you sent your score to
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign
• College Board will send scores
for a fee. Priority/rush service
is NOT necessary.
A-levels
• Advanced Level Certificate
with grade of C or higher in
Mathematics earns credit for
Math 220.
• Students with A-level credit
may consider proficiency exam
for Math 231, Math 241,
depending on background.
• Original A-level certificate must
be submitted to International
Admissions when you get it.
Advanced Math
• Math 347: Intro to Proofs (Math
231 prerequisite, Math 241
even better). Intro to reading
advanced math and to writing
proofs in a variety of areas of
math. Transition from calculus
to advanced math.
• Honors section available (now)
to extremely good students
with Calculus II credit.
Advanced Math
• Math 416, Abstract Linear
Algebra
• Required for math majors
• Prerequisite: Multivariable
calculus
• Math 347 also good prereq
• Honors section available (now)
to extremely good students
Advanced Math
• Math 441, differential
equations for math majors
• Math 442, partial differential
equations
• Math 453, number theory
• Math 402, non-Euclidean
geometry
Mathematics major
• All students do “Core” courses
• Also choose a Concentration
• Supporting coursework
Math Concentrations
• General Math: most flexible,
most popular choice
• “Graduate Prep”: actually PhD
prep for students who wish to
go directly to a doctoral
program after completing B.Sc.
Most intensive option.
• Note that any option will
prepare you for a master’s
program.
Math Concentrations
• Applied Math: engineering
oriented
• Operations Research:
business/optimization
• Applied Math & Operations
Research are both good for
financial engineering.
• Teacher Education: for those
who wish to teach grades 6-12.
• Choose a concentration within
1-2 semesters of completing
Math 347/348
Supporting Coursework
• Required of all math majors
• Purpose: specialize in an area
outside of math
• 3 choices: second major, ANY
minor, or 12 credit hours of
approved supporting
coursework
Supporting Coursework
• “Supporting coursework” is a
single math-related area
outside of mathematics.
• Must take at least 12 credits in
the area
• At least some of the courses
must be advanced (300-level
or 400-level)
Supporting Coursework
•
•
•
•
Examples:
Physics
Economics
Philosophy (logic or scienceoriented Phil courses)
• Another science
• Computer Science (CS
101/125 not counted and
courses listed both in Math and
CS not counted)
Supporting Coursework
• Other areas possible if you can
justify how they’re related to
math.
• Supporting coursework
requires adviser approval.
Math Advisers
•
•
•
•
Ms. Alison Champion
Ms. Shannon Schwarb
Ms. Jiwon Lee
Prof. Robert Muncaster
(Dr. Bob)
All in 313 Altgeld Hall, which is
the Math Undergrad Office.
mathadvising@illinois.edu
Deadlines
• August 25: First day of class.
• September 8: Last day to add a
semester-long class.
• October 17: Last day to DROP a
class. Before this date you can
drop any class as long as you have
at least 12 credits. After this date
you must petition to the College of
LAS and have documentation of
extenuating circumstances such as
extended illness, mental health
issues, or other outside problems.
A committee will review the petition
but may force you to stay in the
class and not drop/withdraw.
Schedule
• You must register for 12-18
hours. 14-16 is recommended
for your first semester.
• You must have at least 12
credit hours by the first day of
the semester.
• Final exams run December 1219. Plan to be on campus
through December 19!! There
are exams 7-10pm that day.
Schedule
• For students taking calculus, 1
math class is enough.
• For students beyond calculus,
2 math/stat classes are
recommended.
• Students who take 3 math/stat
classes in one semester
usually earn very poor grades.
If you wish to try this, wait until
you have completed a
semester with A or A+ grades
in two tough math classes.
Helpful websites
• http://courses.illinois.edu
Information about current
courses, general education, all
majors/minors, and link to
register!
• http://las.illinois.edu
Helpful information and forms
• http://registrar.illinois.edu
Financial info, transcripts, DARS
audit
Registration
• Have a long list of classes
which interest you—math
AND general education AND
electives!!
• Have your passwords set,
including Enterprise
password!!
• Read up on the classes you
want at the CLASS
SCHEDULE at
http://courses.illinois.edu
Registration errors
• ALWAYS check the Class
Schedule when you get a
registration error.
• Registration program has little
helpful information. Class
Schedule has MUCH detail not
found anywhere else!
• Error messages mean that
there’s an error, but the
messages themselves may be
wrong!
Scheduling
• Many classes which are full
now may have seats available
later when other students
change their schedules.
• Keep trying!
• If you add a new class after the
semester begins, it is YOUR
job to contact the instructor to
ask about material and
assignments/quizzes you have
missed and how to catch up.