5 Good Reasons You Should Consider Majoring in Math at the College of Charleston:

Because you love doing math!
The beauty of a perfect geometric object; the precision of exact computations; the certainty of a proof; the power to make predictions about the real world from a well constructed mathematical model. These are just some of the things that are appreciated by the people who enjoy mathematics. If you are one of those people, then you will enjoy your studies while you learn advanced and cutting edge mathematics as a math major at the College of Charleston.
In fact, this will extend beyond your years as a student, since the skills you develop studying math here at the College can lead you to a great career. In industry or science, big businesses and small start-ups, government and universities, there is a need for people trained in mathematics. Whichever of these jobs you get, you'll like your job because you'll love what you do.
Maybe you're too practical to major in math just because you like it. But don't worry, that's not the only reason to major in math.
You want a good job.
In the latest edition of The Jobs Rated Almanac (1999), author Les Krantz ranked 250 jobs according to six criteria: income, stress, physical demands, potential growth, job security and work environment. In overall score, two jobs requiring a degree in mathematics were listed in the top five: actuary was ranked number two and mathematician was ranked number five (out of two-hundred fifty!). There are financial arguments for majoring in math, too. A 1997 USA Today study listed mathematics among the top ten academic majors in estimated starting salary.
However, even if you are not certain that you want to be a mathematician or an actuary, a degree in mathematics can be a good thing. Read further to see how many career choices are open to people with math degrees.
You want to keep your options open.
At C of C, we offer 5 different degrees in mathematics. This gives you flexibility while you are here. More importantly, there is a great variety of jobs open to people with undergraduate degrees in mathematics. Because science and computers have "quantified" our society, more and more careers in the modern job market involve a lot of mathematics. You can get a job requiring a math degree at a college or university, at a big business or a small biotech/silicon valley start-up, at a government research center or an industrial research lab. Don't believe it? Click on any job title below for a testimonial from a person who got that job because of a degree in mathematics. (Pay special attention to the variety of job titles and employers.)
A degree in math can be helpful even if you pursue a non-mathematical career.
Despite the stereotype, you don't have to be a genius to get a degree in math. Still, people are justifiably impressed when you get one. It shows that you can think rationally, analyze complicated situations and handle abstraction. These are rare and useful skills in any line of work. That's why even law, business and and medical schools consider a degree in math to be a positive attribute for an applicant. Many careers that are not explicitly mathematical are open to people with degrees in mathematics. For instance, did you know that U.S Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, Former Secretary of Defense William Perry, Former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, ACLU director Ira Glasser, science-fiction writer Larry Niven, Nobel Laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn, composer Phillip Glass, songwriter Tom Lehrer, Dracula author Bram Stoker, singer Art Garfunkel, economist J.M. Keynes, and millionaire J.P. Morgan all have degrees in math? (Not to mention College of Charleston basketball star Jody Lumpkin!)
The College of Charleston is a great place to study math.
You have already seen four reasons to major in mathematics, but why should you do it here at C of C?
If you're reading this, you probably already know that the College of Charleston is a surprising, fantastic and unique institution. Although many people who have never visited it imagine the college to be a small, liberal arts college, it is actually a large public liberal arts university with approximately 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Moreover, having been founded in 1770, the College of Charleston is the thirteenth oldest school of higher learning in America. With its unique campus, incorporating houses built in the Charleston style of architecture and trees draped in Spanish Moss, it also arguably has one of the most beautiful campuses.
The Department of Mathematics at the College of Charleston is surprising and fantastic as well. In fact, we like to think that we combine some of the best aspects of a department at a liberal arts college and a department at a research university, providing the best of both worlds. We are a large department with over thirty faculty members and almost 100 math majors, but all of our classes are small so that students can receive personal attention. Teaching is our main priority, but all of our professors are actively engaged in math research. For example, in the last five years our professors have published over one hundred research papers in peer reviewed journals and earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant support. This research activity is good for students because (a) it means that their professors are really experts in the field, with cutting edge knowledge (b) some of the research projects are suitable for student involvement and (c) it ensures that mathematicians around the world know how good our department is, making a degree in mathematics from the College of Charleston even more valuable. Our reputation for excellence is so well established that we were the first math department in the state of South Carolina to receive a commendation of excellence from the Committee on Higher Education.

These are some good reasons to consider earning a degree in mathematics from the College of Charleston, but they are not the only ones. Please look at our Web pages for more information, and feel free to write with any questions or comments to webmaster@math.cofc.edu.