Mathematics and Computer Science

Overview

Overview

The Actuarial Science Program at Illinois has been named a Center of Actuarial Excellence by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), one of a few such programs in the U.S. to be so recognized. The Mathematics and Computer Science program offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign prepares students for careers as actuaries and enterprise risk analysts through a curriculum that reflects the interdisciplinary nature of actuarial science.

Students interested in teaching mathematics at the middle and high school level may complete a math major and the Secondary Education Minor. Alternatively, they may complete a teaching program in another area and our Minor in the Teaching of Mathematics, Grades 6-8 or Grades 9-12. The Major and Minor in Statistics are available through the Department of Statistics.

Students have the opportunity to gain research experience in the Illinois Geometry Lab (IGL) where undergraduates work together with graduate students, postdocs and faculty members as part of focused research teams on projects involving visualization of mathematics. The IGL also provides students with a wide array of opportunities to engage in campus and community outreach.

Our students also participate in research year-round through the Math 496 Honors Seminar, summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates, and individually-arranged faculty reading courses. We have an active team of creative problem-solvers who prepare in the fall for the Putnam Exam, a nationwide mathematics competition for undergraduates, and keep in practice with the U of I Undergraduate Math Contest each spring. The UI Putnam Team placed 9th out of 554 teams in the 2015 Putnam competition!

Another opportunity Illinois provides is a set of Honors Sequence courses. These are sophisticated courses taught for undergraduates by research-active faculty which provide excellent preparation for graduate level mathematics coursework.

We have three outstanding student organizations: MATRIX, the general math club; the Actuarial Science Club, which does everything from broomball to career fairs; and the Illinois Alpha Chapter of Pi Mu Epsilon, the national math honor society.