Program Overview

• About the Program
• Degree & Major Options
• Why Study Mathematics?
• Sampling of Careers That Rely on Mathematics
• Programs Related to Mathematical Sciences

About the Program

The University of Washington Mathematics Department is one of the major research mathematics departments in the United States. It has an excellent research reputation, a strong, demanding program of graduate study in mathematics, and a full range of excellent undergraduate course offerings. The department consists of approximately 60 permanent faculty with research interests in virtually every area of mathematics. Students, faculty, and numerous visitors are encouraged to interact through a variety of courses, seminars, colloquiums, and in other less formal ways. The faculty have been supported in their research by the Sloan Foundation, National Science Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, National Security Agency, and other organizations. 
 

Degree & Major Options

The Department of Mathematics offers two types of degrees: a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts, with a total of 4 math options. 

• Bachelor of Arts
  • Philosophy Option
  • Teacher Prep Option
  • Standard Option
• Bachelor of Science
• Math Minor

Refer to the Undergraduate Major Requirements for option descriptions, specific course requirements and restrictions.

Major Option Comparisons

Why Study Mathematics?

Mathematics is one of the most versatile and intellectually rewarding disciplines you can study in college. At its core, it trains you to think with precision and creativity by constructing elegant, rigorous, and correct arguments to complex problems. The reasoning and abstract thinking necessary for mathematics translates to many other fields, such as finance, medicine, technology, and law. Mathematics also has great intrinsic value, both for the challenging questions posed within the field, and its ability to express problems in other disciplines in a clear and concise manner.

While mathematics serves as a bedrock for many subjects, the Department of Mathematics at UW focuses on building a strong theoretical foundation in the subject as opposed to more applied training. Students interested only in certain applications are likely served better by choosing a different major more aligned with their field of interest. However, with proper additional preparation outside of the math coursework – or as a double major – mathematics provides a rigorous understanding of the tools and methodologies employed elsewhere, eclipsing surface-level knowledge. The base training offered by an undergraduate degree in mathematics is particularly useful, and sometimes essential, for graduate study in science and engineering disciplines.

Higher level mathematics often isn’t about memorizing formulas, solving equations, or computing derivatives. Our courses concern abstract structures, rigorous foundations for the math you might already know, and proving what is really true. Importantly, you will learn to produce and write coherent, creative arguments and communicate your ideas effectively. In math, as in life, your solution only works if you can defend it. You will build a large base of analytical knowledge which provides a durable foundation for technical skill. Your math degree will be useful wherever you end up.
 

Sampling of Careers That Rely on Mathematics

Finance & Economics: Actuaries, quantitative analysts ("quants"), financial engineers, and economists all use probability, statistics, calculus, and linear algebra daily to model risk, price derivatives, and forecast markets.

Data Science & AI: Machine learning is built on linear algebra, calculus, and statistics. Data scientists and ML engineers use math to build models, tune algorithms, and interpret results rigorously.

Engineering: Civil, mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineers rely on differential equations, calculus, and numerical methods to design structures, circuits, and systems.

Computer Science: Cryptography, algorithms, graphics, compilers, and networking all have deep mathematical foundations — discrete math, number theory, and graph theory especially.

Medicine & Biostatistics: Clinical trials, epidemiology, and medical imaging (like MRI reconstruction) depend on statistics and math. Biostatisticians design studies and analyze data that directly shape treatment decisions.

Physics & Research Science: Theoretical physics is mathematics in many respects. Research across chemistry, biology, and materials science increasingly requires computational and statistical modeling.

Operations Research & Logistics: Companies like FedEx, Amazon, and airlines employ mathematicians to optimize routing, scheduling, and supply chains using linear programming and combinatorics.

Cryptography & Cybersecurity: Modern encryption (RSA, elliptic curve cryptography) is built on number theory and abstract algebra. Security professionals with math backgrounds are in high demand.

Weather & Climate Modeling: and more generally, Earth and Space studies  require knowledge of differential equations, linear algebra, Fourier and spectral analysis, optimization, and inverse problems. 

Social Sciences: use a surprising amount of mathematics, especially in the form of statistics. Many social structures are abstractly graphs, and optimization becomes a key focus. Other math needed include calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, probability and game theory. 

Actuarial Sciences & Accounting are common pathways after a degree in mathematics. 

Academia: A research career as a professor or a teaching career at any level is a common path from a math degree. Employment in national labs, research institutes and organizations such as NASA, NSA, DOE or DOD all value a degree in mathematics. 

Other Undergraduate Programs Related to Mathematical Sciences

• Applied & Computational Mathematical Sciences (ACMS)
• Applied Mathematics
• Computational Finance and Risk Management
• Statistics