Close-Knit Community

Your experience begins with the foundation of the department—our professors—who care about your success. They’re as passionate about mentoring as they are teaching. Because class sizes are small, professors will know you by name and can work with you one-on-one. With a wide variety of department activities such as Math Club, national and international mathematical contests, a lively speaker series and student research opportunities, we build strong relationships between faculty and students and among students in our program.

Hands-on Learning

Our students are actively involved in their learning and can select extracurricular activities which match their interests and goals. Past examples include working with K-12 students and teachers in the local elementary and middle schools, working with the department's supercomputer to model nuclear fusion, or conducting novel research with a faculty member.  Recent examples of student research projects include building math models of the zebrafish brain, modeling the immune response to SARS-Co-V2, and building a recommender system to help incoming students choose a major.

A recent project example:

Each year, teams of students participate in the international Mathematical Contest in Modeling which challenges teams to clarify, analyze, and propose solutions to open-ended problems. The contest is international in scope, drawing over seven thousand teams from around the world. The problems are timely, important, and open-ended. For example, past problems have been related to eradicating Ebola or analyzing political stability. Cal Poly Humboldt teams have received high honors in this competition. Groups of students and faculty are invited to attend the Whiskeytown Lake Mathematics Congress which combines a weekend of camping and rafting with mathematics and connects us with our sister CSUs in Northern California and schools in southern Oregon. Our department also supports peer tutoring and mentoring, which builds a strong student community. Students and faculty can work on problems in our research lounge.

After Graduation 

What can you do with a Mathematics degree?

It’s a question students often ask, which is why we’ve made career advising a cornerstone of our program and encourage them to start thinking about their future. Through advising, activities, and courses, we help students understand the versatility of a math degree and explore vast career options.

We focus on the job search process, as well by mindfully embedding career preparation activities throughout the courses, and partner with Humboldt's advising center to ensure students receive advice about career preparation and options after graduation.

Students leave our program with more than a degree. They are equipped to think critically and analytically, and can apply these skills to any domain. Our graduates have a track record of securing great employment, or gaining entrance in masters or doctorate programs in mathematics and related fields.

Learn more about our what our Alumni are doing.