Hello guys, gals, and non-binary pals! Today, I’m going to be talking about the math department at Amherst College, which spoiler alert, is the best department that the college has. I’m totally not biased or anything as a math major. Growing up I always really loved doing math and it’s been my favorite subject since second grade. I used to be very confident in my ability to do math, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and classes started to be held online, my confidence began to waiver. I had a hard time focusing and learning online, so I found the material that I was learning in my AP Calculus BC harder to grasp. I began to doubt myself when doing math problems and my grades dipped a little bit that year.
Because of this, when I first started at Amherst College back in Fall 2021, I tried to convince my advisor to let me take MATH-121, Intermediate Calculus, instead of MATH-211, Multivariable Calculus, which I had placed into. My advisor reassured me that the placements that the college provided were usually accurate, and he encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone and take MATH-211. When I first arrived in class on my first day of freshman year, I was incredibly nervous sitting in that math class. However, the professor reassured me as he gave a quick overview of Calculus I and II. I managed to understand what was happening throughout the class and even enjoyed being there. I started to go to his office hours twice a week, every week to ask questions and get to know him! As I continued going to office hours, though the material became more difficult as the course progressed, my ability to learn it increased. I started to feel more confident in myself again after having doubted myself for so long.
By the end of the semester, I decided that I wanted to declare a math major, and I asked my Multivariable Calculus teacher, Professor Zhang, to be my advisor. I then went on to take MATH-220, Introduction to Proofs, and MATH-272, Linear Algebra with Applications, and I am currently taking both MATH-350, Groups, Rings, and Fields, and MATH-275, A Second Course in Linear Algebra. I’ve loved taking all of these courses, and so far my favorite has been Groups, Rings, and Fields. You can find descriptions of all of these courses on the math department’s website.
I was incredibly nervous about committing to being a math major, as I wasn’t sure that I was smart enough or good enough at math to succeed. However, since declaring my major, I have been attending my professors’ office hours as often as I can, and I enjoy going to TA office hours in the evenings when I can’t make it. There are a bunch of resources at the college to help people succeed in math and from my experience, anyone who wants to major in math can! Every math professor I’ve had has been kind, understanding, patient, and legitimately excited about teaching math! They are always a joy to talk to, and you can tell that they love what they do. There are so many people who are there to support you throughout the major, and for me, the workload has not been hard to manage. For most classes, there is usually one problem set due per week and between 2-3 exams per semester.
As for completing the major, there are six required courses and 5 elective courses that you need to fulfill. I placed out of two of the required courses, MATH-111, Introduction to Calculus, and MATH-121, Intermediate Calculus by taking AP Calculus AB and BC in high school. The other required courses that I needed to take were Multivariable Calculus; Linear Algebra; Groups, Rings, and Fields; and Real Analysis. After this semester I will only need to take three math electives and Real Analysis, and then I will have completed the major after I pass the comprehensive exam in my senior year! The department has a lot of really fascinating classes to pick from, so I’ll probably end up doing more than just those four after this semester!
All in all, I’m so happy with my choice of major! I love the department, the classes, and the professors. They really care about the students taking their courses and want them to succeed, and I know that I have resources to get help if I ever need it! So that’s what it’s really like to be a math major at Amherst College!