The Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematical Sciences offers students excellent academic preparation and unique research opportunities in a variety of growing fields.
The Math Department has 16 research faculty members whose areas of expertise vary widely. Several of our most prominent topics of research include:
- Combinatorics and Graph Theory
- Complex Dynamical Systems
- Difference Equations
- Numerical Analysis
- Applied Analysis
- Probability & Applied Probability
The following programs are offered by The Math Department:
- Mathematics – B.A., B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
- Applied Mathematics – B.A., B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
- Math-Secondary Education (Double Major) – B.A.
- Math-Data Science (Double Major) – B.S.
- Applied Math – Finance (Double Major) – B.S.
- Applied Math – Statistics (Minor) – B.S.
- 5-Year Accelerated Applied Math – B.S./M.S.
Department History
The Math Department has been part of the University of Rhode Island for over 100 years. In 1892, Anne Lucy Bosworth Focke was appointed the first professor of Mathematics and Physics and in 1908, Marshall H. Tyler became the chair of The Mathematics Department. In 1963, the department moved to Tyler Hall. It remained there until 2008, when it moved to the newly renovated Lippitt Hall (which was originally built in 1897). The department began its graduate program in 1960, offering a Master of Science degree, and in 1969 it officially inaugurated a program leading to the Ph.D. degree. The first Ph.D. degrees were awarded in 1971.
Mission Statement
The interlocking aims of the Mathematics Department are to provide high quality, forward-looking instruction in mathematics for all students, at all levels; to encourage and develop the mathematical skills and talents of those undergraduates with a special intellectual and professional interest in mathematics; to train, at the graduate level, a corp of accomplished mathematical teacher/researchers; to advance the field of mathematics in our focused research areas; and to serve as a principal resource in mathematics for the University community.
Facilities
The math department occupies the first two floors of Lippitt Hall; 32 offices, two 45-seat classrooms with projectors and instructor computers, two small conference rooms, a math library, a faculty lounge, and a student lounge. The department also has two laptop carts with 100 laptops and three Linux-based servers that are located in the server room in Tyler Hall.