Mathematics for the Arts & Sciences Student:
Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning Requirement

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Students in the College of Arts & Sciences are required to take four courses from the Physical & Biological Sciences (PBS) group and the Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning (MQR) group, with at least two from PBS and at least one from MQR.  Students may choose two MQR courses provided they have no significant overlap.  For example, students may not choose two beginning courses in statistics.

Restrictions on Advanced Placement and Transfer Credit

  • Students may not apply AP credit to any distribution requirement.
  • Students may not apply transfer credit to any distribution requirement unless they transferred to Cornell from another institution.  In the latter case, courses taken at the student’s previous institution (not summer school) may be approved for transfer and distribution credit by the appropriate department at Cornell.

Eligible Cornell Courses

A search of the Courses of Study catalog with “(MQR)” in the Course Title field will return a list of Arts & Sciences courses eligible to fulfill the MQR requirement.

Sample Two-Semester Programs

Students with a major or majors in mind should take major prerequisites into consideration.  Those who expect to major in mathematics, a science, or some other field that requires mastery of the basic techniques of calculus should take at least

  • two semesters of calculus:  MATH 1110-1120, MATH 1110-1220, or MATH 1910-1920  (See First-Year Calculus.)

This is usually not the best choice for students who expect to take no more than two semesters of mathematics.  A broader view of the subject can be gained from

  • one semester of calculus and one non-calculus mathematics course:
    • finite mathematics:
      MATH 1105: Finite Mathematics for the Life and Social Sciences
    • introductory statistics:
      MATH 1710: Statistical Theory and Application to the Real World
      AEM 2100: Introductory Statistics
      BTRY 3010: Biological Statistics I
      ILRST 2100: Introductory Statistics I (also STSCI 2100)
      PAM 2100: Introduction to Statistics
    • other alternatives to calculus:
      MATH 1300: Mathematical Explorations
      MATH 1340: Mathematics and Politics
      MATH 1350: The Art of Secret Writing

Other options for fulfilling the MQR requirement include:

  • two non-calculus mathematic courses (from the lists above);
  • one semester of calculus and a computer programming course:
     
    CS 1110: Introduction to Computer Using Java
    CS 1112: Introduction to Computer Using Matlab
    CS 1113: Computer Using Java: Honors
    CS 1114: Introduction to Computer Using Matlab and Robotics
    CS 2110: Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures
  • computer programming and a non-calculus mathematics course (from the lists above).

It is also possible to fulfill the MQR requirement while taking no mathematics courses at all.

Last modified:June 9, 2009