Mathematical Sciences and Actuarial Mathematics- C and D Terms

Course Planning Specifics: Mathematical Sciences and Actuarial Mathematics

You will register for C and D term classes in November. 

In addition to the course recommendations below that are specific to your major, each student must complete 4 PE courses in their four years at WPI. You are welcome to add a Physical Education and Wellness course to any term. PE courses are worth 1/12 unit, unlike major subjects discussed in course recommendations which are worth 1/3 unit, and can be taken in addition to the 3 courses recommended below. 

For more information on the degree requirements for your major click here.

C Term Recommendations

Actuarial Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences majors should continue to take courses in the regular calculus sequence MA1021 – MA 1024, if not yet completed.  If the calculus sequence has been completed, great 2000 level course options for Mathematical Sciences majors include MA 2071 – Matrices And Linear Algebra or MA 2072 – Accelerated Matrices And Linear Algebra, MA 2051 – Ordinary Differential Equations, MA 2611 – Applied Statistics I, MA 2251 – Vector and Tensor Calculus, and Discrete Mathematics (which may count as a MA course when registering for MA 2201 or as a CS course when registering as CS 2202). For Actuarial Sciences majors, we suggest MA 2071 – Linear Algebra and MA 2611 – Applied Statistics I.

For Actuarial Mathematics students that took Theory of Interest I and II (MA 2211 and MA 2212) in the fall, and have a background in probability, we suggest taking MA 3212 – Actuarial Mathematics I.

If you have specific questions or need further advice on which math courses to take in the spring, please email Prof. Jon Abraham, jabraham@wpi.edu, for Actuarial Mathematics or Prof. Sam Tripp, stripp@wpi.edu, for Mathematical Sciences.

For math course descriptions, please click here

 

Mathematics majors need to take at least two Science courses during their time at WPI. 

If you are considering actuarial math, you should consider taking ECON 1110 – Introduction to Microeconomics, ECON 1120 – Introduction to Macroeconomics, and ECON 2110 Intermediate Economics (recommended background of ECON 1110). These ECON courses are generally offered in C or D term

Your third course should be a GPS, Humanities and Arts, or Computer Science course. More information is available about these courses below. 

GPS stands for Great Problems Seminar is a course that is exclusively for first year students and allow students to learn about a problem in the world and work with a group on how to fix it. These courses are helpful with the transition to college as well as useful for students when preparing for projects such as IQP and MQP in junior and senior year. GPS courses run for both A and B term, so you will only need to choose one. For more information click here.

Every student at WPI must complete the Humanities and Arts (HUA) Requirement. This consists of 6 courses in HUA subjects. The subjects available for HUA are:

  • Art (AR)
  • Music (MU)
  • Drama/Theatre (EN/TH)
  • Foreign Language- Spanish (SP), German (GN), Arabic (AB), Chinese (CN)
    • For Spanish Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Angel Rivera (arivera@wpi.edu)
    • For German Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Daniel DiMassa (ddimassa@wpi.edu)
    • For Arabic Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Mohammed El Hamzaoui (melhamzaoui@wpi.edu)
    • For Chinese Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Wen-Hua Du (wdu2@wpi.edu)
    • For English Language (International Students) Information, Please Email: Professor Althea Danielski (amdanielski@wpi.edu) and Professor Esther Boucher-Yip (efboucher@wpi.edu)
  • Literature (EN)
  • Writing/Rhetoric (WR, RH)
  • International Student English (ISE)
  • History (HI)
  • International Studies (INTL)
  • Philosophy (PY)
  • Religion (RE)

Mathematical Science Majors and Actuarial Science Majors are required to take two Computer Science courses in their time at WPI. For their third course they could consider taking their first of these courses. Good options are CS 1004: Introduction to Programming for Non-Majors or CS 1101: Introduction to Programming. 

D Term Recommendations

Actuarial Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences majors should continue to take courses in the regular calculus sequence MA1021 – MA 1024, if not yet completed.  We strongly encourage all students to take MA 1971 – Bridge to Higher Mathematics in D term- this course introduces mathematical ideas and builds proof writing skills.  If you took 1033 and 1034 in A and B-term, instead of MA 1971, we would suggest a proof-based transition course such as MA 2631 – Probability or MA 2273 – Combinatorics. If the calculus sequence has been completed, additional great 2000 level course options for Mathematical Sciences majors include MA 2071 – Linear Algebra, MA 2051 – Ordinary Differential Equations, MA 2612 – Applied Statistics II (if MA 2611 was taken in C-term or AP credit for 2611), and Discrete Mathematics (which may count as a MA course when registering for MA 2201 or as a CS course when registering as CS 2202).

For Actuarial Sciences majors, we highly suggest taking a course in Probability. There are two options, MA 2621 – Probability for Applications or MA 2631 – Probability, which is a proof-based transition course. Other good courses to take include MA 2071 – Linear Algebra and MA 2612 – Applied Statistics II (if MA 2611 was taken in C-term or AP credit for 2611). If MA 3212 was taken in C-term, we suggest MA 3213 – Actuarial Mathematics II in D-term.

If you have specific questions or need further advice on which math courses to take in the spring, please email Prof. Jon Abraham, jabraham@wpi.edu, for Actuarial Mathematics or Prof. Sam Tripp, stripp@wpi.edu, for Mathematical Sciences.

Mathematics majors need to take at least two Science courses during their time at WPI. 

If you are considering actuarial math, you should consider taking ECON 1110 – Introduction to Microeconomics, ECON 1120 – Macroeconomics, and ECON 2110 Intermediate Economics (recommended background of ECON 1110). These ECON courses are generally offered in C or D term.

Your third course should be a Humanities and Arts, or Computer Science course. More information is available about these courses below. 

Every student at WPI must complete the Humanities and Arts (HUA) Requirement. This consists of 6 courses in HUA subjects. The subjects available for HUA are:

  • Art (AR)
  • Music (MU)
  • Drama/Theatre (EN/TH)
  • Foreign Language- Spanish (SP), German (GN), Arabic (AB), Chinese (CN)
    • For Spanish Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Angel Rivera (arivera@wpi.edu)
    • For German Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Daniel DiMassa (ddimassa@wpi.edu)
    • For Arabic Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Mohammed El Hamzaoui (melhamzaoui@wpi.edu)
    • For Chinese Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Wen-Hua Du (wdu2@wpi.edu)
    • For English Language (International Students) Information, Please Email: Professor Althea Danielski (amdanielski@wpi.edu) and Professor Esther Boucher-Yip (efboucher@wpi.edu)
  • Literature (EN)
  • Writing/Rhetoric (WR, RH)
  • International Student English (ISE)
  • History (HI)
  • International Studies (INTL)
  • Philosophy (PY)
  • Religion (RE)

Mathematical Science Majors and Actuarial Science Majors are required to take two Computer Science courses in their time at WPI. For their third course they could consider taking their first of these courses. Good options are CS 2102 or CS 2119. 

Once you go through the above recommendations, please be sure to review Registration Information so you know how to register on November 15th.

Registration Information

To build your schedule you should use the Course Listings page and the WPI Planner. Below are instructions on how to use the Planner tool and how to search for courses before inputting this information into Workday, WPI's registration platform.

  1. Navigate to the WPI Planner.
  2. On the first tab, select the class subject area you are interested in (ex. Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences). Note: Great Problems Seminars are listed under First Year.
  3. Once you select the subject, the available courses will appear. As you select courses, they will appear in the box at the bottom right.
    • You should select three courses for each term. It is also a good idea to identify some back-up schedules in case your first choices are full when you register.
    • You can also select a Physical Education course, and 1/6 unit music courses, as an additional fourth course in addition to your three courses. This is common for first year students.
    • ROTC Members: please select your Military Science course in addition to your three courses. Your Physical Training will count towards your physical education requirement, so you do not need to select PE courses.
  4. On the second tab, Time, you can eliminate times of day you do not want classes. Note: This may limit your course options, so use this one sparingly.
  5. The third tab, Schedules, shows all the possible schedules that can result from your course selections. Make sure you are looking at the correct term, and look to see if there is any overlap between class times. You can change the term you would like to take the course by clicking on the term bubbles.
    • When you are satisfied with how your schedule looks it is time to identify the sections of the classes you plan to register for.
    • At the top of the Schedules tab, you will see two boxes, one labeled “Grid” and another labeled “Detail.” Click the “Detail” box to see a listing of selected courses with information including course name, course section, professor, location, and meeting days and times.

PRE-REGISTRATION PREP

  • Watch the 10 min. overview video
  • Login to Workday​
  • Use Find Course Sections to build at least one Saved Schedule for C-Term, D-Term, and if you're taking any 10 or 14 week classes, Spring Semester (instructions)​​​

November 15, 7AM ET: REGISTER

  • Login to Workday​
  • Open a browser tab or window for C-Term, D-Term, and Spring Semester (if you have any 10 or 14 week classes) and View My Saved Schedules for each​
  • [Optional] Open tabs for alternate course sections from other Saved Schedules or search results​
  • When registration opens, click Start Registration, then click Register (instructions)
  • Open View My Courses, scroll right to Drop or Swap (instructions)​
  • Waitlisted? If a spot opens, a notification will be sent to your WPI email asking you to login to Workday and take action