Mathematics and Statistics Honors Program

General qualifications: Students seeking participation in an Academic Honors Program must have earned at least 45 semester credit hours with a minimum 3.5 grade point average (g.p.a.) at the time of application and be a declared major in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics . An application process occurs each spring semester, and interested students should contact the Academic Department Head for the application deadline. In addition to the credit hour and g.p.a. qualifications, an applicant also should submit:

• The application form found through the link at the bottom of this page; and
• A summary of no more than three pages that
  1. Details the applicant's scholarly background, community and/or University service, and academic awards; and
  2. Describes briefly why she/he is applying for an academic honors program of study.

Qualifications Specific to the Mathematics and Statistics Honors Program: Students seeking participation in the Mathematics and or Statistics Honors programs must:

• Be a declared major in Mathematics.
• Have completed 12 semester credit hours of upper-division mathematics and statistics courses at CMU.

General Requirements: All students completing an Academic Honors program of study are expected to complete a senior capstone activity. The activity can range from an honor's thesis to a creative work to an undergraduate research project. Additionally, students must present the results of their activity in a scholarly venue approved by their Academic Honors Program advisor (e.g., CMU's Student Showcase, a regional meeting for the relevant discipline).

Requirements Specific to Majors in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics:

• Earn a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher in mathematics and statistics courses at the 200-level or higher.
• Write a senior honors thesis under the mentorship of a mathematics faculty member and give an oral presentation of the thesis project.*
• Receive a recommendation for departmental honors from the Mathematics Honors Committee in consultation with the faculty mentor.**
  
  

*The senior honors thesis project will typically be completed as part of Math 492 Senior Capstone. However, students may write a senior honors thesis independent of that course. The topic of the thesis project must be approved by the Mathematics Honors Committee. Students who meet the grade-point average requirement above must submit a senior honors thesis project proposal to the Mathematics Honors Committee for consideration of approval before the semester prior to graduation.

**A recommendation for departmental honors from the Mathematics Honors Committee will be based primarily on the Committee's evaluation of the honors thesis and oral presentation in consultation with the faculty mentor. An honors thesis project is expected to be of a sufficient level to warrant honors recognition in Mathematics. That is, the final product (as judged by the Mathematics Honors Committee) should exhibit a high-level of understanding of a challenging area of Mathematics or Statistics and should exhibit technically sound mathematical writing.