Applied Mathematics in the Undergraduate Curriculum.

After considering the growth in the use of mathematics in the past 25 years, this report makes four major recommendations regarding the undergraduate curriculum: (1) The mathematics department should offer a course or two in applied mathematics which treat some realistic situations completely, including the steps of problem formulation, model building, problem solution with associated computations, and result interpretation. Three suggested courses, centered on the topics of optimization, graph theory and combinatorics, and fluid mechanics, are outlined with references and sample problems; (2) A greater number of realistic applications from a greater variety of fields should be introduced into the mathematics courses of the first two years; (3) Every student whose degree includes a substantial number of mathematics courses should take at least one course in applied mathematics. This recommendation applies to prospective secondary school mathematics teachers as well as mathematics majors; and (4) An undergraduate concentration in applied mathematics should be offered if the resources of the college permit. (MM)

Microfiche. [Washington D.C.]: ERIC Clearinghouse microfiches : positive.