Applied Mathematics (B.S.)

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Gain a solid and comprehensive knowledge of mathematics with an extensive introduction to one of the many areas that rely heavily on it -- biology, chemistry, computer science, finance or physics.

Do you wonder how interest on loans and savings accounts works? A major in applied math leading to a career in banking or finance might be for you.
Do you look at your car insurance bill and wonder how the insurance company decides how much to charge? A major in applied math leading to a career as an actuary might be for you.
Do you have ideas for how to design software to solve problems? A major in applied math leading to a career in software design might be for you.

The Bachelor's of Science in Applied Mathematics provides the student with an opportunity to gain a solid and comprehensive knowledge of mathematics with an extensive introduction to one of the many areas that rely heavily on mathematics.

Why ESU for Applied Mathematics?

Service-learning projects allow students to work with a community partner on a math-related project as part of their regular coursework. Every math major will participate in at least one service-learning project.
Hands-on working experiences with real-world applications
Options to focus on an area of application
Small class sizes
Frequent interactions with qualified, experienced faculty
Opportunities to explore topics of interest through guided study with a faculty member.
University-wide emphasis on entrepreneurship offers opportunities to develop student generated projects.

What do students learn to do?

Throughout coursework and non-classroom activities, students will learn how to:

Problem solve
Analyze data and construct mathematical models
Apply their math skills to problems in another discipline
Select and use appropriate software packages
Solve multistep problems
Work in groups
Present technical material both orally and in writing
Recognize situations where mathematical thinking will be helpful

4 Year Curriculum Plan Courses and Requirements

All About Applied Mathematics at ESU

Why ESU?
What do students learn to do?
Concentration Specializations
Career Opportunities
Hands-on Learning Opportunities
Innovative Faculty

Why ESU for Applied Mathematics?

Service-learning projects allow students to work with a community partner on a math-related project as part of their regular coursework. Every math major will participate in at least one service-learning project.
Hands-on working experiences with real-world applications
Options to focus on an area of application
Small class sizes
Frequent interactions with qualified, experienced faculty
Opportunities to explore topics of interest through guided study with a faculty member.
University-wide emphasis on entrepreneurship offers opportunities to develop student generated projects.

What do students learn to do?

Throughout coursework and non-classroom activities, students will learn how to:

Problem solve
Analyze data and construct mathematical models
Apply their math skills to problems in another discipline
Select and use appropriate software packages
Solve multistep problems
Work in groups
Present technical material both orally and in writing
Recognize situations where mathematical thinking will be helpful

ESU Today. Actuary Tomorrow.

/mathematics/images/Anthony_Walker_profile.jpg Anthony Walker '17
Applied Mathematics major

I am a graduate of the Applied Mathematics program with a concentration in Finance, and I would like to tell you about my personal experience at ESU and where it has led me in my career.

Multivariate calculus was the class that began to open my mind to viewing math as a language rather than a series of calculations. Most of the remaining courses in the curriculum reinforced and built on that in profound ways. As a mathematician, you have a powerful language by which to describe the world around you, and the ESU math department helped me to grasp that language and what it could do.

In my career as an Actuary, I am constantly challenged to describe patterns and future events. Math is the tool that allows me to do that. For example, every year my team analyzes what would happen to our insurance business in a catastrophic event, such as a pandemic. This was an established practice well before COVID-19, but I didn’t realize until 2020 just how important and practical that analysis would be. In order to describe the impact that an event like that would have financially, interest theory and probability are essential tools.ESU gave me the foundation I needed to be able to tackle challenging mathematical problems in the real world. The ESU faculty is like a family, and gave me as much time as I needed to help me succeed academically. One great aspect about ESU that I encourage you to take advantage of is how flexible the curriculum is. I was able to customize my classes to fit Actuarial career requirements while still counting towards the major. Make your education meaningful to you, and take advantage of a team that is ready and willing to help you succeed. All the best on your journey!

Choose from five Applied Mathematics concentrations.

Every company is looking for solutions to problems. Mathematicians are expert problem solvers. If you think like a mathematician and understand the industry, you can provide solutions. The opportunity for a concentration in a particular field outside mathematics gives our graduates the background needed for solving problems in industry.

Applied Financial Mathematics includes courses in economics to prepare students for careers in finance. Pairs well with a minor in actuarial science or mathematical statistics. Our most popular applied math concentration, these students excel at understanding the role of interest on a student loan, credit card, or savings account. They understand how companies can quantify and manage financial risks. They work at banks, financial firms, and insurance companies. They take positions in consulting firms solving problems in a variety of disciplines.
Applied Computer Science Mathematics includes courses in computer science to prepare students for careers in programming, algorithm design or consulting. Pairs well with a minor in statistics or computer science applications. These students excel at recognizing problems that can be solved using a computer and designing software to solve them. They understand what modern computers can do well and what is best left to human judgement. They work in software development and technical sales in a wide range of industries.
Applied Biological Mathematics includes courses in biology to prepare students for careers in biotechnology or epidemiology or graduate school in mathematical biology. Pairs well with a minor in statistics. These students understand how math relates to genetics and ecology. They can use mathematics to understand population growth. They transform reams of data into actionable policies.
Applied Chemical Mathematics includes courses in chemistry to prepare students for careers in medical technology or pharmaceuticals. These students excel at modeling chemical processes, like how much of a drug remains in the body or the impact of a catalyst on a reaction.
Applied Physical Mathematics includes courses in physics to prepare students for careers in consulting or engineering. Pairs well with a minor in physics. These students use mathematics to model the physical world, mechanical systems, and motion.

A group of students discuss how to Illustrate the locations of childcare centers in Monroe County.

Applied Financial Mathematics includes courses in economics to prepare students for careers in finance. Pairs well with a minor in actuarial science or mathematical statistics. Our most popular applied math concentration, these students excel at understanding the role of interest on a student loan, credit card, or savings account. They understand how companies can quantify and manage financial risks. They work at banks, financial firms, and insurance companies. They take positions in consulting firms solving problems in a variety of disciplines.
Applied Computer Science Mathematics includes courses in computer science to prepare students for careers in programming, algorithm design or consulting. Pairs well with a minor in statistics or computer science applications. These students excel at recognizing problems that can be solved using a computer and designing software to solve them. They understand what modern computers can do well and what is best left to human judgement. They work in software development and technical sales in a wide range of industries.
Applied Biological Mathematics includes courses in biology to prepare students for careers in biotechnology or epidemiology or graduate school in mathematical biology. Pairs well with a minor in statistics. These students understand how math relates to genetics and ecology. They can use mathematics to understand population growth. They transform reams of data into actionable policies.
Applied Chemical Mathematics includes courses in chemistry to prepare students for careers in medical technology or pharmaceuticals. These students excel at modeling chemical processes, like how much of a drug remains in the body or the impact of a catalyst on a reaction.
Applied Physical Mathematics includes courses in physics to prepare students for careers in consulting or engineering. Pairs well with a minor in physics. These students use mathematics to model the physical world, mechanical systems, and motion.

Career Opportunities

ESU Applied Mathematics majors earn positions in banks, insurance companies, government agencies, consulting firms, pharmaceutical companies, engineering firms, and other organizations. See example alumni positions in:

Finance: Past alumni positions include:

Loan Operations and Support Specialist, First Hope Bank

Junior Underwriter at AmeriSave Mortgage Corporation

AAVP, RAD Developer, Barclays Investment Bank

Actuarial Assistant, Guardian Life

Business Process Analyst, Guardian Life

Financial Analyst/Business Analyst, Lumen Technologies

Lead Associate, Willis Towers Watson
Technology: Past alumni positions include:

Artificial Intelligence Division – Sales and Delivery Executive, IBM

Director, AI + Data Office, Verizon

Head of AI Program Management, Verizon

CMM Programmer and Calibration Technician, Simco Electronics
Data Analysis: Past alumni positions include:

Technical Program Manager – Data Science, Machine Learning and Big Data, Verizon

Lead Data Scientist, Verizon

Data Analyst, Institute for Prevention and Recovery

Data Analyst, B Braun Medical

Data Scientist, Supply Chain Analytics & Strategy, Verizon

Data Scientist – Digital Fraud, UPS

Data Scientist – Retail, AppCard, Inc
Additional Fields: Past alumni positions include:

Alteryx Developer/Consultant, Deloitte

Consultant, TNTMAX Survey Apprentice, Mountainview Layout

Flight Safety and Reliability Engineer, KBR Careers - Gov Solutions

Project Integration/Foreign Military Sales, Picatinny Arsenal

Business Analyst, Level 3 Communications

Graduate Student, MS Business Intelligence & Analytics, Stevens Institute of Technology

Graduate Student, MEd, Higher Education Student Affairs

Professional Tutor, Lehigh Carbon Community College

Residence Hall Director, Stony Brook University

Survey Apprentice at Mountainview Layout

ESU Today. Telecom Troubleshooter Tomorrow.

/mathematics/images/Shannon_Smith_profile.jpg Shannon Smith '19
Applied Mathematics major

It’s outside my job description, but I ended up doing a billing project for my company during the pandemic.

It saved RCN tons of time and money and now everyone in the company knows my name.

Like all telecom companies, RCN stopped cutting off people’s service for nonpayment. When it was time for people to resume payment, RCN matched some of the past due amounts paid. The taxation on the past due amounts varied depending on what the payment was for. The billing department had trouble allocating the matching money to the various services and taxes. I used Excel to allocate the taxes based on readily available inputs.During the pandemic, telecoms companies forgave late fees and kept customers services on while deferring payments. While the program was in effect no payments needed to be made. Each service, telephone, internet, and cable is taxed differently and some by multiple entities.When customers rolled off this program they made a payment on the past due amount with a maximum match by the company of up to $500 not to exceed the past due amount. With the different taxation, the matched amount had to be divided into different buckets in a specific way.The company was having a lot of problems with the matched credit being applied to accounts because it was being entered incorrectly. The amounts had to be exact for each bucket in order for the credit to be approved. Telephone has four buckets, due to the different taxes applied to telephone. Cable has two buckets, one for the cable service and one for video on demand and pay per view purchases. Internet has two buckets, one for the internet service and one for data usage (when applicable).The system weighs the order of importance for the credits as most past due, telephone, cable, then internet. I developed a formula to input the amount of credit that was being applied to the account and output how much of that should be placed in each bucket. This eliminated a majority of credits being rejected and saved a lot of time for multiple departments as it greatly reduced the number of errors.

During the pandemic, telecoms companies forgave late fees and kept customers services on while deferring payments. While the program was in effect no payments needed to be made. Each service, telephone, internet, and cable is taxed differently and some by multiple entities.

When customers rolled off this program they made a payment on the past due amount with a maximum match by the company of up to $500 not to exceed the past due amount. With the different taxation, the matched amount had to be divided into different buckets in a specific way.

The company was having a lot of problems with the matched credit being applied to accounts because it was being entered incorrectly. The amounts had to be exact for each bucket in order for the credit to be approved. Telephone has four buckets, due to the different taxes applied to telephone. Cable has two buckets, one for the cable service and one for video on demand and pay per view purchases. Internet has two buckets, one for the internet service and one for data usage (when applicable).

The system weighs the order of importance for the credits as most past due, telephone, cable, then internet. I developed a formula to input the amount of credit that was being applied to the account and output how much of that should be placed in each bucket. This eliminated a majority of credits being rejected and saved a lot of time for multiple departments as it greatly reduced the number of errors.

Student Organizations

Students play the game Tantrix at a math club meeting.

The Math Club meets monthly during the semester to play games with underlying math content, talk about mathematical topics, and eat pizza. They take a field trip to the Museum of Math in New York City in the spring.

Honor Society

Sigma Xi - The Scientific Honor Society The 2019 Sigma Xi math major awardees and some of the math faculty.

Sigma Xi, the scientific honor society, holds several events for the science community each year. Chillifest in the fall gathers scientists around homemade chili while Dessertfest with Trivia allows the community to sample homemade baked goods while being challenged by scientific trivia. Each spring, the math department honors several graduating seniors at the Sigma Xi award banquet. Students proudly display their award certificates and list the honor on their resumes.

ESU Today. Telecom Troubleshooter Tomorrow.

/mathematics/images/Shannon_Smith_profile.jpg Shannon Smith '19
Applied Mathematics major

It’s outside my job description, but I ended up doing a billing project for my company during the pandemic.

It saved RCN tons of time and money and now everyone in the company knows my name.

Hands-on Learning

Opportunities for in-class hands on learning abound. In addition, all math majors participate in a service-learning project and have the opportunity to pursue special projects with professors.

Service Learning

All math majors are required to take MATH 425 Introduction to Mathematical modeling, which includes a service-learning project.

In Spring 2020, students investigated the viability of a community kitchen for Meals on Wheels of Monroe County.
In Spring 2021, students investigated the water and financial saving associated with reusing grey water at the Pocono Environmental Education Center.

The MATH 150 Mathematical Investigations course is a course for new math majors to meet each other and learn about college mathematics. That course includes a data visualization project for an on-campus entity, like Career Development.

Dylan Campagna '21 speaks about his group's service learning project helping Meals on Wheels.

All math majors are required to take MATH 425 Introduction to Mathematical modeling, which includes a service-learning project.

In Spring 2020, students investigated the viability of a community kitchen for Meals on Wheels of Monroe County.
In Spring 2021, students investigated the water and financial saving associated with reusing grey water at the Pocono Environmental Education Center.

Dylan Campagna '21 speaks about his group's service learning project helping Meals on Wheels.

Independent Study Opportunities

Math majors have unfettered access to faculty members.

Did you love your class? Contact the professor about opportunities to explore that topic further, either through a second course or independent study.
Did you read about or hear about a cool aspect of mathematics? Talk to a professor about working on a project in that field.

A student uses software to visualize air pollution data on a map for an independent study project.

Math majors have unfettered access to faculty members.

Did you love your class? Contact the professor about opportunities to explore that topic further, either through a second course or independent study.
Did you read about or hear about a cool aspect of mathematics? Talk to a professor about working on a project in that field.

In recent years students have worked one-on-one with professors on combinatorics, game theory, and financial mathematics. They have completed individual projects on using graph theory to match medical students with residency positions. Individual students used data analysis to examine air pollution, health in different cities, and student retention at ESU.

Innovative Faculty

Faculty members in the math department bring experience applying mathematics outside the classroom.

Learn more about ESU and the Applied Mathematics major.

For more information on the programs offered in the Mathematics department, please contact cgetz@esu.edu.

Contact Information

Campus Address: Science & Technology 118
Phone:: (570) 422-3447
Fax:: (570) 422-3899 (Fax)

Title of Department Leader: Department Chair
Name: Olivia Carducci
E:: ocarducci@esu.edu
Phone:: (570) 422-3444

Applied Mathematics (B.S.)

All About Applied Mathematics at ESU

What do students learn to do?

All About Applied Mathematics at ESU

What do students learn to do?

Choose from five Applied Mathematics concentrations.

Career Opportunities

Hands-on Learning

Service Learning

Independent Study Opportunities

Innovative Faculty

Learn more about ESU and the Applied Mathematics major.

Contact Us

Contact Information