Study abroad can be a very valuable part of a liberal arts education for mathematics and computer science majors, providing a different perspective of the teaching and learning of the subject matter.

HOW

If you are a Mathematics or Computer Science major who would like to study off campus, you should begin by talking to your advisor or a professor in the department about your plans. You should also make an appointment with the Director of Off-Campus Study in the International Programs Office (107 Babcock; x2951) to discuss the process.

WHEN

In previous years students have participated in both domestic and international programs, usually going off campus during their junior year. Off-campus study in the sophomore year is also possible.

WHAT

Some off campus programs offer mathematics and computer science courses that match nicely with those taught at Wooster but most do not. For this reason, careful planning with your academic advisor and with a faculty member of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department is always necessary in order to assure that major requirements are met and that the courses taken while away meet Wooster requirements.

WHERE

Several majors have successfully found suitable math courses in Australia and New Zealand as well as in programs like the Wabash's program at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

There is one program specifically designed for mathematics students, the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics (BSM). In this program Hungarian faculty teach courses from a typical U.S. mathematics curriculum in the intense Hungarian style. (Hungary is famous for producing many excellent world-class mathematicians.) About forty American college students participate in the BSM program each semester and more than 90% of them eventually finish graduate degrees in mathematics or in mathematically related areas. One must be well prepared for the BSM program, having taken Real Analysis and/or Abstract Algebra prior to applying. Students in Budapest begin with an intensive two-week study of the Hungarian language prior to the start of the program and then take three or four math courses and one or two other courses for the semester. Wooster students who go to Budapest almost always do so in the spring semester of their junior year.

Read profiles of recent Math and CS majors who have studied off campus!