Mathematics and Statistics

Since antiquity, mathematics has been a cornerstone of the liberal arts. It serves as a model of clear reasoning and expression of thought, and its focus on the study of patterns and structures ensures its continued wide-ranging relevance. Mathematics is the scaffolding of the physical sciences and has exciting new applications in areas such as information science, network theory, cryptography, biology, and theoretical and applied economics. Meanwhile, tools are being developed to solve some of the great long-standing problems of pure mathematics. There are several paths through mathematics at Reed College. In addition to the major in pure mathematics, we offer a major in computer science and a concentration in statistics. There are standing interdisciplinary majors in mathematics-computer science, mathematics-physics and mathematics-economics, and recently students have designed ad-hoc interdisciplinary majors such as mathematics-biology and mathematics-anthropology.