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First Math Course Recommendation Based on Fields

Academic/Career Field

Recommendation for First-Level Transfer Math Course
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Choose regular or support versions as appropriate; both versions are open to all students.

Take a Statistics course.

Take a Statistics course or a recommended course in a sequence to calculus.

For Business, some programs (e.g. at at the following CSU: Chico, East Bay, Fresno, Monterey Bay, Stanislaus, Sonoma) do not require calculus by allowing the option to take MTH 33S (Finite Math) instead. 

You may take MTH 21 or 33S at the same time as Statistics. 

Take MTH 41S or a Statistics course.
  • Arts (e.g. music, theater, art history, studio art, dance, digital media, etc.)
  • Humanities (e.g. English, history, philosophy, etc.)
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Law, geography, communications, and social sciences that do not require statistics.
  • Career and technical programs for which a degree higher than an associate’s is rare (e.g. welding, automotive technology, etc.)

Take either MTH 47 or a Statistics course.

  • MTH 47 is 3 units and meets three instructional hours a week.
  • Statistics is 4 units and meets 5 instructional hours a week.
  • Architecture
  • Earth science (e.g. geology, planetary science), certain biological sciences (e.g. environmental science, marine science, nutrition, plant biology, etc.),
  • Industrial technology

Take a recommended course in a sequence to calculus.
  • Physical sciences (e.g. physics, chemistry, etc)
  • Engineering, computer science
  • Mathematics, Statistics
  • Certain biological sciences programs (e.g. molecular cell biology, chemical biology, bioengineering, etc.)

Take a recommended course in a sequence to MTH 1.



Notes

Dentistry and physician assistant

  • Select few programs for dentistry and physician assistant require calculus; take a BSTEM course as soon as you find out your program requires it.

Medicine, optometry, pharmacy

  • Not all medical schools have a calculus requirement, but if they do, they usually will accept both MTH 1 or MTH 15,
  • A major in the sciences is not required to attend medical school as long as you have the required courses for admission.

Elementary Teacher Education

  • If you wish to pursue the Associate Degree for Transfer (AD-T) in Elementary Teacher Education, then take MTH 41S, but remember that it does not meet the math requirement for UC.
  • Statistics is part of the subject matter competency expected of multiple-subject credential holders in California to teach elementary school. Multiple-subject matter competency waiver programs often require Statistics. However, Statistics is not a required course for the AD-T.

Early Childhood Education

Statistics is a good alternative to MTH 47 if you are also interested in elementary school teaching. Statistics is part of the subject matter competency expected of multiple-subject credential holders in California to teach elementary school. Multiple-subject matter competency waiver programs often require Statistics. However, Statistics is not a required course for the AD-T.

Statistics

The following courses have been articulated with C-ID 110 Introduction to Statistics for an ADT (associate degree for transfer) to CSU that requires it. The vast majority of four-year programs with a statistics requirement can be met by any of these courses, which you should verify with ASSIST.  

  • MTH 43 - Introduction to Probability and Statistics 
  • PSY 5 -  Introductory Statistics for the Behavioral and Social Sciences 
  • BUS 19 - Business Statistics

Calculus

The general guideline is that MTH 1 is for STEM majors and MTH 15 is for Business majors. However, be sure to discuss with a counselor and check with programs you are interested to determine which is acceptable and best for you.  

The Math Course Selection makes a course recommendation in the course sequence leading to MTH 1. AB 1705 forbids a recommendation in the course sequence leading to MTH 15, but you may choose MTH 21 as preparation if needed.