Introduction
Overview
You can use your math, computing, and engineering skills to work in a variety of fields. You can work for a computer hardware company, developing high-performance computer chips. Or, you can work for a genetic engineering lab, studying how DNA functions and develops.
In computational mathematics programs, you take courses in several areas of math. This usually includes statistics, several kinds of mathematical analysis, and computer modeling and simulation. Nearly all of your courses will include heavy use of computers, since many programs use sophisticated software to teach mathematical concepts. In turn, students become skilled in using computers.
Several schools offer bachelor's degrees in computational mathematics. In some cases, you can minor in computational mathematics while getting your undergraduate degree in math or a related field. However, usually you get a bachelor's degree in math and then decide to specialize in computational mathematics during your master's studies. About 30 schools offer master's and doctoral degrees in computational mathematics. These programs take from two to five years after you finish your bachelor's degree. Most people with graduate degrees in computational mathematics become professors and researchers.