As described on the page providing an overview of the University's General Education Requirements, the University of Massachusetts at Boston has adopted the set of principles shown below as the foundation on which its general education program for undergraduates has been built:
- Critical Analysis and Logical Thought (Objectives 1 and 2)
- Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning (Objective 3)
- Human Diversity (Objective 4)
- Principal Approaches to Knowledge (Objectives 5-8)
Focusing on the principle of verbal and quantitative reasoning, we find the following:
Objective 3: Students will demonstrate the ability to reason quantitatively and use formal systems to solve problems of quantitative relationships involving numbers, formal symbols, patterns, data, and graphs.
The quantitative reasoning requirement is designed to enhance students' capacity:
- to pose problems that involve quantitative relationships in real-world data by means of numerical, symbolic, and visual representations;
- to solve problems, deducing consequences, formulating alternatives, and making predictions;
- to apply appropriate technologies; and
- to communicate and critique quantitative arguments orally and in writing.
Students may meet this requirement in various ways, but most will do so by taking specially designed courses (such as Math Q114).
- Students seeking a BA in CLA or CSM will most likely take Math Q114; alternate methods of satisfying this requirement include taking Mathematics 115 or 125; Economics 205; Psychology 270; Sociology 350; by placing into Math 129 or higher on the University's math placement test; or by receiving calculus credit through either Advanced Placement or CLEP test.
- Students seeking a BS in CLA or CSM will fulfill this requirement when they take Math 135 (Survey of Calculus) or Math 140 (Calculus I), or by receiving calculus credit through either Advanced Placement or CLEP test.
- Nursing students in CNHS are required to take a statistics course (Math 125, Economics 205, Psychology 270, or Sociology 350); EHS students in CNHS currently follow the rules listed above for students seeking a BA in CLA or CSM.
- Management students satisfy the QR requirement by taking Math 134 (Managerial Calculus).
- Students in CPCS complete the Understanding Arguments and Quantitative Reasoning competencies.
A flow chart and a narrative indicating the relationship between the various mathematics courses and the differences between the Quantitative Reasoning Requirement and the Math Distribution are available as PDF files. (Go here to download the Acrobat Reader.)
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