Charles Darwin once remarked that mathematics seems to endow people with a sixth sense. Have you noticed how numbers and shapes appear to structure reality? Do you want to learn how to analyze data and test your hypotheses? Join Colby’s mathematics and statistics community to find solutions for new (and old) problems and to uncover the fundamental reasons why things work as they do.
We offer courses that, in the true spirit of the liberal arts, emphasize beautiful underlying ideas, their social and historical context, and their amazing explanatory power. The mathematics major emphasizes the foundational structures of essential mathematical subjects. The flexibility of the mathematical sciences major, on the other hand, lets students focus their major on connections to other disciplines, perhaps through a concentration in statistics. Students in each major strengthen their problem-solving, abstract-reasoning, and communication abilities.
Graduates with solid quantitative and analytical skills, the core competencies of mathematics and statistics, are in demand by employers. By maintaining high standards and ambitious goals, the department has earned a reputation as a place of deep learning—a degree in mathematics or mathematical sciences from Colby is a significant achievement.