MATH 490

Math 490: Mathematics Capstone with Industry Applications

Prerequisites: MATH 300 or MATH 301

Credit Hours: (3)

An applied course to prepare undergraduate students for mathematical careers in industry or public service. Students will work in teams on a project posed by an internal or external client, such as a community advocate, local business, nonprofit, or government agency. This course will mimic a professional setting where students will develop their mathematical and programming skills, interact with a client, manage deadlines, and produce a technical report.

 

Content

This is a service-learning course. Skills acquired may vary based on client and project.

1. Increase awareness of industrial career opportunities for math students.
2. Offer real world experience in problems provided by business, industry, or government.
3. Gain experience writing and communicating mathematics.
4. Gain experience collaborating with other researchers.
5. Gain experience with methods/technology used in industry.
6. Be able to provide written and video presentations on final results to professional partners.
7. Prepare students for industrial careers.

 

Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

Students will be grouped in teams based on complementary skills. Teams may be reshuffled by needs of a project or the discretion of the instructor. There will be a contact/client in industry for the project. Neither the instructor nor the client knows the solution to the problem – it is group’s responsibility to find one.

 

Student Learning Outcomes

Acquire a working knowledge of basic results and methods for industry.
Students will be able to:

1. Clean anonymized data provided by a client.
2. Collaborate with peers and individuals across disciplines.
3. Visualize and interpret their findings.
4. Communicate their findings to the benefit of the larger community

 

Assessment Measures

Students are evaluated based in industry expectations such as individual problem solving, teamwork, communication, and final products. This includes meetings out of class, regularly presentations, peer and client evaluations, and the quality of the technical report.

 

Other Course Information

None

 

Review and Approval

February 6, 2026