Mathematics Department

Department Faculty

Christopher Cyr, Department Chair and Program Coordinator

Department Goals

Mathematics is a discipline with ancient origins in early Greek thought, and has been the indispensable language and tool of science. In our major program and in our service to other departments, the Mathematics Department at Covenant College seeks to provide solid grounding in the discipline of mathematics as well as providing a greater appreciation for logic and precise language. In our major program we seek to prepare students for graduate school, technical jobs or for teaching in secondary school. In our service programs we aim to prepare pre-engineering students for the dual degree program and to prepare students majoring in other disciplines which require mathematics. We also hope to impart:

an appreciation for the wisdom of God as it is manifested in the logic and orderliness of His creation,
an appreciation for the goodness of God in both structuring much of creation to be amenable to mathematical description and in structuring our thought processes to be able to understand the mathematics that describe the creation,
an appreciation of absolute truth in the limited context of a mathematical system and at the limited understanding of fallen man.

Teacher Certification

Mathematics Pre-MAT

Students who are interested in teaching mathematics for grades 6-12 should complete a BA degree with a major in mathematics, and then enroll in the one-year Master of Arts in Teaching at Covenant College. It is recommended that the Education Minor be completed. Three of the courses in the minor - EDU 121 Introduction to Teaching , EDU 222 Educational Psychology and EDU 361 Education of Exceptional Children - are required for admission to the MAT. For information about certification, see Teacher Certification under the Education Department section of the catalog.

While not required, it will be helpful for pre-MAT mathematics majors to take the following specific courses as part of their mathematics major:

For more information, contact:

mat@covenant.edu or lindsey.fain@covenant.edu
706.419.1406
grad.covenant.edu

Mathematics Placement Process

Placement in mathematics courses for those with no previous college mathematics credit is determined on the basis of mathematics scores on the New SAT since March 2016, the ACT, or the CLT with the following scale:

Minimum Subscore
Placement Level	SAT Math Post 03/2016	ACT Math	CLT Quantitative
Level 1	Below 570	Below 21	Below 19
Level 2	570-590	21-22	19
Level 3	600-620	23-24	20-21
Level 4	>=625	>=25	>=22
Level 5 - Have earned credit for MAT 145 Calculus I

If a student wishes to attempt to achieve a higher placement level than originally assigned based on test scores, there will be a mathematics placement test offered online before enrolling in their first semester at Covenant. Scores on the mathematics placement test may increase a student’s math placement level, but will not decrease that original placement.

Math Placement Level 1: Elementary Education majors take MAT 111 Mathematics for Educators I . Students majoring in Art, Bible, English, Foreign Language, History, Education Studies or IDS (if concentrations do not require math), Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, or Sport Management, may take MAT 122 Concepts in Mathematics to fulfill the core mathematics requirement. Students majoring in Business, Community Development, Computer Science, Economics, Education Studies or IDS (if concentrations require additional math), International Studies, Mathematics, Political Science, or any of the science majors, must take MAT 041 Foundations of Algebra concurrently with MAT 141 College Algebra before proceeding with other required math, statistics, or economics courses.

Math Placement Level 2: Elementary Education majors take MAT 111 Mathematics for Educators I . Students majoring in Art, Bible, English, Foreign Language, History, Education Studies or IDS (if concentrations do not require math), Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, or Sport Management may take MAT 122 Concepts in Mathematics to fulfill the core mathematics requirement. Students majoring in Business, Community Development, Computer Science, Economics, Education Studies or IDS (if concentrations require additional math), International Studies, Mathematics, Political Science or any of the science majors, must take MAT 141 College Algebra to fulfill the core mathematics requirement, and before proceeding with other required math, statistics or economics courses.

Math Placement Levels 3, 4 and 5: Elementary Education majors take MAT 111 Mathematics for Educators I . Students majoring in Art, Bible, English, Foreign Language, History, Education Studies or IDS (if concentrations do not require math), Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, or Sport Management have fulfilled the core mathematics requirements and are not required to take an additional math course.

Math Placement Level 3: Students may take MAT 142 Pre-Calculus , MAT 144 Finite Mathematics , or the appropriate Statistics course required for their major or as a prerequisite.

Math Placement Level 4: Students may take MAT 145 Calculus I .

Math Placement Level 5: Students have credit for MAT 145 Calculus I and may take MAT 146 Calculus II .

Programs

Major

Mathematics

Minor

Mathematics Minor

Courses

Mathematics Courses

Statistics: Quantitative Methods Courses