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College of Letters and Science Faculty Document No. 640
December 5, 2002
Recommendation of the Course and Curriculum Committee to Grant an Entitlement to Plan a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematical Sciences, Business, and Economics (MSBE)
Recommendation:
That the L&S Faculty recommend to the Dean approval of the Request for an Entitlement to Plan a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematical Sciences, Business, and Economics.
Rationale:
See Section III of the following request.
Entitlement to Plan a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematical Sciences, Busienss, and Economics (MSBE)
- Program Identification
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Title of Proposed Program: Bachelor of Arts in Mathematical Science, Business, and Economics (MSBE) |
| 1.2 |
Department or Functional Equivalent: Department of Mathematical Sciences; Department of Economics; School of Business Administration |
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College, School, or Functional Equivalent: College of Letters and Science; School of Business Administration |
| 1.4 |
Timetable for Initiation: Fall, 2003-2004
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- Need for the Program (include information on student demand and market demand for graduates)
For about forty years, the B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Physics (AMP) has been successful in providing for students an option outside the traditional majors to pursue an interdisciplinary interest. The value of AMP is primarily the flexibility it provides for students to customize their own academic programs of study, within broad constraints focused in the areas of mathematics and physics. This flexibility is valuable when a student's interests lie between two or more departments. The area of mathematics no longer can be linked to physics alone; math has influenced nearly every technical area. Business and Economics go hand in hand with the expanded role of mathematics.
There is a great need for students who are experts at business, economics and mathematical analysis. Over the past decade industrial trends have strongly favored computational simulation combined with mathematical modeling, statistics with software development, mathematical algorithm analysis and development, business and economics and many other such links. Currently, to prepare themselves for careers at the intersection of business, economics and mathematics, many students feel a need to complete majors in both areas, taking advantage of natural relationships between the subjects. The study of each area is enhanced by course work in the other two.
The combination of skills acquired through the study of these disciplines is expected to be very valuable in addressing the technological needs of the next century. UWM students who currently major in these areas will be well positioned for good jobs and productive futures.
It would be highly advantageous for students to have a coherent interdisciplinary program in business, economics, and mathematics, with flexibility for students to design their own focus. Such a program would be very attractive to many prospective student and employers. Therefore, the Departments of Mathematical Sciences and Economics and the School of Business Administration are proposing a new program, Mathematical Science, Business and Economics (MSBE).
Student Demand
There are several potential pools of candidates for the MSBE. First, it is expected that a number of students who now opt for a standard economics, math, or business program will pursue the MSBE. The Economics Department currently has approximately 50 majors; the Department of Mathematical Sciences has enrollments of about 50 mathematics and AMP majors, and there are more than 20 students majoring in mathematics education who fall into this category. Because students are permitted to complete a second major, it is expected that many students who enter the MSBE from this pool also will complete the standard programs as well. Thus, the new program will not merely siphon students from existing programs.
A second source of candidates for the MSBE is the large pool of students who take Math 211. This is a non-majors math course that attracts about 1000 students a year. Many of these students discover an affinity for math in the 211 course, but they may shy away from taking additional math, which would require them to start at the beginning of the three-semester required calculus sequence. The MSBE will provide an alternative way for these students to continue their math studies within a structured program. In a recent survey of Math 211 students, 2% of the students said they would take the MSBE program and another 53% indicated they would consider taking the program; fully 92% of those surveyed said they thought that MSBE was a good idea. Given the size of this pool of students, the potential enrollment in the MSBE program is substantial.
Traditionally, many engineering and science students become disenchanted with those studies or the future for which they are being prepared. These students generally have a strong interest in math, so the MSBE can provide an alternative program that will not require these students to "start over." At least a small percentage of this pool of students is expected to opt for the MSBE where they will find an outlet for applying their math talent to a new set of issues.
Finally, because of the uniqueness of this program, it is expected to attract students from outside the Milwaukee area. The nature of the MSBE is such that its graduates will be competitive in the work world with the graduates of European schools, who take extensive mathematics. We anticipate the establishment of MSBE exchange programs with universities like Ulm, Germany and with other European institutions known for their highly mathematical business programs. These will be ideal locations to send our students for their senior year studies. It is likely that MSBE will attract foreign students who want a more intense introduction to international business and the U.S. economy than their home programs can provide.
The combination of students from these four groups should produce 30-50 majors within the next five years. Enrollments in the University and in the MSBE courses will increase, generating an increase in tuition revenues. These new revenues will support any additional instruction that is required.
Market Demand
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook states:
"Bachelor's and master's degree holders with extensive training in mathematics and a related discipline, such as..., economics, ...should have good employment opportunities in related occupations."
The handbook also states: "...economists are among those who use mathematics extensively..."
The market for the Mathematical Science, Business and Economics degree will include any business that now hires business administration and economics majors, as well as those that hire mathematics majors. The program has a focus on analyzing problems and designing solutions using more extensive mathematical skills than the regular business or economics major can offer. We expect MSBE graduates to be more actively recruited than those who have not acquired the broad range of knowledge and skills that the MSBE imparts.
We know of no duplicate of this program that would allow us to analyze real statistics on the job placement of MSBE students. The University of Wisconsin-Stout, however, has an Applied Mathematics--Business Management (AMBM) major that is somewhat comparable and very successful. Graduates of Stout's program have secured employment Boeing, IBM, Mayo Clinic, Rockwell International, Information Advantage, Analysts International Corporation, M&F Data Services, Access Management, and General Mills, to name just a few companies. Professor Wagner, in Stout's AMBM program, said of the major: "We had 100% employment at graduation for two years, then last semester dropped back a bit to about 95% placed by graduation. Most graduating students had from five to ten interviews." He added: "We hear back from employers that our graduates compete with and sometimes get jobs over students from larger universities, such as UW-Eau Claire and University of Minnesota, and their practical background and problem-solving/analytical skills are mentioned as the primary reason for this."
This is exactly what the MSBE program will accomplish. And, because such a large percentage of UWM's graduates remain to work in the Southeastern Wisconsin region, their problem-solving/analytical skills in and knowledge of economics and business result in an infusion of exceptionally-well prepared students into the economy of this area.
- Relation to Institutional Mission, Strategic Plan, Goals and Objectives
The B.A. in Mathematical Science, Business, and Economics would give UWM students experience and knowledge that has become important and in demand for many careers. As such, the program is naturally in line with the educational mission of the university. Moreover, the Milwaukee Idea would be served by the MSBE degree because it will give advantages to Wisconsin companies in hiring well-qualified students to solve computational, business, and analytical problems. It would attract new students to the university and help in defining UWM's reputation as an innovator in education that is responsive to the needs of students and employers. This program would give students interested in business and economics the mathematical background needed to study abroad.
- Relation to Other Academic Programs in the UW System and Nationwide
As mentioned above (see section II), the University of Wisconsin-Stout has a similar program, entitled Applied Mathematic- Business Management. The Applied Mathematics programs at UW-Stout have over 200 majors with around 30 in the business option. Their business option requires about 18 credits of business and economics courses while our proposed option requires a minimum of 40 credits in these areas. Thus, the MSBE majors will have a deeper business and economics background than the majors at Stout.
Georgia Institute of Technology has a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics with a business option. Their program requires only 12 credits of business and economics courses.
The Economics Department at Brown University has a major called "Applied Mathematics-Economics Concentration." This program gives students a sufficient command of mathematical concepts to allow pursuit of an economics major emphasizing modern research. This program differs from the MSBE program in that it requires no business courses. They have around 10 majors in the program.
Agnes Scott College has a Mathematics-Economics major with around 5 majors. This is a very small private college. Their program does not require any business courses.
Western Washington University has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Mathematics in the mathematics department. They require no business courses and have around 10 majors.
UC-Santa Barbara has a Economics/Mathematics major. Many students use this major to acquire mathematical and econometric tools essential for advanced studies in economics, actuarial science and business administration. This is their "most rigorous and demanding major" and is a full reflection of the two disciplines: economics and mathematics. It appears that there is no business requirement.
Southern Oregon University has a Business Mathematics major. This is really a co-major with only two courses in economics.
University of Chicago has a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with specialization in economics. This program requires no business courses and has around 5 majors.
A few institutions, such as UW-Madison, have flexible options within the regular mathematics major that would allow students to take a fair amount of computational mathematics courses.
UWM also offers a computational math option that resembles some of the above programs, but such programs do not provide the broad background in math, economics, and business along with the depth of training in at least one of these areas that will be available through the proposed MSBE degree. UWM's MSBE program will be more in line with European programs in business, which require a deep background in mathematics, offering U.S., especially Milwaukee area, students access to this kind of preparation not available before in a single integrated degree.
- Projected Source of Resources
We do not anticipate the need for significant new resources initially. At the present time, there are no new courses to be created, and existing faculty and computational facilities will be utilized. The new program will require some additional effort from mathematical sciences, business, and economics faculty members for student advising, program planning, and program advertising. As the program becomes established it may suggest development of new courses. We would expect to apply for NSF (or other) funds for innovative interdisciplinary educational programs and for research funding.
As enrollments increase, we anticipate the need for more S&E funds as well as additional faculty.
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