Combine Creativity and Imagination With Logic and Precision

In the Department of Mathematics at St. Edward's University, we believe in the importance of both theory and application. We seek to provide a balanced exposure to both, thereby preparing students for bachelor's level jobs or graduate study.

Whether motivated by practical problems such as cryptography or environmental modeling, or abstract problems such as Fermat's Last Theorem or the Riemann Hypothesis, mathematicians seek out patterns and relationships between quantities and structures in order to describe and understand them. The Mathematics department provides students with a practical background to understand these theories. A four-semester research sequence designed by student and mentor ensures that classroom learning translates into hands-on investigation and problem solving. 

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics students have the unique option of pursuing a dual bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Civil Engineering through a 5-year program offered by St. Edward's in Austin and Carroll College in Helena, Montana.

 

Faculty & Staff

Placement into Mathematics Courses

All St. Edward’s students are required to complete a quantitative reasoning course. These and other mathematics courses require satisfactory placement, which can be achieved through SAT/ACT subscores or the ALEKS placement test. 

Incoming students will receive information about math placement through HillStart and New Student Orientation.  The online Math Placement Tool can help you determine your placement information, based on your intended major, SAT/ACT subscores, and any prior college credit.  Online access to the ALEKS placement test is provided through Hillstart, as part of New Student Orientation. Your official placement score will be determined by a proctored ALEKS placement test during New Student Orientation.

Steps for Math Placement:

  • Use the online Math Placement Tool to determine what math class you will place into, and what math class(es) are required for your major.
  • Take an unproctored practice math placement test on ALEKS prior to orientation. Use the link for ALEKS in Hillstart. If you are satisfied with your projected placement, you are prepared for your proctored math placement test.  Otherwise,
          ◦ Spend time using the included learning modules to improve your score. 
          ◦ Take a second unproctored (practice) attempt. 
  • Take a proctored math placement test during orientation.

Understand How Math Placement Works

The chart below shows the scores necessary to place into the various levels of introductory math courses.  If you have taken multiple tests (ACT, SAT, ALEKS), the highest mathematics score among these is used for math placement. 

Course Prerequisite Placement Scores

Minimum SAT math subscore Minimum ACT math subscore

Minimum proctored ALEKS Score

Course you are permitted to take
0 0 0

MATH 1312 Quantitative Reasoning
MATH 0114 + MATH 1314 College Algebra with Support
MATH 0124 + MATH 1324  Math for Business with Support
or MATH 0104 Support for Statistics + PSYC 2317, POLS 3328 or SOCI 2329  
520 19 46 MATH 1314 College Algebra
MATH 1324 Math for Business
PSYC 2317 Psychology Statistics
POLS 3328 Political Research and Statistics 
or SOCI 2329 Social Statistics
570 23 61 MATH 2312 Precalculus
700 28 70 MATH 2413 Calculus I

You will not be permitted to take a course that is above your readiness level (even if you are only one point away). If you want to place into a higher-level course, you may use ALEKS learning modules to improve your skills before taking the proctored assessment or a retake. You must qualify for a course before scheduling it.

What math courses are required for your degree plan?

Intended Major Likely courses

All Humanities Majors: literature, languages, communication, journalism, graphic design, religious studies, philosophy, visual and performing arts.

All Behavioral and Social Science majors: psychology, sociology, criminology, criminal justice, history, environmental science and policy, global studies.

Elementary Education

MATH 1312
Quantitative Reasoning

or

MATH 1314
College Algebra

All Business majors, except economics: accounting, finance, business, international business, management, marketing, information technology, digital media management, interactive games management, interactive games studies, entrepreneurship, (economics requires calculus).

MATH 1324
Math for Business

All Natural Sciences majors: biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, chemistry, environmental chemistry, forensic chemistry, forensic science, math, math education, computer science, engineering, medical laboratory science. (computer information science requires precalculus) 

Secondary Education (high school, junior high, middle school) majors in science or mathematics.

Economics. 

All students on a pre-health professions track, regardless of major.

MATH 2413 
Calculus I

How to Improve Your Placement

If your SAT/ACT scores aren't high enough to place into the math course that you want, then the proctored ALEKS assessment is the score that counts. If you are not satisfied with your initial placement, then using the provided learning modules will help to improve the skills that you were less successful with.  The vast majority of students who use these learning modules improve their scores on each subsequent assessment, and 90% of students move up by at least one course.  Students who spend at least 15 hours in a learning module show the most improvement in their scores.  This may seem like "a lot of time" to spend on math review before you even get to college, but you can save both time toward your degree and tuition money, if you take a little time to prepare yourself to start in a higher math course! 

To access the learning modules, return to the ALEKS Assessment through the link you were initially provided.

Deciding on Your First Math Class

Your placement score is used to help you start in the course where you have the best chance to succeed. Students who are not successful in their first math course are highly unlikely to persist in engineering and science majors. If you need calculus, starting where you place is the best path to success.

New first-year students will work with an academic adviser to identify appropriate math courses at New Student Orientation. Questions about course selection will be addressed then.

Transfer students and continuing students should contact their assigned adviser with questions.

About ALEKS

What is ALEKS?

ALEKS is a powerful artificial-intelligence based assessment tool that zeros in on the strengths and weaknesses of a student’s mathematical knowledge, reports its findings to the student, and then provides the student with a learning environment for improving this knowledge to an appropriate level for course placement.

The ALEKS Math Assessment ensures students’ readiness for particular mathematics courses at St. Edward's University. Since these courses are demanding, it is important for students to begin in the course most likely to lead to success. Students will not be permitted to take a course unless they have demonstrated readiness. After completing the initial assessment, students who wish to improve their skills may use the included learning modules.

Who must take ALEKS?

To make sure you are placed correctly into the correct math course, every student is required to take the math placement exam unless their success coach has indicated otherwise.

If you have AP or college credit for a math course, or high SAT/ACT math subscores, you may contact your success coach to find out if you qualify for a math placement exemption. Email: ace@stedwards.edu.

What does ALEKS cost?

A $25 placement fee will be billed to students who take at least one placement test in ALEKS.  This one-time fee allows access to the included learning modules and five proctored placement tests.  Access to the learning modules extends into the student's first semester, and may be used as a supplement to the first math course. 

When do students take ALEKS?

New St. Edward's students will be given access to ALEKS within Hillstart, usually around April 1 for students beginning in the fall or November 1 for students beginning in the spring.  After their initial proctored test, students may still work within the learning modules to attempt to place into a higher-level course, up until the end of the add-drop period (usually Friday of the first week of classes). 

How long will the assessment take?

The assessment will ask up to 30 questions and is timed. Each proctored test is allowed two hours.

Academic integrity

The only purpose of the assessment is to give an accurate measure of your current mathematical skills so that you will have a better opportunity to be successful in your courses. There is no benefit to inflating or deflating your abilities on the assessment. Taking a class that is not appropriate for your current level of mathematical knowledge could delay your graduation. 

What you need

Online access to the ALEKS placement test is provided through Hillstart, as part of New Student Orientation. 

Your SEU user id and password
A pencil and paper
A reliable internet connection
2-3 hours of time
A space conducive to doing your best work
(For remotely proctored attempts: a PC/Mac computer with working webcam and LockDown Browser software (free) installed.)  

All other resources are provided by ALEKS

You should NOT use your own calculator. If one is needed to answer a question, ALEKS will provide one automatically for that question.

You should NOT use other resources such as textbooks, websites, or friends. Use of non-permitted resources may result in you being required to take a course for which you are not prepared.

What to expect

This is a free response assessment; there are no multiple choice questions. Before you take the assessment, ALEKS will present a short tutorial on how to enter answers, how to use the graphing utilities, and how to use the built in calculator that will be offered when appropriate. TAKE YOUR TIME WITH THIS TUTORIAL AND BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND HOW THESE FEATURES WORK.

Dates and Deadlines

Access to ALEKS learning modules and placement tests expire one year from the date of first access. Course registration will not be adjusted based on assessments completed after the drop/add period. 

Transfer Credit and Credit by Exam

Transfer Credit may be awarded for college-level math credits with an earned grade of C or better. 

No student will be placed into a mathematics course on the basis of high school transcripts.

View Credit by Exam equivalencies for APT (Advanced Placement) and CLEP (College-Level Examination Program).

Advanced Placement credit is awarded for MATH 2413 (Calculus I) for scores of 4,5 on the Calculus AB exam, and for scores of 3,4,5 on the Calculus BC exam.  Additionally, credit for MATH 2414 (Calculus II) is awarded for scores of 4,5 on the Calculus BC exam.  If incoming students are registering for classes while awaiting AP scores, it is advised to use the ACT/SAT scores or take the ALEKS placement exam in the meantime. 

Disability Accommodations

ALEKS is not a timed test. The assessment will ask up to 30 questions. You may take as long as you need to answer the questions in the practice test, as long as the assessment is completed within 48 hours of starting.  Additional time for the proctored test (up to 3 hours) will be granted by special request at least 48 hours prior to the testing appointment. 

If you need accommodations, please contact Student Disability Services Office at St. Edward’s University

Hours (Central Time): Monday – Friday, 8am – 5 pm
Campus Location: Moody Hall, Suite 155
Contact: SDS@stedwards.edu or (512) 448-8561

Help

If you encounter an issue logging into Canvas or myHilltop, contact the SEU IT Support desk: support@stedwards.edu or 512-448-8443.

If you encounter a technical issue within ALEKS, contact ALEKS Higher Education Customer Support:

Hours (Eastern Time):
Sunday, 4:00pm to 1:00am
Monday – Thursday, 7:00am to 1:00am
Friday, 7:00am to 9:00pm

Telephone: (714) 619-7090

If you have general questions about math placement at St. Edward's University, send an email with your full name, ID number, and question to mathplacement@stedwards.edu. 

Undergraduate Research

A signature component of the mathematics degree at St. Edward's is the four-semester research program. In the program, students complete a research sequence that builds on the strengths and interests of each individual. Program participants often present their research findings at regional conferences and have gone on to submit their work to national conferences in addition to various publications. 

Beyond the four-semester sequence, students are encouraged to participate in outside research and study opportunities. These programs bring together faculty and students from different institutions. Many programs pay for all expenses and provide stipends.

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics students also have the option to earn a bachelor's and/or master's degree in Mathematics and Engineering through a dual degree program offered by St. Edward’s in Austin and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Students can choose to pursue a degree in Medical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Systems Science and Engineering.

Additional Programs and Research Opportunities

External Conferences

The Mathematics department at St. Edward's encourages students to attend relevant conferences and seminars to network within their field and learn more about their area of study. We recommend students explore the list of programs below in addition to other programs of interest. 

Internships

Internships allow students to acquire first-hand experience in relevant fields and provide many networking opportunities. We recommend that students participate in an internship program in addition to a four-year research sequence. 

Helpful resources for finding an internship in mathematics:
i4 Program Tuition Awards and Paid In-Workplace Internships 
  • As a student in the Mathematics program you are afforded access to the funding programs offered exclusively to STEM students at St. Edward’s University by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (i4).  
  • i4 is currently offering tuition awards of up to $2,000 for specialized training and micro-credentialing consistent with the i4 mission.  Additionally, i4 offers paid, in-workplace internships that enable students access to gain valuable practical experience as they move forward academically and professionally.  
  • For more information, visit us on the web.

Math Club

Math Club is the St. Edward’s University student chapter of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA). All students, regardless of major are welcome to join through Collegiate Link. 

The club’s general objective is to promote the interests of the mathematical sciences through community service and research.  

Recent activities include: 
  • Trips to regional conferences such as the MAA Texas Section Meeting and the Texas Undergraduate Mathematics Conference
  • Participation in the global MegaMenger collaborative fractal build 
  • Volunteer work at local schools such as math presentations and science fair support
  • Student and alumni research talks
  • Club t-shirt designing, Halloween pumpkin carving, bowling, laser tag, pizza parties and more  

Interested students may contact the club's faculty sponsor and advisor | Dr._Jason_Callahan |.

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