Thread: Generic question on calculus

So here's my problem. I took the Calculus for Social & Life Sciences series because I was planning to get a science degree so I figured I'd probably never see higher level math again in my life. Well, I fell in love with economics and pretty much every advanced degree program (either master's or PhD) doesn't specifically require but strongly recommends having completed the full calculus sequence along with differential equations.

UC Davis General Catalog | Mathematics (MAT) Courses

So I took the equivalent of a year of short calculus, 16A-16B-16C, at my community college. Most programs recommend a year of calculus, 21A-21B-21C as well as 22A. Is there that big of a difference between those two sequences based on your interpretation of the course descriptions to require me to repeat calculus at the higher level, or will I be able to make up for the deficiencies as necessary?

The specific requirements for the M.A. in Economics at least at Davis for math is one year of calculus, doesn't specify what type, one course in linear algebra is strongly recommended, and two courses in statistics, one of which must be at the upper-division level (I've already done lower div stats so that's not really a concern of mine).

Any comments, tips, advice, etc. is appreciated.

Originally Posted by emttim84

So here's my problem. I took the Calculus for Social & Life Sciences series because I was planning to get a science degree so I figured I'd probably never see higher level math again in my life. Well, I fell in love with economics and pretty much every advanced degree program (either master's or PhD) doesn't specifically require but strongly recommends having completed the full calculus sequence along with differential equations.

UC Davis General Catalog | Mathematics (MAT) Courses

So I took the equivalent of a year of short calculus, 16A-16B-16C, at my community college. Most programs recommend a year of calculus, 21A-21B-21C as well as 22A. Is there that big of a difference between those two sequences based on your interpretation of the course descriptions to require me to repeat calculus at the higher level, or will I be able to make up for the deficiencies as necessary?

The specific requirements for the M.A. in Economics at least at Davis for math is one year of calculus, doesn't specify what type, one course in linear algebra is strongly recommended, and two courses in statistics, one of which must be at the upper-division level (I've already done lower div stats so that's not really a concern of mine).

Any comments, tips, advice, etc. is appreciated.

****THIS IS A PERSONAL AND NOT PROFESSIONAL OPINION****

The course you did look's similar to my university's 154 or 134 mathematics course. (The easier ones )

I know people who have done those courses the previous year and are now doing 114 (the hardest course in maths at my univ), and they pass. Besides that, they've seen many of the things before in the easier course and they have experience with it, albeit a simple foundation. Fact is they have to keep up with the rest of us, and our 114 course demands that you think for yourself more, problems are not as straightforward always, and things happen very fast in the course.


Be careful for the statistics course. We have 2 courses here, one is statistics and one is mathematical statistics which includes probability. (And I find probability a tough nut to crack for a newbie to it like myself.)

Originally Posted by janvdl

****THIS IS A PERSONAL AND NOT PROFESSIONAL OPINION****

The course you did look's similar to my university's 154 or 134 mathematics course. (The easier ones )

I know people who have done those courses the previous year and are now doing 114 (the hardest course in maths at my univ), and they pass. Besides that, they've seen many of the things before in the easier course and they have experience with it, albeit a simple foundation. Fact is they have to keep up with the rest of us, and our 114 course demands that you think for yourself more, problems are not as straightforward always, and things happen very fast in the course.


Be careful for the statistics course. We have 2 courses here, one is statistics and one is mathematical statistics which includes probability. (And I find probability a tough nut to crack for a newbie to it like myself.)

Hmm, fair enough. I'll keep my eyes open for the stats class and not underestimate it. Thanks for your input.