The senior project in mathematics is intended to be a culminating, independent experience of the mathematics major. Students must select a member of the mathematics faculty to serve as their supervisor. In consultation with this supervisor, the student should choose a mathematical topic to study for the senior project. The project must be presented in a written paper, as well as in a public oral presentation.

Senior Project Proposal

Students wishing to complete a senior project in mathematics must submit a senior project proposal form, which must be approved by the mathematics department.

The above proposal form must be completed by the second Friday of the semester in which the senior project will be completed. You will need your project supervisor's approval before finalizing your proposal form, so it is highly recommended that you begin this process much earlier than the due date!

Recent Mathematics Senior Project Titles

The following is a list of some recent titles of senior projects, which may give you some idea of the nature of what can be studied for the senior project.

Math

• The Mathematics Behind Musical Instruments
• Combinatorial Game Theory of Nim
• Surface Climate Model as a Function of Time and Latitude
• The Method of Lines on Laplace's Equation
• Group Theory and Abstract Algebra in Puzzles
• Cryptography: From Caesar to Enigma, and RSA to Now
• Fourier Analysis of Musical Timbre
• Modeling the Capabilities of a Baseball Helmet for the Prevention of Head Injury
• Difference Sets and Maschietti’s Theorem
• Mathematical Analysis of the Fast Fourier Computer Algorithm
• A Mathematical Model for Garbage Production in Delmas 33, Zone Siloe using Ordinary Differential Equations
• This Is What Math Sounds Like: Mathematical Modeling of the Human Ear
• Optimal Control of Dengue Fever Epidemics
• Quantum Computing Algorithms
• Leonhard Euler: Life and (a Few) Works
• The Chinese Remainder Theorem and Its Application to the RSA Algorithm
• An Introduction to Elliptic Curve Cryptography
• A Manhattan Perception of Distance
• Perfect Shuffles and the Resulting Permutations
• Coding Theory
• Rubik's Cube and Group Theory
• Three Theorems on Nonstandard Dice
• A History of Fermat's Last Theorem and an Introduction to Elliptic Curves
• Legendre Symbols and an Application to Coin Flipping
• The Mathematics of Check Digits

Math/Stats

• Analysis of Breast Mass Characteristics and their Diagnoses using Multiple Logistic Regression, Cross Validation and Other Statistical Analysis
• Statistical Analysis of Fantasy Football Scores and Projections
• Model for Predicting the Quality and the Color of Wine
• Quantifying Volume of Suitable Habitat for Downstream Migration of Chinook Salmon and Steelhead at Head-of-Reservoir of Shasta Lake, California
• Statistical Analysis of Global Warming Factors Compared Across World Regions
• Predicting the Likelihood of a Turnover in Men's College Ultimate
• Take a penny leave a penny: a statistical analysis of loose change
• The Effects of Various Caffeine Doses as Related to Endurance and the Exploration of Caffeine Content in Soda
• A Search for Predictive Indicators of Win Percentage in Major League Baseball
• In the Red: A Statistical Analysis of Undergraduate Debt from 2012-2013
• A Multiple Linear Regression Model for Survival Times of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Patients.
• ADHD Diagnosis and Status Characteristics in the Classroom.