New math degree opens door to opportunity

SDSU Imperial Valley professors Haun Qin and Tingting Tang, the driving forces behind the creation of a new mathematics Bachelor of Arts degree that will be available for transfer students in Fall 2021, think the major is the key to opportunity for students and the campus.

“Our campus wants to add STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs,” Qin said. The addition of the new BA in math program will complement the current math program for single-subject teachers by giving SDSU IV students the option to complete a math degree that will support public and private agencies outside of education.

Students who earn the new B.A. in math degree will gain skills to work in fields that require applied math, computer sciences and statistics knowledge. The degree also makes students eligible for graduate school.

“Based on this program,” Tang said, “one of the courses we would offer would be a programming class. And that would include one of the most up-to-date, commonly used computing languages. And once students have that skill many more doors to job opportunities will be open to them.

Students interested in the new BA in math program will be able to complete all prerequisite courses at Imperial Valley College. Those interested in admission to the program can go to Mathematics BA | IVC | SDSU

Adding the B.A. in math degree is something Qin and Tang are eager to do because they believe it offers such good opportunities for students and the future growth of the campus. They credit SDSU Imperial Valley Associate Dean Mark Wheeler and Dean Gregorio Ponce for helping get university approval for adding the major.

Qin noted the university was particularly supportive about adding the degree as a way of building skills for future STEM degree programs.

Students interested in enrolling in the BA in math program get more information at ivcampus.sdsu.edu/ arts_sciences_division/mathematics_ba

Both women are from China. Qin transferred to the University of Iowa as a sophomore. There, she earned a B. S. in both mathematics and statistics, an M.S. in mathematics and a Ph.D. in mathematics and statistics. Tang earned her B.S. at the East China University of Science and Technology before coming to the U.S. and earning her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Tang’s research interests are numerical methods for a system of partial differential equations arising from biology and discrete population models. She is also interested in understanding how the core of machine learning-deep neural nets-work and when they work.

Qin’s research interests include analytic number theory, automorphic forms, subconvexity bound of L-functions, and resonance sums. She is also interested in doing statistical consulting.

Dr. Haun Qin