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Assessment of Graduate Programs

Math Department Mission Statement

The mission of the Mathematics Department at San Jose State University is to offer undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees in Mathematics that prepare students to pursue continuing graduate study, to work in industry, and to teach in secondary schools or community colleges. We strive to teach our students to communicate mathematical ideas effectively and to use basic computational skills, mathematical models and technology to solve practical problems. The Mathematics Department offers a variety of courses that serve students in other departments, notably engineering, science, and business, to help them use mathematics and quantitative analysis effectively in their chosen field. The Mathematics Department strives to teach well, maintain high standards for student performance, and keep its curriculum up to date. The Department also takes pride in a faculty that is active in scholarship and research, which includes the encouragement and supervision of student research in Center for Applied Mathematics, Computation and Statistics (CAMCOS) projects and graduate student theses.

MA/MS Math Program Learning Objectives

Goal 1: The ability to read, understand, and explicate journal articles in mathematics related to students area of specialty. Assessment point: Oral presentation of the thesis or writing project, assessed in Spring 2007.

Goal 2: Ability to communicate mathematics effectively.

Assessment point: Specialist Qualifying Exam

Specific LOs to be assessed are:

1) Ability to explain mathematics orally.

2) Ability to write clear mathematical explanations.

MS Statistics Program Learning Objectives

The MS Statistics is a newly created program which was just started in Fall 2011. The Assessment Plan for this program is still under development. Important skills that we want students to learn include

Goal 1: The ability to communicate statistical ideas effectively,

Goal 2: the ability to use technology effectively to assist in solving large statistical problems, and

Goal 3: the ability to use statistical modeling to solve practical problems.

Assessment for this program will start during our next round of program planning starting after 2013/2014.

MAMS MathStat Assessment/Program Planning Schedule

	MA/MS Math		MS Statistics
	Last assessment	Next Assessment	Last Assessment	Next Assessment
Goal 1	Thesis defense S11	Thesis defense F14	NA	Thesis defense F14
Goal 2	Specialist Qual S11	Specialist Qual F15	NA	Math 267 F15
Goal 3	NA	NA	NA	Math 269 F16
Self-Review	Fall 2008	Spring 2013	Fall 2008	Spring 2013
External Review	Spring 2009	Fall 2013	Spring 2009	Fall 2013