The Mathematics and OR Majors

Mathematics Major

The U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Mathematical Sciences offers a mathematics program comparable with those of the best universities in the country. We give you quite a bit of freedom to choose what is the most appealing to you and in line with your personal career goals. Your math degree qualifies you for a broad range of career fields and keeps your options open for your field of study in graduate school. Our slogan for the math major is "high flexibility, unlimited potential."  If, as you think about your future, you feel you'd like this slogan to apply to you, talk to the Math Advisor in Charge (AIC), Maj. Kevin Treat, or call at 719.333.6898.

If you want to go immediately from the Academy to graduate school, the math major provides you more graduate education opportunities than any other undergraduate degree. Your training in analytical and logical thinking and knowledge of the language used to formulate and solve problems in science and engineering, makes you highly competitive for graduate school in such diverse areas as operations research, physics, most engineering disciplines, business administration or economics, computer science, and math. For those of you who wait to go to graduate school, the strong foundation in math will make your reentry into the academic world much easier. 

Operations Research Major

In a nutshell, operations research (O.R.) is the discipline of applying advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions.

Operations Research (OR) is the discipline of applying advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions; it's been called "The science of Better". Its roots are in large part from the military originating during WWII. It stresses applications of the mathematical sciences to real-life problems including those in logistics, communication, scheduling, space systems, and business. The tools of OR seek to reduce cost, increase efficiency, minimize waste, and optimize performance.