This degree is recommended for students who wish to work in the research and development area of industry. This program also prepares a student for graduate study in applied mathematics, numerical analysis, or operations research.<br><br>The concentration in Applied and Computational Mathematics, offered by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, provides a solid foundation in classical applied mathematics as well as computational mathematics, which could be informally described as “how to employ mathematics on computers wisely.” A graduate could seek direct employment assisting a group of scientists with the formulation and solution of problems. There is a great need in local and national technical industries for people with sufficiently strong mathematical knowledge to participate on such teams. For example, modern techniques for solving partial differential equations are very sophisticated; the best method in a given situation depends on the properties of the model. Once a numerical approximation has been formulated, the techniques to solve that, and the commercial software available to do it, again require informed decisions.