r/AppliedMath

I'm a junior transfer at NYU this fall as a Math + Computer Science (MCS) joint major, but I'm considering switching to the Computer + Data Science (CDS) joint major.

They both are pretty similar for the first half of classes: Calc I–III, Linear Algebra, Discrete Math, Intro CS, Data Structures, CSO, and Algorithms.

After that, the main difference is:

**MCS has:** Analysis, Algebra, Numerical Computing, Operating Systems, advanced math electives, and CS electives.

**CDS has:** Probability & Statistics, Data Science I & II, Machine Learning, Causal Inference, Data Management, Responsible Data Science, plus CS/DS electives.

Career-wise I'm interested in anything like SWE, quant, data science/engineering, and ML, so I'm trying to figure out which major gives me the best combination of career flexibility and useful coursework. So far I have a finance and technology summer internship with a couple python projects.

Assuming I can finish both in the same time, for people familiar with NYU or these fields, would you stick with Math + CS or switch to Computer + Data Science, and why?

Hi everyone,
I’m a BSc Mathematics student and recently finished a course in PDEs. My professor suggested that I take another course he teaches called Optimal Control. The course is offered by the Engineering faculty, but he mentioned that it has a strong mathematical component.
I’m considering taking it, but I’d like to understand how useful/relevant Optimal Control is from a mathematician’s perspective.
In particular:

Is Optimal Control a good subject for a math student who enjoys applied mathematics, PDEs, optimization, etc.?

Where is optimal control actually used in industry?

What kinds of jobs or fields make use of this knowledge? For example, robotics, aerospace, quantitative finance, autonomous systems, energy, machine learning, etc.
Is it mainly useful for people going into engineering/research, or can it also be valuable for mathematicians going into industry?
I’d especially appreciate hearing from people who studied mathematics and later encountered control theory or optimal control in their work.
Thanks!

What industry roles involve substantial use of combinatorics, discrete mathematics, graph theory and advanced problem-solving?

For those working in such roles:

What are the relevant job titles?

What types of problems do you typically work on?

How much mathematics is involved in your day-to-day work?

How much of the role consists of programming or software engineering?

What skills and educational background are typically required?

What is the day-to-day work experience like?

Which industries or companies tend to have these types of roles?

I'd particularly appreciate responses from people with direct industry experience.

Hi, I am a rising junior and I'm looking for a CAPSTONE project to do as part of my college application. My area of interest include Applied Math and Economics. Any suggestions would be great, looking for any type of advice on activities to do outside of this aswell from any alumni or current attending students at the top 20 schools in the US for my areas of interest.

I'm aiming to startup in deep tech AI—specifically building novel AI architectures, spatiotemporal models, and theoretical foundations (e.g., geometric deep learning, graph networks, advanced optimization) rather than just applying pre-built PyTorch wrapper libraries.

Im evaluating whether choosing a BS in Mathematics (eg IIT BOMBAY) gives a genuine mathematical edge for deep tech AI compared to a standard B.Tech CSE / Data Science degree.

​Skill Gap: In real-world deep tech, how difficult is it to bridge the software/GPU engineering gap on your own if your degree focus is primarily theoretical math?

Would appreciate honest perspectives from anyone in BS Math, CSE, or AI research/R&D. Thanks!

Is anyone here involved in mathematical biology research? I am looking to learn more about this area. If you are involved in mathematical biology, I would appreciate any advice or discussion about current research problems.

Γεια σας!!!Τελειωνω φέτος το μαθηματικό και έχω ως στόχο να ασχοληθώ με το ML-engineering.Εχει κάποιος κάποια ανάλογη εμπειρία και το πώς ξεκίνησε,τι έκανε και πως έφτασε στον στόχο του;
Θα χαρώ πολύ να ακούσω και ιστορίες από άλλους μαθηματικούς και πώς αξιοποιήσατε το πτυχίο σας,κάθομαι βρίσκομαι γενικότερα σε εύρεση μεταπτυχιακού μετά από αυτή τη σχολή.
Να σημειώσω ότι δεν έχω καθόλου καλό μέσο όρο🥲

Hi everyone just wanted to connect with mathematics and computing students just to get some guidence please help.i am currently studying 3rd year from an nit wanted to connect with 4 th year students or graduation completed people .

I'm a freshman for applied math in the Philippines and I'd say the education here isn't really on par with most countries.

For my first year, all the courses I'll be taking (that are related to my program, the rest are general education courses) include Calculus 1, Fundamentals of Computing (C language), Mathematics in the Modern World, Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics, Calculus 2, and Fundamentals of Computing (Python).

My second year includes Calculus 3, Probability & Probability Distributions, Statistical Theory, Differential Calculus, and Linear Algebra.

My third year being Advanced Calculus, Theory of Interest, Discrete Mathematics, Linear Models, General Physics, Numerical Analysis, Operations Research 1, Intro to Data Science, and General Physics 2.

Lastly for my fourth year, the courses include Mathematical Modeling, Statistical Computing, Time Series Analysis, DSA with Python, Exploratory Data Analysis, and 2 electives (with the choices being actuarial math, math finance, and graph theory and its applications.)

I feel like I'm lagging behind discrete math and lin algebra as it's placed in my 2nd-3rd year. Right now I'm studying calculus and then lin algebra. I'm also allowed to take discrete math for my 1st year, so should I do that?

Any advice would help. Thanks!

​

Guys I am in 12th and I have core math and I am not bad at it but trigo is really annoying me and I am not able to do trigo questions and I am thinking of switching to applied math because I think it is interesting and easier. Is it a good idea because I think it's really late.

Hi guys, here a mathematics student. so i just finished my PDE course at uni, and after that and also ODE, Numerical analysis i was wondering what courses should i take next with strong associations to quant?

hello dear users, i am currently in my last year of high school and i do not have mathematics (i was not eligible to get mathematics because i had weak concepts in my earlier years and scored just about the passing numbers in grade 10 so my school did not allow me to pursue mathematics further, the problem was i never actually had fun learning mathematics because for 3 years i was taught by a maths teacher which taught us like we have to memorize the answers not the actual concepts and so i never exactly knew what i was doing so i use to feel that mathematics wasn't something i can do but now i was exploring career options after high-school and courses in university's but i liked none of the courses with my current subjects and really liked the courses with mathematics like engineering and AI related courses although i am not eligible for these courses but australian universities offer a "pathway program" in which they help you cover the subjects which you didn't have in your high school to get entry to certain university courses like engineering,etc because i never knew how to study mathematics and i did not get mathematics in my high school i still feel very depressed & sad seeing how others are so smart in mathematics and how they have all the talent and they will get good jobs and future proof jobs and how people consider them very smart it just feels so gloomy. so i went to talk to the universities and they told me that in-order to get entry to the pathway program i must show some type of interest in why i am doing this certain pathway program for mathematics so i thought that i will learn mathematics by myself at home untill i get into pathway program as a extracurricular and a way to get ahead and prove others wrong that mathematics is something that people are not naturally born with but how they learn it until i graduate from high-school (which is about 7 months) so my dear fellow users please guide me on how i can do so i will really appreciate your effort in giving tips and contributing in my life and would love your thoughts on this
thank you very much!