Mathematics degree

[adavis84]

First question: is the end-goal for a "portfolio of degrees" just purely personal enrichment? (as opposed to job opportunities, grad school pre-req, something else) If so, you may have more flexibility in choices.

I'm finishing up a Math major at TESU and might be able to help you navigate a bit. TESU has a VERY flexible Math major with bare-bones requirements compared to most schools. If this is purely for personal enrichment, that may work for you. If you're looking to leverage this degree later, understand that many math programs are more rigorous than TESU's. For instance TESU does not require differential equations, abstract algebra, or real analysis which could be considered part of your average math major at many schools. Of course, you could work them in but compared to other disciplines, these courses aren't nearly as easy to find cheaply.

In terms of testing out of the area of study, there are next to zero options compared to other fields. The options for the coursework for which there are no tests can get varying degrees of expensive. There are a number of accelerated and self-paced courses out there, though. If you want a math degree, you WILL have to take some full-term courses in addition to testing and self-paced options.

That being said, I did it from scratch, so it can be done. I had nearly all of the credits I needed for general ed requirements and electives and because there is a great deal of info covering that on this board, I'm skipping over how you'll go about accomplishing that.

The good news about the math CLEPs is that they're all very doable with self study (I've taken and passed all of them), but the bad news is that it's highly likely that any math program will only recognize the calc exam at most. Depending on your school choice, you could potentially use the others as gen-eds/electives.

Just to get it out of the way, ALEKS courses get mentioned a lot around here (and I've taken most of them just for fun). However, outside of statistics, I see no use for them in pursuing a math degree. Even then, you may not find aleks stats useful to your needs. It counts towards the stats requirement at TESU, but other math programs may require a calc-based course.

Next, SL (straighterline): I also took the SL sequence of calc I and II. The courses are pretty good, but before you jump into them it's best to know what program you're looking at. A particular school may/may not accept SL for credit/prereq. In my case, I took them before I starting to think about grad school as an option. I would not have done that with my current plans in mind.

Anything beyond calc II is where it starts to get a little messy. These courses will need to be, at minimum, self-paced courses and potentially need to be a full-term course.


To extend TrailRunr's question, where are you in terms of math at present? If you're answer to TrailRunr's question is yes, then I suggest you brush up with the study guide and knock out the calc CLEP at least. You'll likely be able to use it in some capacity for credit, and it will get the ball rolling, so to speak.

ETA: Have you considered a computer science degree? Many of them have calc / linear algebra / discrete math requirements which is a pretty health dose of math in and of itself. Plus, you'll likely be able to capitalize on your professional experience.