Honors in the Major

The honors program is intended for students who have strong interests and abilities in mathematics. The goal of the program is to give students a thorough introduction to the main branches of mathematics, especially analysis, algebra, and geometry. Through the honors thesis, students may be introduced to a current research topic, although occasionally more classical projects are encouraged. The program provides an excellent background with which to enter a Master’s or PhD program in Mathematics and related fields. Students completing the program are awarded a B.S. in Mathematics with Honors.

It is strongly recommended that either the Math 60CM sequence or the Math 60DM sequence be taken during the student’s freshman year. This is a recommendation, not a requirement.

How to Declare Honors

Students should wait to apply for and declare honors until winter quarter of their junior year, but no later than the end of May in spring quarter of junior year. Please see our How to Declare Honors webpage for more information.

Honors Requirements

Honors students must complete the core program requirements for all Math majors.

Honors students must include the following courses in their program or study (which can be counted towards the major requirements).

Area I

Complete ALL of the following courses:

  • Math 120
  • Math 171
Area II

Complete at least 1 of the following courses:

  • Math 116
  • Math 143
  • Math 144
  • Math 147
Area III

Complete 7 courses numbered Math 117 or Math 121 and above that are not being used for Area I and/or Area II. This must include at least one course from each of the three mathematical fields below: Algebra, Analysis, and Geometry/Topology.

Algebra - Complete at least one of the following courses:

  • Math 121
  • Math 122
  • Math 145
  • Math 152
  • Math 154

Analysis - Complete at least one of the following courses:

  • Math 116
  • Math 117
  • Math 136
  • Math 151
  • Math 155
  • Math 172
  • Math 173
  • Math 175

Geometry/Topology - Complete at least one of the following courses:

  • Math 117
  • Math 142
  • Math 143
  • Math 144
  • Math 147
  • Math 148

One graduate level class (recommended, not required):

  • Math 205A
  • Math 210A
  • Math 215A
  • Math 230A

Note:

  • Phil 151, Phil 152, and Stats 200 can be used for this. All these courses must be taken for a letter grade.
  • One 3-unit Math 199 course may count towards this requirement with approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies prior to the start of the course. Honors students must submit the request to mathstudentservices [at] stanford.edu (mathstudentservices[at]stanford[dot]edu) two weeks before the start of the quarter for review. The criteria for approval includes weekly homework graded by the instructor and topic coverage appropriate for Math honors.
Honors Thesis

Math 197 A/B/C (enroll for 6 to 9 units, taken over 3 quarters).

Please see Honors Thesis Guidelines & Expectations webpage for more information.

Courses which DO NOT count toward Areas I, II, III
  • Math 193  
  • Math 193X
  • Math 197
  • Math 198
  • Stats 116
  • Stats 118

Resources

Resources

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