How to Declare

Timeline

Questions about declaring or advising? 

Contact the Math Department’s Student Services Office at mathstudentservices [at] stanford.edu (mathstudentservices[at]stanford[dot]edu).

Before you declare

Before declaring, we expect that students will have completed:

  • One of the 50/60CM/60DM series (or have equivalent background)
  • One 100-level Math class or Math 56 with at least a B- in these courses taken at Stanford.

This expectation is intended to ensure that students are well-prepared for future Math courses. Please note that Math 193 cannot count as the 100-level Math course.

After you declare in Axess

After you have applied to declare the math major in Axess, please complete this review form and your request will be reviewed by the Mathematics department. Requests are reviewed on a monthly basis from September through June.

You should hear back from the department regarding the decision within approximately one month of your declaration request being submitted on Axess. If you submitted your request in July or August it will be reviewed in September and you will hear back in October.

We may ask for additional information during the process. If your declaration request is approved, you will hear from the department regarding next steps. 

Advising

Choosing a Faculty Advisor

The department supports the interaction of our faculty and majors, and each major is required to have a Math faculty advisor. As part of the major declaration process, each student is welcome to choose his or her own advisor or have the department assign one. Most students ask the department to assign an advisor to them, so please let the Student Services Officer know if you have a faculty member you would like as your advisor. 

Faculty advisors are great resources for helping you choose what math courses to take, research opportunities, mentorship, to discuss graduate school interests and options, and for letters of recommendation—all reasons to build a relationship.

Choosing an advisor is not meant to be stressful. A faculty member that you enjoyed as an instructor would be a good person to ask. The department can also assign you one, if you would prefer.

Other Advising Resources

Undergraduate Advising and Research (UAR) offers advising for students during all stages of their undergraduate career.

The Stanford Undergrad website offers advice about how to Engage with Faculty.

 

Advising for Non-Math Majors

  • Questions about what introductory math course to take? Take a look at our Introductory Math Courses page.
  • Questions about which classes teach proof writing? Take a look at our Introductory Math Courses page.
  • Questions about what math course to take after the 50-series? Contact our Director of Undergraduate Studies.
  • Questions about transfer credit? Any questions concerning the applicability of transfer courses towards that major or prerequisites for another department’s courses must be resolved within the other major or department.

Policies

  • AP/IB/A-levels Calculus credit can be used towards the major requirements only if it is on your Stanford transcript. Scores must be sent to and processed by the University Registrar for the scores to appear on your transcript.
  • Transfer credit: see Transfer Credit Process page
  • Electives: see the Math Major page on information on electives
  • The only courses that can be double-counted toward any other degree program (major, minor) are the Math 50/60CM/60DM series and below. There are no exceptions.
  • If the constraints are a problem, students have the option of declaring Math as a secondary major which allows unlimited double-counting. See Information on a Secondary Major.
  • It is the student’s responsibility to know and understand the requirements of the math major.
Back to Top