Monday, September 19, 2011

When Am I Going to Use This? (Math for Girls)

When Am I Going to Use This?
A 2007 study by Xin Ma of the University of Kentucky in Lexington says that "calculus was identified as a critical filter that screened females from science and engineering majors and into majors in liberal arts."
As a test, we looked at every program offered at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo. Almost a quarter of them list Grade 12 Mathematics of Data Management as a recommended pre-requisite... do some of these surprise you?
  • Accounting and Financial Management (requires Calculus and Advanced Functions)
  • Anthropology
  • Computing and Financial Management (requires Calculus and Advanced Functions)
  • Economics
  • Geography and Environmental Management
  • Psychology
  • Political Science
  • Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies
  • Social Development Studies
  • Sociology

It looks to us like stopping math courses after Grade 11 might not even qualify you for that major in liberal arts.
(Xin Ma's full study.)

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