 Hi, I'm Taylor Gibson, the Dean of Mathematics at NCSSM, and I'd like to share some important information for students who intend to enroll in the residential program on a historic Durham campus. In this presentation, we'll discuss our course offerings, the math placement process, and the graduation requirements in mathematics. Let's start by talking about the courses that you'll be taking at NCSSM. We offer courses that range from applied mathematics, like a mathematical modeling course, statistics, data science, topics in civic mathematics, to theoretical math, like graph theory and number theory, some courses that join the two, like pre-calculus and calculus, and we also offer interdisciplinary courses like bio-calculus and cryptography, as well as an entire course devoted to research and mathematics. No matter which courses you end up taking at NCSSM, you can expect to experience student-centered instruction that will ask you to frequently work in groups. We know that you will bring your own mathematical and life experiences with you to NCSSM, and we believe that working in groups will help you learn not only from our outstanding faculty, but from each other as well. Both our applied and theoretical math courses will ask you to apply your learning to solve real-world problems through a process known as mathematical modeling. For those students who are interested in taking our research and mathematics course during January term, you should make sure to take our graph theory with research experience, or REX, math as soon as possible. It's a prerequisite for enrolling in our math. Graph theory is offered in both the fall and the spring terms. Now let's discuss mathematics placement, which will help determine which math course you'll be best suited to take during your junior year. The placement process will be completed from the comfort of your own home or anywhere you have access to the internet. You'll be asked to take one of two placement tests depending on your previous mathematics coursework. The results of the placement test will help determine your initial placement, which will be communicated to both students and their families before the course request process begins. Some students may wish to retake their placement test after receiving their initial placements. Those students can do so during orientation week in the fall, and can have their schedules adjusted if needed before classes begin. There will be an additional process for students who might need to take the placement test at home by paper, so keep your eyes out for additional information about placement testing and a communication from me that will be sent to students and their families immediately following welcome day. Most juniors will be placed into one of three possible placements. For students who have mastered the concepts of math two or math three, you'll be most likely placed into a year-long course and pre-calculus during your fall and spring semesters. This course will be prepared to study calculus, statistics, and or any other math courses during your senior year that you meet the prerequisites for. If your schedule allows, there are also several math courses that you can take concurrently with pre-calculus. For students who have completed a course in pre-calculus or math three students with an exceptionally strong background, you'll most likely be placed into a year-long course in AP calculus BC during your fall and spring semesters. Unlike at many other schools, AP calculus AB is not a prerequisite for AP calculus BC, as this course covers that content of both the AB and BC curriculum in a single year. Students who have already taken AP calculus AB at their local high school can take only the second semester of AP calculus BC, which we offer in both the fall and the spring terms. Please note that while completing a course in calculus is not a graduation requirement, many of our students who consider taking a course in calculus as its principles and foundational material are very helpful in a variety of other math, science, and engineering courses. For students who have already completed a course in calculus at their local high school or do not wish to study calculus at NCSSM, you'll be asked to request math courses that best align to your mathematical interests. This is where the course catalog will be a great resource for you. The website of the Office of the Registrar contains links to the course catalog, which will have detailed course descriptions and prerequisite information, as well as a link to sample math pathways, which will showcase various course sequences that students can take to fulfill their graduation requirements. It would benefit every incoming student and their family to be familiar with these documents so they can choose the right mathematics courses for their individual interests and backgrounds. Now that you're familiar with what courses you might choose to take at NCSSM, let's quickly discuss what you'll need to take as a student at NCSSM. Every NCSSM student will need three semesters of math course work in order to graduate. We of course encourage you to take more if you'd like to. Math courses can also count towards your STEM elective requirement. Lastly, each student needs to either complete pre-calculus at NCSSM or be exempted from pre-calculus through the placement test process. We've covered a lot of information here, so I'm sure there's some questions you might have that are still gone on the answer. If that's the case, you can get those questions answered by attending an optional information session over the summer or by sending me an email at gibson, g-i-b-s-o-n, at n-c-s-s-m dot edu, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you so much for learning more about the NCSSM Mathematics Department. I hope you'll use this information to make your experience at NCSSM the best it can be over your two years with us. I look forward to seeing you all on campus this fall. Go Unicorns!