Math Major Guide to Choosing First-Semester Courses

Math placement is generally done per the table below. Summer advisors will speak with each student individually during their Virtual Academic Advising & Course Registration session to ensure proper placement. 

¹ To stay on track to graduate in four years, math majors who do not have transfer credit for MATH 1225 (Calculus of a Single Variable) should take MATH 1225 in their first semester. To be elibigle to enroll in the course, you must earn a score of 80 or better on an ALEKS Placement Assessment or have a qualifying score on a college-level examination shown on your record in Hokie SPA. Students who do not earn an "Eligible to Enroll" status for MATH 1225 must instead take MATH 1214 (Preparation for Calculus).

The VT ALEKS Placement Assessment is designed to determine what you know and what you need to work on; you do NOT need to review/study for the assessment. At the end of the assessment, you will have a much better sense of your strengths and weaknesses and have a chance to brush up on topics that may have been forgotten or haven't been practiced for some time. You will have three attempts to attain the score needed.

Take the assessment as soon as possible. Access to ALEKS is available now and is offered free of charge for Virginia Tech students. Remote testing closes on Friday, January 10, 2025. All College of Science majors (except psychology majors) should complete the VT ALEKS placement assessment, regardless of anticipated AP, IB, CLEP, Cambridge, or other transfer credits.

³ If you have transfer credit for at least one math course beyond MATH 1226, discuss your options with the summer advisors.

English placement is generally done per the table below. Advisors will speak with each student individually during their Virtual Academic Advising & Course Registration session to ensure proper placement.

All math majors are required to take a programming course. You don't have to take this course in your first semester, but many of students want another STEM-focused course, and we have provided some guidelines below. Discuss your choice of programming course with an advisor.

Students should consider enrolling in MATH 1454: Intro to Math Programming (fall-only course) if ALL of the following apply:

• you do not plan to pursue the Applied Discrete Mathematics (ADM) degree option OR you plan to pursue the ADM degree option and want a more introductory first programming course than CS 1114, which is required for ADM students
• you do not have transfer credit for any programming (CS) class or extensive previous programming experience
• you scored an 80 or higher on a VT ALEKS Placement Assessment or you have transfer credit for MATH 1225
• you scored a 50 or higher on your first attempt at a VT ALEKS Placement Assessment (students whose initial ALEKS score is below 50 typically have more success in the course when taken in their second year or later)

NOTE: MATH 1225 is a corequisite for MATH 1454. This means that you must be enrolled in MATH 1225 or have already earned credit for MATH 1225 in order to enroll in MATH 1454.

Students should consider enrolling in CS 1114: Intro to Software Design if ALL of the following apply:

• you plan to pursue the Applied Discrete Mathematics (ADM) degree option
• you scored an 80 or higher on the VT ALEKS Placment Assessment or you have transfer credit for MATH 1225

Other spring programming course options include CS 1044, CS 1054, and CS 1064.

If you are unsure about your eligibility for MATH 1454 or CS 1114, or have questions about programming course placement, consult the advisors.

MATH 1044, Discovering Mathematics II, is the second semester of the Math Department’s first-year experience course, and is strongly recommended for all first-year math majors. The first semester of the course is not a prerequisite and material in Discovering Math II is not depedent on having taken Discovering Math I. MATH 1044 is an introduction to the scope and applicability of mathematics and its many sub-disciplines. In this course, you will be introduced to the process of thinking, learning, and writing as a mathematician through projects in pure math, applied math, and math research. If you are a transfer student, talk with a math department advisor about whether MATH 1044 is right for you.

If you are enrolled in any of these types of programs, you should hear from the program about the necessary courses. Contact a math department advisor if you have not heard from your program.

This document contains a first-year Pathways course list that includes Pathways course selections appropriate for first-year students. This will help you to find additional courses that you are interested in to complete your fall class schedule. Consider Pathways concepts for which you do not have transfer credit. Register for a total of 14-17 credits on your Spring 2026 schedule. The table below shows how many credits are required in each Pathways Concept by the time you graduate.

* Some courses may be used for Concept 7 plus one other Pathways Concept, but no other double-counting among Pathways courses is permitted. As of October 1, 2025, the Pathway Concept 7 requirement has been suspended.