Mathematics Honors Program

The CCNY Math Department Honors Program is a three-course sequence of independent studies (under the supervision of a faculty mentor) which allows a motivated student to delve more deeply into the study of mathematical topics outside of the standard course offerings. Honors projects often lead to original research in mathematics.

If you are interested in pursuing Math Department Honors, please contact the Honors Coordinator. Since three courses are required, students generally begin the program in the Spring of their Junior year, but it is possible to start earlier or a little later. Students will register in Math 301 through 304.

The Math Department also offers more standard independent study options, Math 31001 through 31004. The difference is that the Honors Program is a sequence of three courses leading to the “Graduated with Honors in Mathematics” designation on the transcript upon graduation. Also, the Honors courses have the more stringent requirement of producing a high-quality paper, necessitating more of a commitment between the student and advisor. The Department Honors Program satisfies the requirement for Macaulay students to graduate with honors in their major.

Prerequisites

To be accepted into the Honors Program a student should get permission from the Honors Coordinator, who can assist the student in finding a mentor or mentors. A minimum GPA of 3.2 is required along with successful completion of at least one advanced undergraduate math class (e.g. Math 323, 347, 365 or 375).

Requirements

The three honors independent study courses Math 301, 302 and 303 should be completed with grades of A or A-. In addition, each semester the student must complete a high-quality paper which may be expository or research.

Recent Math Department Honors graduates

• Jiale Chen, BS in Applied Mathematics, 2023.
  Jiale's honors projects were completed under the supervision of Prof. Shpilrain and led to two publications.

  • (pdf) J. Chen, D. Grigoriev, V. Shpilrain, Digital signature schemes using non-square matrices or scrap automorphisms, Int. J. Computer Math.: Computer Systems Theory 9 (2024), 65--73.
  • (pdf) J. Chen, D. Grigoriev, V. Shpilrain, Tropical cryptography III: digital signatures, J. Math. Cryptology 18 (2024), paper No. 20240005.

• Ivan Morozov, BS in Pure Mathematics, 2025.
  Ivan worked with Prof. Chinta. His honors project On quotients of a more general theorem of Wilson has been accepted for publication in the journal Integers.