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Major · Mathematics & Statistics

Train your mind to find patterns everywhere — and use them

Mathematics, General covers the analysis of quantities, magnitudes, and forms through algebra, calculus, geometry, and topology. It draws students who want rigorous logical foundations rather than a single applied tool. About 18,758 degrees are awarded annually across more than 1,476 colleges at both the associate's and bachelor's level.

Schools offering
1,476
Annual completions
18,758
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$74k

About this major

Mathematics, General sits at the foundational end of the quantitative sciences. The CIP definition frames it as the analysis of quantities, magnitudes, forms, and their relationships using symbolic logic and language — in practice, that means coursework in algebra, calculus, functional analysis, geometry, number theory, logic, and topology. The curriculum is proof-heavy by design: students spend significant time constructing and evaluating formal arguments, not just computing answers. That orientation is what distinguishes a math degree from a statistics or engineering degree with a lot of math in it.

The major suits people who are drawn to abstraction for its own sake — who find satisfaction in understanding why a result is true, not just that it is. Strong pattern recognition and comfort with sustained ambiguity are practical assets here. Students who succeed in upper-division coursework tend to be comfortable sitting with an unsolved problem for hours and treating dead ends as useful information rather than failures.

Career destinations spread across several industries, and the connection is often less direct than in vocational majors. Data scientists, who report a $112,590 median wage and a 33.5% projected growth rate, represent the highest-demand path. Statisticians earn a $103,300 median with 8.5% growth. Natural sciences managers reach $161,180 at the senior level. About 18,758 degrees are awarded annually at more than 1,476 colleges, making this a mid-size major broadly offered across institution types — from community colleges (where the associate's credential is common) to research universities with graduate pipelines.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education $65k -1.6% Bachelor's degree
Data scientists $113k +33.5% Bachelor's degree
Natural sciences managers $161k +3.7% Bachelor's degree
Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary $79k +2.3% Doctoral or professional degree
Statisticians $103k +8.5% Master's degree
Mathematical science occupations, all other $71k +4.0% Bachelor's degree
Mathematicians $122k -0.7% Master's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$74k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$60k

Bachelor's

$75k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you find yourself drawn to the structure underneath a problem rather than just its solution — if you've ever worked through a derivation not because you had to but because you wanted to see how it fell out. You may also fit well here if you are comfortable with delayed career specificity: math graduates enter data science, actuarial work, statistics, and quantitative finance through different paths that become clearer after the degree, not before. The five-year earnings data supports that patience: bachelor's completers report a median of $74,926, and the careers with the strongest growth profiles — data scientists at 33.5%, statisticians at 8.5% — are real destinations from this major.

Think twice if you need your coursework to map directly to a job title — the degree is a general quantitative credential, not a vocational one, and early coursework will feel removed from application. Think twice also if your interest in math is mainly computational rather than theoretical; Applied Mathematics or Statistics, General are more direct fits if you want less proof-writing and more modeling. And if you're primarily interested in finance or economics, Econometrics and Quantitative Economics (about 15,101 annual completions) connects more directly to those career tracks than a pure math degree, which may require more translation work to position in those hiring pipelines.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Mathematics, General

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 0 278 278
Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH 0 249 249
University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA 0 205 205
University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD 0 185 185
Los Angeles Pierce College Woodland Hills, CA 180 0 180
University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA 0 172 172
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI 0 161 161
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 0 151 151
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA 0 136 136
University of Chicago Chicago, IL 0 134 134
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Biology/Biological Sciences, General

83,027 completions/yr

Biological and Physical Sciences

25,374 completions/yr

Econometrics and Quantitative Economics

15,101 completions/yr

Chemistry, General

12,173 completions/yr

Physics, General

7,501 completions/yr

Statistics, General

3,379 completions/yr

Applied Mathematics, General

2,591 completions/yr

Physical Sciences, General

2,589 completions/yr

Considering this direction?

We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Mathematics, General field. Read our verdict before you commit.

Is Mathematics, General worth it? Read verdict
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Mathematics majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework moves from calculus and linear algebra in the first two years into more abstract territory — real analysis, abstract algebra, differential equations, and topology. Problem sets dominate over memorization; much of the work involves writing proofs and reasoning through edge cases. Upper-division courses often require you to construct arguments from first principles rather than apply formulas, which is a meaningful shift from high school math. Statistics and numerical methods typically appear as electives or requirements depending on the program's emphasis.
Do I need a bachelor's, or is an associate's enough for Mathematics?
The degree level makes a noticeable difference here. Bachelor's completers in this major report median five-year earnings of about $74,926, while associate's completers report roughly $59,651 — a gap of about $15,000. More importantly, the highest-earning career destinations for math graduates — data scientists at $112,590 median, statisticians at $103,300 — both list a bachelor's degree as the typical entry credential. An associate's is a reasonable transfer stepping stone, but it is not a terminal credential for most quantitative careers.
What kinds of jobs do Mathematics graduates end up in?
The paths are more varied than the major name implies. Data scientists, at a median wage of $112,590 and a 33.5% projected job growth rate, represent the highest-demand destination. Statisticians sit at $103,300 median with 8.5% projected growth. Mathematicians themselves earn $121,680 at the median, though the occupation is small and growth is slightly negative (-0.7%). Natural sciences managers reach $161,180 median at the senior level. Secondary school teaching is a common entry-level path at a $64,580 median wage, though it trends negatively in projected growth (-1.6%).
How competitive is the job market for Mathematics graduates?
The picture varies sharply by path. Data scientists show a 33.5% projected growth rate — among the strongest of any tracked occupation — and statisticians show 8.5% growth, both well above the typical 4-5% average. However, math graduates compete not just with other math graduates but with statistics, economics, computer science, and engineering alumni for quantitative roles. With 18,758 completions per year, mathematics is a mid-size major, so the degree itself is not rare. What differentiates candidates is usually technical depth — programming skills, applied statistics experience, or domain knowledge added via internship or double major.
Is Mathematics the right fit, or should I look at a related major?
Mathematics, General is the most theoretically broad option in its family. If you want immediate job-market relevance with less abstraction, Statistics, General (about 3,379 completions per year) or Applied Mathematics (about 2,591 completions) are more directly career-focused. If your interest is the economics side of quantitative work, Econometrics and Quantitative Economics (about 15,101 completions) aligns more directly with finance and policy careers. The career destinations across these majors overlap substantially — the choice is mostly about how much pure theory versus applied context you want in your coursework.
What's a realistic earnings picture after a Mathematics degree?
Five-year median earnings for this major run about $74,309 across degree levels. Bachelor's completers specifically land closer to $74,926 at that mark — above the national median for bachelor's holders but not among the top-tier STEM majors. The earnings ceiling extends considerably higher: natural sciences managers average $161,180 and data scientists $112,590. Reaching those upper numbers typically requires either several years of experience plus a graduate degree (statisticians and mathematicians often need a master's), or a move into data-intensive industries where bachelor's-level quant skills are in strong demand.