What is the Math Exam?

All incoming Harris master's students with the exception of those in the MACRM and EMP programs must take the mandatory math exam during new student orientation on Monday, September 23, 2024.  The exam ensures students have the necessary quantitative skills in preparation for the statistics and microeconomics courses in the Core. The exam is a degree requirement and all master's students must sit for it.  If you do not pass the math exam, you will need to enroll in a non-credit math course during autumn quarter. Class meeting times/days will be announced prior to registration. There is no tuition and there are no fees associated with this course. The course is graded on a pass/fail basis. 

Should I Attend the Math & Coding Camp?

Math & Coding Camp is held in September and is designed to prepare students who want to review mathematical principles prior to the math exam and introduce students to coding in R. Many students take advantage of the program, but you know yourself best and will likely be able to determine how much additional preparation you will need for the math exam. If you need to keep working full-time through most of September or do not believe that you need three weeks of review, feel free to just come for new student orientation programming.

Self-Assessment

All incoming Masters students (except MACRM and EMP) should take and self-report your scores for the math exam self-assessment. The self-assessment will give you a sense of how much preparation you need for the math exam and will identify the topics in which you need the most help. 

It's best if you can take the entire self-assessment in one sitting, during the indicated time limit, so find a quiet space with no notes or calculators. Score your self-assessment using the grading guides, and report your scores by June 3 so that instructors can better plan for Math & Coding Camp and Jumpstart.

The self-assessment and score reporting form will be available in early May.

Additional Preparation

Incoming students may find it beneficial to refresh their math skills in advance of the Mandatory Math Exam in September. To help students prepare, we have partnered with DiagKNOWstics, an online tutoring platform.

DiagKNOWstics created a series of modules just for Harris that are aligned to the knowledge and skills on the Math Exam. The platform utilizes short videos, practice problems, and quizzes to help students learn, practice, and assess their mastery of content. Further, DiagKNOWstics uses adaptive technology, allowing students to quickly advance through skills they have mastered while getting additional practice on skills that need remediation.

All incoming students will get free access to the “Harris Math Camp” course in the summer prior to their first quarter. DiagKNOWstics modules will be assigned as pre-work and homework throughout the Jumpstart and Math & Coding Camp pre-orientation programs.

If you would like to begin refreshing your math skills before you get access to DiagKNOWstics, we recommend enrolling in a college level algebra or calculus course at a local college before coming to Harris for Math & Coding Camp. If you are not able to take a course, you could review algebra and calculus content through online tutorial websites like Khan Academy. Many thanks to DiagKNOWstics for their support of Harris Orientation.