Applied mathematics is a popular and relevant specialty, having mastered which, you will be able to work as a mathematician-analyst, software development specialist, programmer, web developer / designer, computer systems and communications analyst, computer database analyst, operational and application software analyst, database administrator. You can enter this specialty at PNU after school, after college, in a master’s degree. Training in the field of applied mathematics is aimed at the practical application of mathematical methods and IT technologies in solving a wide range of problems in various spheres of human activity: production, economics, science, computer technologies, etc.
In the life of every high school graduate, there comes a time when he must choose his future profession. It is obvious that the profession largely determines the fate of a person, so it is important that the choice of activity is conscious, that is, it corresponds to the aspirations and abilities of a boy or girl. But this is not enough. You also need to have the most complete idea of the chosen profession or specialty so that there is no disappointment during your studies. This article will focus on the specialty “applied mathematics”.
Until the early 17th century, mathematics was primarily a science of numbers and relatively simple geometric shapes. The fields of application of mathematics were: counting, trade, surveying, astronomy. Mathematics studied only constant quantities.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the rapidly developing needs of natural science and technology (navigation, astronomy, ballistics, hydraulics, etc.) led to the introduction into mathematics of the ideas of motion and change, primarily in the form of variables and the functional dependence between them. This led to the creation of analytic geometry, differential and integral calculus.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, mathematics rose to new levels of abstraction. New disciplines developed: the theory of functions of a complex variable, group theory, projective geometry, non-Euclidean geometry, set theory, mathematical logic, etc.
Applied mathematics is the branch of mathematics that deals with the application of mathematical methods and algorithms to other areas of science and practice. Examples of such applications include: numerical methods, mathematical physics, linear programming, optimization and operations research, modeling of continuums (continuum mechanics), biomathematics and bioinformatics, information theory, game theory, probability theory and mathematical statistics, financial mathematics and insurance theory, cryptography, graph theory in applications to network planning, and much of what is called computer science. There is no clear logical classification of what constitutes applied mathematics. Mathematical methods are usually applied to a specific class of applied problems by constructing a mathematical model of the system.
It is difficult to imagine our life without a computer now. But the first computers were created by mathematicians in collaboration with engineers, seeking to simplify and accelerate the solution of laborious computational problems. The needs of mathematics itself, the mathematization of various fields of science, the penetration of mathematical methods into various areas of practical activity, and the rapid progress of computer technology led to the emergence of a number of new mathematical disciplines; such are, for example, game theory, information theory, graph theory, and discrete mathematics.
Almost everyone who has computer skills likes to play computer games. But few people think about how the three-dimensional image on the screen is achieved, thanks to which we can view an object from all sides as in real life, walk through the labyrinths of a virtual castle. Without mathematics, all this would be impossible.
With the help of applied mathematics, we can make visible on the display screen, for example, processes such as the propagation of electromagnetic waves in various environments, the work of internal human organs. Even a weather forecast cannot be made without specialists in applied mathematics. It is the specialty “applied mathematics” that provides integrated training of personnel who most fully meet the modern idea of the requirements for information technology specialists. Graduates can work, in particular, in the positions of mathematician-analyst, software development specialist, applied programmer, computer systems and communications analyst, production process automation specialist, database administrator, research associate.
So, mathematics plus computer is the essence of the specialty “applied mathematics”. Having studied the necessary disciplines, you will be able to apply your knowledge and skills in any field of activity. You will become a universal specialist for whom there will be no problems finding a job, since the demand for such professionals is steadily growing all over the world.
Within the framework of the specialty “Applied Mathematics”, since 2019, the educational programs “Applied Mathematics” and “Computer Modeling and Programming Technologies” have been operating. Enrollment of first-year applicants on a budget for obtaining a bachelor’s degree in the specialty “Applied Mathematics” (educational programs “Applied Mathematics” and “Computer Modeling and Programming Technologies”) at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics in 2025 is carried out on the basis of a competition of certificates of the Ukrainian Center for the Evaluation of Education Quality from national multi-subject testing and motivation letters.