It's worth remembering that math departments have a large service component: They teach courses for majors in other departments, because that is what those othe

It's worth remembering that math departments have a large service component: They teach courses for majors in other departments, because that is what those other departments want - and in fact, teaching other majors produces most of the credit hours taught in math departments. So they tell us what math courses their majors will take, and sometimes even what topics their majors need to see. We just do what we're told! :-) Sometimes the math is needed for courses in the other major; for example, if an earth science major is taking a fluid dynamics course in their major, they'll need 3 terms of calc, and maybe differential equations and linear algebra. This is not to say that all majors in a department will use all the math they're required to take. I once asked a colleague in chemistry how often they actually needed to do derivatives or integrals; she replied that many chemists (e.g. experimental chemists) would rarely need calculus, but people in theoretical chemistry would. The simplest thing is often to require all majors in a given field to take the same math courses, even if only a few will use all of it. The CS department at the school I retired from seems to have shifted its math requirements from 2 terms of calc to one term, plus stuff like statistics and linear algebra. (I don't recall all the details.) Another reason for math requirements being what they are is that certain math courses are required for other departments to have their programs accredited. A while ago we were revising the syllabus for the calc course which was taken by business majors. I asked the business department chair if they had any comments or suggestions; he thought everything was okay, but wanted to verify that certain topics were in there (I think maxima and minima was one). He said their program accreditors wanted to see it. I think other departments gradually adjust math requirements for their majors; it's in their interest to ensure their majors are prepared for jobs or grad school So if you graduated a while ago and you feel that the math you took wasn't that useful (and you have suggestions for alternatives), take a moment and mail your old department and let them know - they'll appreciate it, and you'll be helping future students.