Quantitative Reasoning

The contemporary world demands competence in a broad array of quantitative skills, including the ability to interpret evidence, model complex systems, and draw valid inferences from data.

On a daily basis, people evaluate quantitative evidence and arguments, for example, to assess risks, maximize returns, evaluate change, and interpret statistical models. While these quantitative skills are acquired primarily through the study of mathematical, statistical, and computational methods, quantitative reasoning is ubiquitous in all fields of study and all aspects of life. Beyond skills and methods for problem-solving, computational thinking has deep implications for understanding how the digital world works. Despite an ever-increasing potential for new insights and efficiency gains, algorithms—processes or sets of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer—can also amplify structural discrimination, produce errors that deny services to individuals, or mislead electorates. BU students should understand and use quantitative reasoning and interpret the role it plays in shaping their personal, professional, and civic lives. They must possess a fundamental understanding of the tools of quantitative reasoning and the ability to apply them to marshal, interpret, and analyze data to answer complex questions across a variety of settings. Developing a capacity for quantitative reasoning is crucial for personal self-sufficiency, professional advancement, and responsible citizenship.

Note: For many students, taking a Quantitative Reasoning I course before a Quantitative Reasoning II course will be a logical sequence. However, depending on the course and on a student’s background, this will not always be the case. Students are not required to take a Quantitative Reasoning I course prior to taking a Quantitative Reasoning II course. Additionally, a Quantitative Reasoning II course may be taken to fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning I requirement, allowing the student to use two Quantitative Reasoning II courses to fulfill this requirement.