The process of encouraging undergraduates to select or continue career choices in the mathematical sciences must begin as early as possible. In our experience, undergraduates usually choose to major in mathematics early, often at matriculation, and, from that point on, the process is all-too-often one of attrition. Our Fast-Track Program in Mathematics and Statistics is designed to identify potentially outstanding mathematics students as (and before) they enter university, and immerse them in a stimulating research-oriented environment over a five-year period which will keep their interest in mathematics fresh as their competence grows. The principal ingredients in the program are intensive mentoring by faculty who are involved in mathematical research, an independent research/study project each academic term for each student, a challenging mathematics curriculum, seminars in mathematics and the ethics of mathematical research which will emphasize student participant and interaction among students, and small-group work projects. In the process, students will complete the requirements for both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in mathematics, meting all the liberal arts course distribution requirements (core curriculum) of UAB, and will be well-prepared for graduate work involving research in mathematics. The UAB Mathematics Department and NSF share in the support of student participants while they are undergraduates (at most four years). Thereafter, support of the student is the responsibility of the UAB Mathematics Department.
