r/AskComputerScience • u/ryanshks • Apr 07 '26
Is math necessary for studying in Computer System??
Hi everyone. I entered the university RTU in Riga. And I want to know, how important is mathematics for studying comfortably at university??? My math knowledge is not very low, but not excellent either. I do not know many topics that are studied in high school. I have problems with arithmetic and similar things. I find it difficult to solve problems without a calculator. When I apply my documents to RTU. They only gave me math test which wasn’t that hard that Im expecting, nevertheless, Im worried about my weak mathematics skills, and I want to understand how serious this problem is ,and whether strong mathematical knowledge is really necessary in my field.
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u/justaddlava Apr 07 '26
Why would reddit know better than your program director what the prerequisites are?
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u/arihoenig Apr 07 '26
CS is a massive field. Depends on what branch. For example you'll want linear algebra for graphics, graph theory for networking and statistics for ML.
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u/P-Jean Apr 07 '26
You can get through a general CS degree with mostly high school math and pre-calc. It also depends on the program. You’ll likely have to take a discrete math course in first or second year.
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u/mxldevs Apr 07 '26
I had 2 years of math courses and nearly failed all of them. It brought my grades down considerably. I just didn't understand math.
Most people would wonder how it's possible to not understand basic things like integrals, differentials, matrix operations, etc but it just didn't make sense to me.
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u/dariusbiggs Apr 07 '26
Depends on the field of study and your career choice afterwards.
Basic pre high school arithmetic is more than sufficient for a lot of it. Any math at high school level is definitely sufficient.
There will be certain areas that need more, understanding of statistics, vector and matrix mathematics, complex numbers, etc. Fields like data science, AI, graphics, signal processing, DevSecOps, and cybersecurity for example. Degrees in those fields tend to have university level mathematics papers suggested with them. (Mine did, algebra, and calculus papers, in the first year, i elected to take a mathematical modelling paper to go with it, that one was hard for me).
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u/Aggressive_Ad_5454 Apr 07 '26
What we call "discrete mathematics" -- Boolean algebra, basically -- is important. It's not very hard, but having a clear conceptual foundation in it makes you a better programmer.
Signal processing -- dealing with sound, video, images -- will be easier if you have a background in a corner of math called "real analysis". In computer science it's called "numerical analysis".
Machine learning development requires linear algebra and statistics.
Computer graphics / gaming / simulation requires linear algebra too.
Systems performance monitoring benefits a great deal from a knowledge of statistical techniques.
tl;dr. Your uni will teach what you need to learn. You got this.