All entering College of the Atlantic students must take at least one Quantitative Reasoning (QR) class before graduating. These are classes in which students gain skills in some fo the areas of mathematics: numerical, computational, or symbolic reasoning, or abstract logic.

• Mathematics classes, such as Calculus I, II, and III, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, and Pre-calculus, meet the QR requirement.
• Students also receive QR credit for science classes that make extensive use of mathematics, such as Physics I, II, and III, Chemistry II, and Biomechanics.
• There are a handful of statistics classes, all of which meet the QR requirement. Introduction to Statistics and Research Design and Econometrics are introductory stats classes for the sciences and social sciences, respectively. Field Ecology and Data Analysis is an advanced class in which students learn statistics and field methods applicable to the ecological sciences.
• Lastly, there are a few classes that are highly interdisciplinary, such as Chaos and Complex Systems and Introduction to Chaos and Fractals. Both combine mathematics and science with elements from literature, art, and the social sciences.

Almost all QR classes have at least one peer tutor who, together with the professor, provides help on problem sets and other assignments. We find that almost all students are able to find a QR class that fits with their interests and is appropriate given their background. Students who want to pursue mathematics as an integral part of their self-designed curriculum also find an ample number of courses and tutorials.