I believe the grandparent's comment was a bit misleading if not wrong. (http://xkcd.com/386/ ..)
In most dialects of English (notably British English), the short form of the subject is "maths". In North American English, it is "math". In all dialects, the full form is "mathematics". In all dialects, both the short and full forms are singular and accept singular verbs. For example, "mathematics IS the study of numbers and patterns".
If you like to tailor to your audience, you may consider using "maths" for a British audience and "math" for an American audience.
In most dialects of English (notably British English), the short form of the subject is "maths". In North American English, it is "math". In all dialects, the full form is "mathematics". In all dialects, both the short and full forms are singular and accept singular verbs. For example, "mathematics IS the study of numbers and patterns".
If you like to tailor to your audience, you may consider using "maths" for a British audience and "math" for an American audience.