Information About Certification for the Master's and
Ph.D. Computing Requirement
Importance of Computer Literacy and Computing Competance
Familiarity with computing is essential to applied mathematics. The purpose of the computing requirement is to ensure that the students obtain a practical problem-solving capability for computing in applied mathematics. Thus, every department graduate should possess a working knowledge of the utilization of computers and the fundamentals of scientific computing. This includes, but is not limited to, such topics as: computer programming (e.g., FORTRAN or C++), numerical software packages (e.g., MATLAB), symbolic computations (e.g., MAPLE), technical word processing (e.g., LaTeX), and professional presentation (e.g., PowerPoint).
Timetable
It is expected that students discuss their plans to meet this requirement with their faculty advisors. As early as possible, students and advisors should agree on a program of work whose satisfactory completion would meet the computing requirement. Students with no previous background in computing should first acquire basic competence during their first year of residence, either by independent study, or by participation in an elementary course. It is recommended that students meet this computing requirement within their first year of residence, and certainly no later than six months before graduation.
Certification and Evaluation
The Student must demonstrate computer literacy and computing competence to his/her academic
or thesis advisor. The advisor then submits a certification to the Academic Affairs Committee stating that the student has satisfactorily demonstrated his/her computing competence and briefly describing (in one paragraph) the specific nature of the evidence. The Academic Affairs Committee will review and evaluate the submitted certification for final approval. The Academic Affairs Committee evaluates students' computing competence using two criteria: (a) the ability to create nontrivial programs that (b) are used to solve problems in pure or applied mathematics. If approved, the Committee will state their approval on the advisor's certification and a copy will go into the student's file. If disapproved, the Committee will return the advisor's certification with comments for resubmission.