Information for MS & PhD Computing Requirement Certification
Importance of Computer Literacy and Computing Competence
Familiarity with computing is essential to applied mathematics, and students should aim for 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).
The requirement below is a minimal one, aimed at ensuring that students demonstrate some ability at using the computer for problem-solving through homework assignments and projects.
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
Students meet this requirement typically by receiving a grade of B- or better in taking an approved AM&S department course. The following is a list of approved courses together with the years in which versions of these courses can be used to meet the requirement is given below.
550.413 Applied Statistics and Data Analysis (2007-2009)
550.433 Monte Carlo Simulation and Reliability (2007-2009)
550.436 Data Mining (2007-2009)
550.480 Shape and Differential Geometry (2007-2009)
550.493 Mathematical Image Analysis (2007-2009)
550.640 Machine Learning (2007-2009)
550.643 Graphical Models (2007-2009)
550.662 Optimization Algorithms (2007-2009)
550.681 Numerical Analysis (2007-2009)
It is recommended that students meet this requirement within their first year of residence, and certainly no later than six months before graduation.