MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

Audience: My project is an interest guide geared towards a novice audience of just about any young math major in any university. The specific topics I address will be based off of the math classes offered at the University of Maryland in College Park, which means that the guide will be particularly helpful for undergraduate math majors on the traditional track at the University of Maryland. This project could also function as a packet or series of documents that undergraduate math advisors could use to help their students make decisions pertaining which math classes they should take in college.

Context: An individual on the traditional track of the math major at the University of Maryland is required to take eight 400-level math classes, of which four are “free choice” selections. Some math majors have spent free time reading about different branches of upper-level mathematics, but many have not. Students without any prior exposure may not only be unsure of what areas of math they are interested in—they may also be clueless as far as what is contained within each branch of mathematics, as well as the practical usages of these areas (including how each topic can lead to a career). Thus, these students may require assistance when deciding which free choice 400-level math classes they should take.

Purpose: To provide a brief overview of the kinds of topics and questions discussed in the varying 400-level math classes offered at the University of Maryland, as well as to explain how strong interest in a given branch of mathematics can potentially lead to an occupation.

J, really important guide. You will need to think of clusters and categories. Can we assume that most math students will have pre-reqs? If not, then that might be a category: 400 courses requiring preps.

So, what about the big divide: applied and basic foundational inquiry?

Geometry, Shapes, Surfaces (to include topology and knots)

Logic and Proofs

And, what else?

Chaos theory math (one of the inventors is here, Dr. Yorke)

What about math inquiry that supports other fields? Like the math of game theory (Thomas Schelling in Public Policy/Economics won a Nobel for this). Fourier series and imaging, including steganography?

Is there a class in problem solving theory? Do you know about George Polya?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_P%C3%B3lya