MATH 191
Variable Topics Research Seminars: Mathematics
Description: Seminar, three hours. Variable topics research course in mathematics that covers material not covered in regular mathematics upper-division curriculum. Reading, discussion, and development of culminating project. May be repeated for credit with topic and/or instructor change. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
The course material was very interesting, and I felt like I learned a good amount of material. Tests were not always representative of homework, but they were definitely do-able and fair. It was a lot of work getting all the homework done, and since there was no TA there was no way to know if your solutions for ungraded homework was right. The take-home final was pretty difficult. His office hours were good because he's very friendly and offers tea and cookies. I'd say take him, but be ready to spend a decent amount of work with homework and stuff because he seems to like to assign a lot of homework every week. But, he really isn't a 9 difficulty. I'd say lower because if you put the effort in, he will reward you.
The course material was very interesting, and I felt like I learned a good amount of material. Tests were not always representative of homework, but they were definitely do-able and fair. It was a lot of work getting all the homework done, and since there was no TA there was no way to know if your solutions for ungraded homework was right. The take-home final was pretty difficult. His office hours were good because he's very friendly and offers tea and cookies. I'd say take him, but be ready to spend a decent amount of work with homework and stuff because he seems to like to assign a lot of homework every week. But, he really isn't a 9 difficulty. I'd say lower because if you put the effort in, he will reward you.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2021 - This review is from the perspective of a pure math major. I hold an interest in this class mainly because I believe it helps with understanding graduate-level math. Professor Rubin is a great lecturer, as he did a great job explaining the terms and answering our questions. He is also very helpful in office hours and is easy to approach to. However, I do think the pace of the class is a bit quick since we basically skim through the whole textbook "Category Theory in Context". We didn't have a chance to learn many things in detail, and many useful facts are left out for us to read in our own time. I used a lot of textbooks and notes other than the recommended ones, and they turn out to be helpful for filling in the gaps. Another problem is that the concepts are sometimes way too abstract and it is difficult to figure out everything without having an understanding on them beforehand. It would be helpful if you have experience with graduate-level algebra (i.e. MATH 210A), or have read the Algebra book by Serge Lang since they give you a focus of Category Theory on abstract algebra (groups and rings). Overall, very nice professor, but very hard class (at least for me). Here are the grade components: Homework (75%): weekly assignment containing 6 problems each. Final (25%): take-home exam with a 2-week window to figure everything out.
Spring 2021 - This review is from the perspective of a pure math major. I hold an interest in this class mainly because I believe it helps with understanding graduate-level math. Professor Rubin is a great lecturer, as he did a great job explaining the terms and answering our questions. He is also very helpful in office hours and is easy to approach to. However, I do think the pace of the class is a bit quick since we basically skim through the whole textbook "Category Theory in Context". We didn't have a chance to learn many things in detail, and many useful facts are left out for us to read in our own time. I used a lot of textbooks and notes other than the recommended ones, and they turn out to be helpful for filling in the gaps. Another problem is that the concepts are sometimes way too abstract and it is difficult to figure out everything without having an understanding on them beforehand. It would be helpful if you have experience with graduate-level algebra (i.e. MATH 210A), or have read the Algebra book by Serge Lang since they give you a focus of Category Theory on abstract algebra (groups and rings). Overall, very nice professor, but very hard class (at least for me). Here are the grade components: Homework (75%): weekly assignment containing 6 problems each. Final (25%): take-home exam with a 2-week window to figure everything out.
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