Honors Math Stream for Engineering Students

Honors Mathematics and Statistics Programs
Honors Math Stream for Engineering Students

Q: I'm an engineering student. Can I enroll in honors math courses?
A: If you have an 80% math average or higher, you'll be most welcome to take our honors calculus courses. Just go ahead and enroll in MATH 117, 118, or 217 using "Bear Tracks".
Q: What's the best time to do it?
A: The earlier you do it, the better, i.e., if you want to take honors courses, the best thing is to switch from MATH 100 to MATH 117 in September. Of course, there are two more transition points into the honors stream: in January (entering MATH 118) and the following September (when you would enter MATH 217), but when you're really interested in math, it will be best for you to be enrolled in the honors math classes right from the beginning.
Q: What's the difference between honors and ordinary calculus?
A: In the honors calculus courses, we go deeper into the fundamentals of the subject, but since we have an extra lecture hour per week, we have time to cover all the same applications as in an ordinary calculus course.
Q: What benefits would I have from taking honors calculus?
A: First of all, if you love math, then it's just fun to be in a class with a lot of other mathematically talented students. Many top engineering students take this course, and they all seem to enjoy it. Also, you will get a stronger mathematical background, which, in turn, will make future courses - not only in mathematics! - easier for you.
Q: I heard these courses are really hard. Won't I ruin my GPA when I take honors math courses?
A: It's true: you will have to put a lot of work into an honors math course. However, if you love math, you'll enjoy it! And don't worry too much about your grades: We have a policy of not punishing students for choosing a greater challenge, i.e., we give out proportionately many more A's and A+'s in MATH 117/118/217 than in Math 100/101/209. Typically, students who would get an A in MATH 100/101 will also get an A in Math 117/118.
Q: Do I need to take both MATH 217 and 317 to substitute for MATH 209?
A: That used to be true, but no longer is (and hasn't been for several years): Engineering accepts MATH 217 as equivalent to MATH 209.
Q: How can I get a taste of MATH 117, 118, and 217, and see if they are right for me?
A: There are online lecture notes available for MATH 117/118 and MATH 217/317, which give you an idea how the course will be like. Also, through a special arrangement with the Faculty of Science, you can try out MATH 117 for a month and downgrade to MATH 100 if you find the course too difficult or the workload too time consuming.
Q: There is this new honors linear algebra course MATH 127. Can I substitute it for MATH 102?
A: No. The syllabus of MATH 102 covers some topics not included in MATH 127, e.g., diagonalization, eigenvalues, and Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization. To get all the topics treated in MATH 102, you would have to take both MATH 127 and 227.

Last update: April 13, 2008.