18.904: The Seminar Format

Undergraduate Mathematics Seminars at MIT

Seminar courses have the following characteristics.

(1) The enrollment is limited to 12. Preference will be given to mathematics majors. If further discrimination must be made it will be on the basis of year and prior registration in the same seminar.

(2) A preponderance of the classes are given over to presentations by the students. As a rule the instructor should not lecture, except perhaps in rotation. The seminar leader should provide specific feedback and suggestions for improvement of oral presentations.

(3) There is a single focus subject. Generally speaking the level should be at an upper class level, with a prerequisite of one specified departmental subject.

(4) Appropriate homework may be required.

(5) At least one coherent mathematics paper of approximately ten pages will be required. It must be written in some form of tex. It must be due (and therefore assigned) early enough in the term to allow at least one revision (and preferably more).

(6) There are no exams.

(7) An undergraduate seminar course in the Mathematics Department satisfies the CI-M requirement in Mathematics, which means it is subject to the following descriptive guideline:

"Subjects in major programs that provide instruction and practice in the forms of discourse common to the specific discipline. These subjects integrate substantial instruction and practice in major forms of written, oral and/or visual communication within the academic or professional discipline along with one or more opportunities for substantial and supervised revision of at least one document or presentation. A student's ability to communicate course material shall constitute a significant portion of a student's overall grade in the class."

(8) A seminar is a 12 unit class. The grading will be based on :

- Classroom participation, especially the oral presentations.

- Paper or papers.

- Homework. Generally homework should play a supporting role only. It might be used for example to get clear on some of the mathematics which will be incorprated into a paper.

- Degree of improvement.

(9) Seminar classes provide one of the best ways for a mathematics major to get to know a faculty member well enough to ask for a letter of recommendation. The seminar leader should work to get to know the students well enough to feel comfortable writing for them, and make this potential know to them.


July 2005