The Carleton College Summer Mathematics Program

Carleton College, Northfield MN

Investigators

Abstract

Mathematics faculty from Carleton College will continue their intensive four-week summer mathematics program for eighteen talented undergraduate women in each of the next three summers. The program will be staffed by mathematicians who are active professionals and outstanding teachers. The students will immerse themselves in mathematics, living and working in a supportive community of women scholars (undergraduates, graduates, and post-graduates) who are passionate about learning and doing mathematics. The program's intent is to excite these young women about mathematics and mathematical careers, to provide them with the tools they will need to succeed in a mathematical career, to plug them into a network of fellow female mathematicians, and to propel them on to advanced degrees in mathematics. The impact and success of previous Summer Mathematics Programs (formerly known as the Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges' Summer Mathematics Program), is measured both by the fact that 80% of the graduates have gone on to advanced degrees or careers in mathematics (65% have gone on to graduate school), as well as by the participants' post-program evaluations. The Program: Students will attend two courses which meet on weekday mornings and are led by female instructors and teaching assistants. In each of the classes, the students will be introduced to fields of mathematics beyond calculus that students usually do not have the opportunity to study in a standard undergraduate mathematics program. Topics for these courses in the past have included algebraic coding theory, graph theory, low-dimensional dynamical systems, and functional analysis. Through these courses, and the homework assigned in them, the students will have the opportunity to improve their skills in conjecture and proof and written and oral presentation. Students will not receive course credit for, or grades in, these courses. Each student will receive, at the close of the program, written evaluations of her performance and accomplishments from her instructors. Other Activities: Recreational problem solving will be offered each week for those students who want to work on solving interesting problems. Use of the computer for communication and computation will be a daily routine during the program. Each Tuesday afternoon there will be a discussion on a topic pertaining to the students' continued scholarship: succeeding as a math major, career options, choosing and surviving a graduate program, and being a woman scientist. Each Tuesday and Thursday there will be a colloquium on a stimulating area of mathematics. The Colleges: Carleton's $6.5 million Center for Mathematics and Computing and her faculty which are recognized for their professional activities and commitment to undergraduate education are among the attributes that make Northfield an attractive location for this summer program.