The courses taught in the Department are far from static, and are adjusted regularly based on the changing student demand.

Participating in the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates (MIU), the Department is currently working on a redesign of its core freshman calculus sequence. We are aiming to make the course more efficient in developing analytical skills of the students, and to include more examples of applications. Sigurd Angenent, with contributions from David Anderson and Laurentiu Maxim, leads the effort to produce a set of notes to be used in the course sequence. If you would like to refresh your math, you can find a first draft of these free-access, no cost for undergraduates notes here. Our pre-calculus instruction is also seeing big changes, with experimental computer-aided classes being tested as part of the Wisconsin Collaboratory for Enhanced Learning (WisCEL).

In more advanced courses, Andreas Seeger led the effort to update and expand the core rigorous analysis sequence for mathematics majors. These courses are a pathway to graduate study in a number of exciting fields, including differential equations, probability, Fourier analysis, and applied mathematics. Those of our majors who plan to go to a graduate school in mathematics now have an opportunity to prepare even better for future graduate work.

Topics undergraduate and graduate courses are created in the department every year. Some of these courses are interdisciplinary and are attended by students from other departments as well. For example, our faculty with joint appointments in biochemistry, Julie Mitchell and George Craciun, as well as David Anderson frequently teach undergraduate courses on advanced mathematical methods in biology.