‘18.062: Mathematics for Computer Science’

Table of contents

  1. Course Info
  2. Realistic Prerequisites
  3. Subject Matter
  4. Course Staff
  5. Lectures
  6. Problem Sets
  7. Exams
  8. Resources
  9. Grading
  10. Advice to Future Students

Course Info

Class Size 317
Hours/Week 11.1 (79 responses)
Instructors Brynmor Chapman, Anand Natarajan, Vinod Vaikuntanathan, Zachary Abel
Overall Rating 5.2/7.0

Realistic Prerequisites

  • Most thought that 18.01 is a good prerequisite.

Subject Matter

  • Most said that the class provided good foundational and theoretical knowledge.

Course Staff

  • Most students said that the course staff was approachable and helpful. Course staff was also very responsive on Piazza.

Lectures

  • Most students believed that they learned from solving psets rather than lectures - and that this prepared them more for the tests. Some students said the pace of the course varied through the semester.
  • Textbooks helped clarify the lectures.

Problem Sets

  • Challenging.
  • Required time to think of applications of the concepts - OH and going to office hours usually helped to go through problems on the pset.
  • Some students said the lecture material wasn’t directly related to psets.
  • Most students said that the problem sets required creativity.

Exams

  • The exams were considered stressful and difficult. The problems were thought to be quite challenging, but many complained about the allotted time given the problems.

Resources

  • Many referred to the textbook to clarify their understanding, which was available on Canvas.
  • Lecture notes were very helpful to review concepts as well, also available on Canvas.

Grading

  • Students felt that grading was ** transparent ** and mostly reasonable.

Advice to Future Students

  1. “I think attempting the psets and going to office horse for help would be beneficial.”
  2. “Do the readings if you have time, they’re definitely helpful. Work with friends on PSETs and go to office hours earlier rather than later (they get crowded)”