‘18.726: Algebraic Geometry II’

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 14
Hours/Week 14.2 (7 responses)
Instructors Davesh Maulik
Overall Rating 7.0/7.0

Realistic Prerequisites

  • Knowledge of 18.705 and 18.725 is important. Knowledge of other fields like differential geometry and complex analysis are helpful for intuition.

Subject Matter

  • The modern approach to algebraic geometry.

Course Staff

  • Some students found the professor/TA hard to reach.
  • Staff was understanding about extension requests.

Lectures

  • Students found the lectures good for guiding intuition and a highlight of the class.
  • Textbooks were also helpful.

Problem Sets

  • The problem sets were long but reasonable in difficulty.
  • Many problems were from the textbook.
  • Collaboration was helpful.

Exams

  • There was an open book final.

Resources

  • The lectures followed Vakil’s The Rising Sea - Foundations of Algebraic Geometry, which students found helpful and well-written.
  • Some students also found referring to Hartshorne helpful.

Grading

  • Students felt that grading was lenient.

Advice to Future Students

  1. “Read the textbook and nail the foundations. Also, have the right attitude: appreciate the beauty of the subject as much as you can.”
  2. “Be ready to grind.”