The Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program is a study abroad opportunity for North American undergraduate students in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. The coursework is primarily mathematical and conducted in English by Hungarian professors whose primary positions are at

Eötvös Loránd University Eötvös Loránd University (, ELTE, also known as ''University of Budapest'') is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in ...

or the Alfréd Rényi Institute of Mathematics of the

Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious learned society. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primar ...

. Originally started by

László Lovász László Lovász (; born March 9, 1948) is a Hungarian mathematician and professor emeritus at Eötvös Loránd University, best known for his work in combinatorics, for which he was awarded the 2021 Abel Prize jointly with Avi Wigderson. He ...

László Babai László "Laci" Babai (born July 20, 1950, in Budapest) a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and won the Knuth Prize. Babai was an invited speaker at the International Congresses of Mathematicians in Kyoto (1990), Zürich (199 ...

, Vera Sós, and Pál Erdős, the first semester was conducted in Spring 1985. The North- American part of the program is currently run by Tina Garrett (North American Director) out of St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. She is supported by Kendra Killpatrick (Associate Director) and Eileen Shimota (Program Administrator). The former North American Directors were Paul D. Humke (1988–2011) and Tom Trotter. The Hungarian director is Dezső Miklós. The first Hungarian director was Gábor J. Székely (1985–1995).

History of the Program

Courses offered

Courses commonly offered at BSM: * Introduction to Abstract Algebra * Advanced Abstract Algebra * Topics in Analysis * Complex Functions *

Combinatorics Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and as an end to obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many ...

1 *

2 * Commutative Algebra * Conjecture and Proof *

Functional Analysis Functional analysis is a branch of mathematical analysis, the core of which is formed by the study of vector spaces endowed with some kind of limit-related structure (for example, Inner product space#Definition, inner product, Norm (mathematics ...

* Elementary Problem Solving *

Galois Theory In mathematics, Galois theory, originally introduced by Évariste Galois, provides a connection between field (mathematics), field theory and group theory. This connection, the fundamental theorem of Galois theory, allows reducing certain problems ...

* Topics in Geometry *

Graph Theory In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of ''graph (discrete mathematics), graphs'', which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects. A graph in this context is made up of ''Vertex (graph ...

Number Theory Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and arithmetic functions. Number theorists study prime numbers as well as the properties of mathematical objects constructed from integers (for example ...

* Topics in Number Theory *

Probability Theory Probability theory or probability calculus is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability. Although there are several different probability interpretations, probability theory treats the concept in a rigorous mathematical manner by expre ...

* Real Functions and Measures *

Set Theory Set theory is the branch of mathematical logic that studies Set (mathematics), sets, which can be informally described as collections of objects. Although objects of any kind can be collected into a set, set theory – as a branch of mathema ...

* Introduction to Topology *

Mathematical Physics Mathematical physics is the development of mathematics, mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The ''Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the de ...

* Independent Research Groups * Theory of Computing *

Differential Geometry Differential geometry is a Mathematics, mathematical discipline that studies the geometry of smooth shapes and smooth spaces, otherwise known as smooth manifolds. It uses the techniques of Calculus, single variable calculus, vector calculus, lin ...

* Dynamical Systems and Bifurcations * Stochastic Models in Bioinformatics *

Mathematical Logic Mathematical logic is the study of Logic#Formal logic, formal logic within mathematics. Major subareas include model theory, proof theory, set theory, and recursion theory (also known as computability theory). Research in mathematical logic com ...

In addition to mathematics-based courses, students have the opportunity to take culture classes, such as beginning and intermediate Hungarian Language classes, Hungarian Arts and Culture, and Holocaust and Memory.

Location

Classes are held in the College International, located at Bethlen Gábor Tér in the heart of Pest in Budapest's District VII. This is also the location for several other programs which attract both Hungarian and international students. Entry to the building is monitored; each student receives a card that electronically admits him or her to the building. There are also cameras to monitor movement exterior to the building. Several tram and bus lines have stops near the school, as does the Red Metro Line, which stops at Keleti railway station.

Optional intensive language course

Prior to classes starting, students can arrive early to attend an optional two-week, 80-hour intensive language course at the Babilon Nyelvstúdió. Babilon is located at Astoria, right in front of Budapest's Great Synagogue. For approximately eight hours each day, students are immersed in the language, learning numbers, greetings, and other necessary vocabulary.

References

{{Reflist * Paul D. Humke: Math majors study abroad in beautiful Budapest, ''Math Horizons'', April 1999, 10-13. Mathematics education Study abroad programs

History of the Program

Courses offered

Location

Optional intensive language course

See also

References