Math in Moscow (MiM) is a one-semester study abroad program for North American and European undergraduates held at the

Independent University of Moscow The Independent University of Moscow (IUM) () is an educational organisation with rather informal status located in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1991 by a group of Russian mathematicians that included Vladimir Arnold (chairman) and Sergei No ...

(IUM) in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The program consists mainly of math courses that are taught in English. The program was first offered in 2001, and since 2008 has been run jointly by the

, Moscow Center for Continuous Mathematical Education, and the

Higher School of Economics HSE University (), officially the National Research University Higher School of Economics () is a public research university founded in 1992 and headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Along with its main campus located in the capital, the university ...

(HSE). The program has hosted over 200 participants, including students from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

, Harvey Mudd,

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

McGill McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to: People * McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname) * McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Features

The MiM semester lasts fifteen weeks with fourteen weeks of teaching and one week of exams. Math courses are lectured by professors of the

and the Math Department of

National Research University Higher School of Economics HSE University (), officially the National Research University Higher School of Economics () is a public research university founded in 1992 and headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Along with its main campus located in the capital, the university ...

. The cultural elements of the program include organized trips to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and to the Golden Ring towns of

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

and

Suzdal Suzdal (, ) is a Types of inhabited localities in Russia, town that serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which is located along the Kamenka tributary of the Nerl (Klyazma), Nerl River, north o ...

. Students live in the dormitory of the Higher School of Economics. Each semester the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

offers up to five "Math in Moscow" scholarships provided by the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

to US undergraduates, and the

Canadian Mathematical Society The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS; French: ''Société mathématique du Canada'') is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to advancing mathematical research, outreach, scholarship and education in Canada. The Society se ...

offers one or two

NSERC The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; , CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. NSERC directly funds university professors and students as ...

scholarships to Canadian students. The program is often reviewed favorably by North American students and their departments.

Curriculum

The primary curriculum is entirely mathematical, drawing from every major field of mathematics. All courses are taught jointly with the Higher School of Economics, and are often attended by students from the HSE master's program. Likewise, Math in Moscow participants may attend open lectures and seminars at the Higher School of Economics. The Math in Moscow courses are formally divided into three groups according to the expected prerequisites, however admitted students may choose to attend whichever and as many courses as they wish. An incoming aptitude exam is administered to assist in advising students' course selections. All courses expect at least a semester each of analysis and linear algebra as prerequisites. Courses at the first level require no more than this basic formal background, but are generally more intensive than their equivalents at North American universities, often taught from first-year graduate texts and presenting material typically covered only at a graduate level; intermediate courses correspond to senior-level offerings at scientifically-focused American and Canadian institutions; and advanced courses are graduate-level. ;Elementary Courses *

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 ...

Programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

: From an Art to a Science *

Topology Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformat ...

I * Advanced Linear Algebra * Basic Algebra * Geometric Foundations of Analysis *

Non-Euclidean geometry In mathematics, non-Euclidean geometry consists of two geometries based on axioms closely related to those that specify Euclidean geometry. As Euclidean geometry lies at the intersection of metric geometry and affine geometry, non-Euclidean ge ...

Ordinary Differential Equations In mathematics, an ordinary differential equation (ODE) is a differential equation (DE) dependent on only a single independent variable. As with any other DE, its unknown(s) consists of one (or more) function(s) and involves the derivatives ...

;Intermediate courses * Advanced Algebra *

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 ...

* Calculus on Manifolds *

Complex Analysis Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is helpful in many branches of mathematics, including algebraic ...

* Ergodic Theory of Dynamical Systems *

Knot Theory In topology, knot theory is the study of knot (mathematics), mathematical knots. While inspired by knots which appear in daily life, such as those in shoelaces and rope, a mathematical knot differs in that the ends are joined so it cannot be und ...

Algebraic Number Theory Algebraic number theory is a branch of number theory that uses the techniques of abstract algebra to study the integers, rational numbers, and their generalizations. Number-theoretic questions are expressed in terms of properties of algebraic ob ...

* Topology II: Introduction to Homology and Cohomology Theory *

Algebraic Geometry Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics which uses abstract algebraic techniques, mainly from commutative algebra, to solve geometry, geometrical problems. Classically, it studies zero of a function, zeros of multivariate polynomials; th ...

* Basic Representation Theory *

Computability Computability is the ability to solve a problem by an effective procedure. It is a key topic of the field of computability theory within mathematical logic and the theory of computation within computer science. The computability of a problem is c ...

and

Complexity Complexity characterizes the behavior of a system or model whose components interact in multiple ways and follow local rules, leading to non-linearity, randomness, collective dynamics, hierarchy, and emergence. The term is generally used to c ...

;Advanced courses * Equations of

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 ...

* Introduction to Commutative and Homological Algebra * Mathematical Catastrophe Theory *

Riemann Surfaces In mathematics, particularly in complex analysis, a Riemann surface is a connected one-dimensional complex manifold. These surfaces were first studied by and are named after Bernhard Riemann. Riemann surfaces can be thought of as deformed vers ...

In addition to the mathematical curriculum, students are offered electives in Russian literature, Russia history, history of mathematics and science, and Russian language.

Course structure

The courses deviate in structure from standard courses in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The Russian pedagogical tradition emphasizes developing the active participation of students. Classes are designed to encourage dialogues between the students and the teacher, which is more easily achieved in the program's small classes of two to ten students. Each math course runs three hours once a week. Roughly speaking, classes devote an hour and a half of lecture and an hour and a half of exercises, although structure varies from course to course. Students may choose any number of courses, in practice between three and six from the mathematical curriculum. Courses are run jointly with the

M.Sc program. Most of the Math in Moscow courses are given at the building of the Independent University of Moscow, located in the center of Moscow near the historic

Arbat Arbat Street (, ), mainly referred to in English as the Arbat, is a pedestrian street about one kilometer long in the historical centre of Moscow, Russia. The Arbat has existed since at least the 15th century, which makes it one of the oldest ...

, some take place in the building of the Higher School of Economics. IUM contacts http://ium.mccme.ru/english/contact.html

References

{{Reflist

External links

The home page of the program

The Facebook page of the program

Youtube videos of the program

The home page of the Independent University of Moscow (in English)

The home page of the Center for International Education Higher School of Economics
Study abroad programs Mathematics education Independent University of Moscow Higher School of Economics 2001 introductions

Features

Curriculum

Course structure

See also

References

External links