CI-M Program
The Mathematics Department offers a wide range of "CI-M" subjects, which may be used to fulfill the undergraduate Communication Requirement in Mathematics. The overall requirement is described here.
In addition to the Course 18 offerings, 6.033 or 8.06 may be used toward the CI-M requirement in Mathematics. At most one from the list 6.033, 8.06, 18.310C, may count toward fulfilling the Communication Requirement.
With the exception of 18.100C, all Mathematics Department Communication-Intensive (CI-M) classes have limited enrollment. Generally, priority will be given to Mathematics Majors, with Mathematics seniors having first priority. Prerequisites will be enforced. For 18.821, Project Laboratory in Mathematics, priority will be given to Mathematics seniors who have not otherwise fulfilled the Institute Laboratory Requirement. For the others, priority will be given to Mathematics seniors who have completed at most one CI-M, followed by Mathematics juniors who have completed none.
Registration for all Mathematics CI-M classes will close at the close of the preregistration period. For any class over-enrolled, the Department will conduct a lottery before Registration Day and form an ordered waiting list. If a subject from the list below (other than 18.100C and 18.310C) does not show up on your registration form, even though you preregistered for it, you can conclude that you did not lottery into the class. In any case, if you wish to write in a CI subject on your registration form, you must speak to the UMO personnel in 2-102 when you pick up the form, before visiting your Academic Advisor. His or her signature does not enroll you in one of these courses without prior approval from the UMO.
CI-M Math Subjects
18.100C, Analysis I (15 units)
This course is taught with 18.100B, but offers three additional units of credit for instruction and practice in written and oral presentation. Covers the fundamentals of mathematical analysis: convergence of sequences and series, continuity, differentiability, Riemann integral, sequences and series of functions, uniformity, interchange of limit operations. Shows the utility of abstract concepts and teaches an understanding and construction of proofs. Prerequisite: 18.02 and 18.03.
18.104, Seminar in Analysis (12 units)
Students present and discuss subject matter taken from current journals or books. Topics vary from year to year. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication provided. Prerequisite: 18.100. Enrollment limited.
18.304, Seminar in Discrete Applied Mathematics (12 units)
Seminar in combinatorics, graph theory, and discrete mathematics in general. Participants read and present papers from recent mathematical literature. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication provided. Prerequisite: 18.310 or 18.700. Enrollment limited.
18.310C, Principles of Applied Mathematics (12 units)
Study of illustrative topics in discrete applied mathematics including sorting algorithms, information theory, coding theory, secret codes, generating functions, linear programming, and game theory. Instruction and practice in written communication provided. Same content as 18.310, but assignments are structured with an additional focus on writing. Enrollment limited.
18.384, Seminar in Physical Mathematics (12 units)
The applied mathematics of continuous media and classical physics. Reading and presentation of papers from recent applied mathematics and physics literature. Topics and papers include fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, and biophysics. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication provided. Prerequisites: 18.311, 18.354, or permission of instructor. Enrollment limited.
18.424, Seminar in Information Theory (12 units)
Considers various topics in information theory, including data compression, Shannon's Theorems, and error-correcting codes. Students present and discuss the subject matter. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication provided. Prerequisite: 18.06 and 18.05, 6.041, or 18.440. Enrollment limited.
18.434, Seminar in Theoretical Computer Science (12 units)
Topics vary from year to year. Students present and discuss the subject matter. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication provided. Prerequisite: 18.404 and 18.410. Enrollment limited.
18.504, Seminar in Logic (12 units)
Students present and discuss the subject matter taken from current journals or books. Topics vary from year to year. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication provided. Prerequisite: 18.100 and either 18.700 or 18.701. Enrollment limited.
18.704, Seminar in Algebra (12 units)
Topics vary from year to year. Students present and discuss the subject matter. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication provided. Prerequisite: One subject in linear algebra and some experience with proofs. Enrollment limited.
18.784, Seminar in Number Theory (12 units)
Topics vary from year to year. Students present and discuss the subject matter. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication provided. Enrollment limited.
18.821, Project Laboratory in Mathematics (12 units)
Institute LAB. Guided research in mathematics, employing the scientific method. Students confront puzzling and complex mathematical situations, through the acquisition of data by computer, pencil and paper, or physical experimentation, and attempt to explain them mathematically. Students choose three projects from a large collection of options. Each project results in a laboratory report subject to revision. One project is presented to the full class in a 50 minute class session. Projects are drawn from many areas, including dynamical systems, number theory, algebra, fluid mechanics, asymptotic analysis, knot theory, and probability. Prerequisites: two courses from the Mathematics Department numbered 18.100 or higher. Enrollment limited.
18.823, Principles of Mathematics Presentation (12 units)
Instruction in preparing and presenting professional papers in mathematics, including a tutorial providing individual guidance in editing and formatting a paper to make it suitable for publication in MIT's Undergraduate Journal of Mathematics. Students lecture on their papers and on topics of their choice, and write reviews of each other's lectures. Students must come with a draft containing an adequate amount of technical mathematics, such as a term paper or a research report. Enrollment limited.
18.904, Seminar in Topology (12 units)
Students present and discuss the subject matter with faculty guidance. Topics include the fundamental group and covering spaces. Instruction and practice in written and oral presentation provided. Prerequisite: 18.901. Enrollment limited.
18.994, Seminar in Geometry (12 units)
Students present and discuss subject matter taken from current journals or books. Topics vary from year to year. Instruction and practice in written and oral communication provided. Prerequisite: 18.101. Enrollment limited.
Credit for CI-M courses from other departments
The Academic Committee of the Mathematics Department will consider supporting individual students' petitions to grant CI-M credit in Mathematics for courses from other departments. Such courses must carry CI-M credit in their own departments. The substituted course must make sense in terms of the student's own academic program and career path. Mathematics Department support may require additional work to bring written components into satisfactory mathematical form. The petitions are then subject to approval by the Subcommittee on the Communication Requirement (SOCR). Petition forms are available online.
Double Majors
Students must pass two CI-Ms in each major. However, regulations state that "In some cases, a CI-M subject may be used to fulfill the communication component of both majors simultaneously if the subject is approved for both programs." In general, approval of CI-M courses outside of Mathematics for this purpose requires a petition process as described above, but the CI-M courses 6.033 and 8.06 are pre-approved. At least one subject must be from the Department of Mathematics. See the the Communication Requirement guidelines for more information.
