Core Courses

All SciCAM M.S. students are required to take the four core courses listed below. These courses must be taken for letter grades.

• AM 213A: Numerical Linear Algebra
• AM 213B: Numerical Methods for the Solution of Differential Equations
• AM 250: An Introduction to High Performance Computing
• AM 160: Introduction to Scientific Machine Learning

Electives

Any regular 5-credit AM graduate courses (between course numbers 201 and 279) not already listed as a core course can be counted as electives with approval from the graduate director. Elective courses outside of AM must be approved by the graduate director. Elective courses can be taken for the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading option or the letter grade option.
Note that some upper-division electives are allowed, bearing in mind that no more than a total of 15 credits of upper-division courses may be used to satisfy the degree requirements. The three foundational courses (AM 100, AM 112, AM 114, AM 129, and AM 147) cannot be used toward the elective degree requirements, but do not count toward the 15 credits limit either.

Other Requirements

The SciCAM program offers two capstone options: Plan I thesis track and Plan II capstone exam track. Students in the SciCAM program pursue either a Plan I thesis or Plan Il capstone (comprehensive examination) curriculum.

• Candidates for a Plan I thesis must complete one graduate-level five-credit elective course (between course numbers 200 and 279) and take a minimum of 10 credits of independent study to write a thesis (i.e., at least two five-credit independent studies over two quarters or one 10-credit independent study over one quarter). The thesis requirements are as follows. Students should identify a thesis advisor and a research topic as soon as possible upon joining the M.S. (before completing all core courses), ideally during the first or second quarter, and begin working on their research. They must ultimately write a thesis, which must consist of at least 30 pages and no more than 60 pages of printed written work and accompanying pertinent figures, consisting of a coherent introduction and presentation of the current state of the field, a clear presentation of the questions raised, of the methodology used to solve them, and a discussion of the results obtained. The quality and novelty of the thesis must be appropriate for potential publication in an international journal. The thesis will be read by a committee of three ladder-rank faculty members, consisting of the faculty advisor and two additional readers. Additional readers will be chosen appropriately from within the Applied Mathematics Department or outside of it. At least two members of the reading committee must be from within the Applied Mathematics Department. The student will then be required to give a public oral presentation of their thesis (between 30 minutes and 45 minutes), which will be evaluated by the reading committee. The reading committee will assess the quality of both written work and oral presentation in making their recommendation for awarding the SciCAM M.S. degree to the student.

• Candidates for a Plan Il capstone (comprehensive examination) must complete three regular 5-credit elective courses from an approved list, at least one of which should be a graduate-level course, and pass the SciCAM comprehensive examination. The exam takes place in the spring quarter each year, and is a take-home exam covering the core and foundational courses. Passing the comprehensive examination fulfills the capstone requirement. A student has two attempts to pass the exam. If a student does not pass the exam in spring, they are allowed to retake it in late summer (late September before the fall quarter starts).