MATH 272 - Topology

Topology is a graduate level course that attracts some advanced
undergraduates. The majority of students in this course will be graduate
students in mathematics. It would be a good idea to have had either 223, 242
or 259 before taking on this course. The goal of the course is to prepare one
for graduate study in mathematics. Solid foundations for further study in
Analysis, Geometry, Geometric Topology and Algebraic Topology are established
in this course. If you plan to go to graduate school in mathematics or
physics, this course would give you a fantastic start. Beyond the core
material (see the undergraduate catalog) the course is designed to develop a
level of mathematical maturity consistent with that of beginning graduate
students in very good graduate programs. The ability to prove more and more
sophisticated problems is cultured. A yardstick for measuring the difficulty
of a problem is the number of distinct ideas necessary to solve the problem.
As the course progresses, students are asked to solve and present problems
that require increasingly more ideas.