Course Structure

To meet the above objectives, we propose that the structure of the course be as outlined in Table 1.

 

Table 1: Discussion of course structure.

Component	Reasoning
Faculty sponsor	Maintain semi-formal atmosphere.
	Facilitate interaction with faculty.
Enrollment limited to 13	Each student presents a session.
	Maintain small-class atmosphere.
	Stimulate active discussions.
Prereq: 6.451, 6.263, 6.441, perm. of instr.	Ensure advanced graduate students.
	Uniformly strong background.
Units: 3-0-9	See Section 5.
Grading: P/F	Natural choice due to variety of topics.
	No single grading metric appropriate.
Schedule: 1/wk, 2 hrs.	Focus on one topic per session.
	Natural addition to research week.
Setting: Small conf. room	Enhance interaction.

 

The class is suggested to be held once per week, for 2 hours each session. Each session will be an informal tutorial-style presentation/discussion led by one of the graduate students. The professor's role is to help enrich, but not direct, the discussion, and to assign grades of P/F based on each student's presentation and class participation.