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Programme: BScHons Mathematics

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Code Faculty
02240181 Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
Credits Duration
Duration of study: 1 year Total credits: 135

Programme information

Renewal of registration

  1. Subject to exceptions approved by the Dean, on the recommendation of the head of department, and in the case of distance education where the Dean formulates the stipulations that will apply, a student may not sit for an examination for the honours degree more than twice in the same module.
  2. A student for an honours degree must complete his or her study, in the case of full-time students, within two years and, in the case of after-hours students, within three years of first registering for the degree and, in the case of distance education students, within the period stipulated by the Dean. Under special circumstances, the Dean, on the recommendation of the head of department, may give approval for a limited extension of this period.

In calculating marks, General Regulation G.12.2 applies.

Apart from the prescribed coursework, a research project is an integral part of the study.

Admission requirements

An appropriate BSc degree with a minimum of 60% for all Mathematics/Applied mathematics modules on third-year level. In the selection procedure the candidate?s complete undergraduate academic record will be considered. In particular, it is required that the candidate has completed Real analysis and Algebra on third-year level (each with a mark of at least 60%).

 

Promotion to next study year

The progress of all honours candidates is monitored biannually by the postgraduate coordinator/head of department. A candidate’s study may be terminated if the progress is unsatisfactory or if the candidate is unable to finish his/her studies during the prescribed period.

Pass with distinction

The BScHons degree is awarded with distinction to a candidate who obtains a weighted average of at least 75% in all the prescribed modules and a minimum of 65% in any one module.

Minimum credits: 135

Core modules

  • Module content:

    An introduction to the basic mathematical objects of linear functional analysis will be presented. These include metric spaces, Hilbert spaces and Banach spaces. Subspaces, linear operators and functionals will be discussed in detail. The fundamental theorems for normed spaces: The Hahn-Banach theorem, Banach-Steinhaus theorem, open mapping theorem and closed graph theorem. Hilbert space theory: Riesz' theorem, the basics of projections and orthonormal sets.

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  • Module content:

    The following topics will be covered: Galois theory and solving equations by radicals, introduction to the theory of R-modules, direct sums and products, projectivity and injectivity, finitely generated modules over Euclidean domains, primary factorisation, applications to Jordan and rational canonical forms of matrices.

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  • Module content:

    Measure and integration theory: The Caratheodory extension procedure for measures defined on a ring, measurable functions, integration with respect to a measure on a ?-ring, in particular the Lebesgue integral, convergence theorems and Fubini's theorem.
    Probability theory: Measure theoretic modelling, random variables, expectation values and independence, the Borel-Cantelli lemmas, the law of large numbers. L¹-theory, L²-theory and the geometry of Hilbert space, Fourier series and the Fourier transform as an operator on L², applications of Fourier analysis to random walks, the central limit theorem.

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  • Module content:

    General topology: Concepts such as convergence, compactness, connectedness, separation axioms and continuity are introduced in topological spaces. Their basic properties are treated. Important topologies like the product topology and the quotient topology are discussed.
    Algebraic topology: Homotopy, the fundamental group, covering spaces, homotopy type.

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  • Module content:

    Consult Department.

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  • Module content:

    Axiomatic set theory, ordinals, transfinite induction and recursion, ordinal arithmetic, the axiom of choice, cardinal arithmetic, the continuum hypothesis. Propositional and first order logic. The completeness and compactness theorems. Decidability, Gödel’s incompleteness theorems.

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Elective modules

  • Module content:

    An analysis as well as an implementation (including computer programs) of methods are covered. Numerical linear algebra: Direct and iterative methods for linear systems and matrix eigenvalue problems: Iterative methods for nonlinear systems of equations. Finite difference method for partial differential equations: Linear elliptic, parabolic, hyperbolic and eigenvalue problems. Introduction to nonlinear problems. Numerical stability, error estimates and convergence are dealt with.

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  • Module content:

    An analysis as well as an implementation (including computer programs) of methods is covered. Introduction to the theory of Sobolev spaces. Variational and weak formulation of elliptic, parabolic, hyperbolic and eigenvalue problems. Finite element approximation of problems in variational form, interpolation theory in Sobolev spaces, convergence and error estimates.

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  • Module content:

    Mathematical modelling of Random walk. Conditional expectation and Martingales. Brownian motion and other Lévy processes. Stochastic integration. Ito's Lemma. Stochastic differential equations. Application to finance.

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  • Module content:

    This module aims at using advanced undergraduate mathematics and rigorously applying mathematical methods to concrete problems in various areas of natural science and engineering.
    The module will be taught by several lecturers from UP, industry and public sector. The content of the module may vary from year to year and is determined by relevant focus areas within the Department. The list of areas from which topics to be covered will be selected, includes: Systems of differential equations; dynamical systems; discrete structures; Fourier analysis; methods of optimisation; numerical methods; mathematical models in biology, finance, physics, etc.

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  • Module content:

    Field-theoretic and material models of mathematical physics. The Friedrichs-Sobolev spaces. Energy methods and Hilbert spaces, weak solutions – existence and uniqueness. Separation of variables, Laplace transform, eigenvalue problems and eigenfunction expansions. The regularity theorems for elliptic forms (without proofs) and their applications. Weak solutions for the heat/diffusion and related equations.

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  • Module content:

    A selection of special topics will be presented that reflects the expertise of researchers in the Department. The presentation of a specific topic is contingent on student numbers. Consult the website of the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics for more details.

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The information published here is subject to change and may be amended after the publication of this information. The General Regulations (G Regulations) apply to all faculties of the University of Pretoria. It is expected of students to familiarise themselves well with these regulations as well as with the information contained in the General Rules section. Ignorance concerning these regulations and rules will not be accepted as an excuse for any transgression.

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