Hi. So I saw an article about Mudd changing the core curriculum. From what I read, it looks like it is just changing the math curriculum right now. Does anyone know what other potential changes might happen?
Mudd has been in a lengthy evaluation process of the core for the past year and a half. I don’t think they have released much detail yet. The core is VERY integral to Mudd’s identity. It is not going away. I doubt it is getting much easier. I doubt it will have less breadth. The core has been overhauled in the past, but it has been quite a while since the last one. They are proceeding carefully - no one wants to break one of the things that makes Mudd special and gives Mudders the amazing breadth and depth of STEM knowledge they get with a Mudd degree.
Here are some links.
https://www.hmc.edu/core-revision/
https://www.hmc.edu/core-revision/2019/02/22/community-update-on-the-core-review-february-2019/
https://tsl.news/mudd-to-revise-core-math-curriculum-two-years-after-campus-protests-first-major-change-from-review-designed-to-decrease-workload/
That is a good change. Those half semester courses were a little crazy making. Essentially adding half a semester of time to the remaining components will be a bit of a stress reducer.
@damon30 Thanks. I saw the article you quote. I will check out the other ones. Hoping this is all a good move for the students.
Interesting, it looks like the main difference is the removal of ‘probability and statistics’, which I suppose could be taken at a later point after completion of the core requirements. For this they also offer a more advanced level course on Bayesian statistics, which should be an important class to take for anyone interested in data science:
https://www.hmc.edu/mathematics/program/mathematics-course-descriptions/
^ Also, probability and statistics are a prerequisite for a class in deep learning. But it’s just as well they are ditching the half semester treatment, and making it a full semester class instead.
What they were doing was pretty much double timing normal college courses. Squeezing a normal semester of work in a half semester. Now they are mostly putting 2 of those half semesters into one semester, with a bit of relief without the probability and statistics. I’m sure students will still be able to take it as an elective, it just won’t be required in core.