Summer Mathematics Program for High School Students

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The Summer Mathematics Program for High School Students at the University of Utah provides outstanding students an opportunity to develop their talents to the fullest. By presenting intriguing puzzles, challenging problems and powerful ideas, the program stimulates curiosity, develops the intellect, and lays a strong foundation for future work in mathematics, the sciences, or science related careers.

• Participants will receive three university credits in mathematics (graded credit/no credit).
• Participants are expected to be able to attend for the entirety of the program.

• Program costs for US citizens,  nationals, and permanent residents are paid for by a National Science Foundation CAREER grant and the U of U Department of Mathematics.

• The prerequisite for the program is that students should have progressed far enough in their mathematical studies that they are prepared to enter Calculus. Calculus is not required.
• Preference will be given to students between their junior and senior years.
• This is not a residential program. Students who live far from the university will need to make their own living arrangements for the duration of the program.

The Summer Mathematics Program for High School Students is an intensive four-week program in number theory for motivated high school students. Because the integers are such a fundamental mathematical object, for thousands of years mathematicians from all over the world have studied number-theoretic questions; nevertheless, the subject is rich enough that it is studied today more actively than ever. It moreover has essential contemporary applications to cryptography, the science of sending and deciphering secret messages.

Participants will work closely throughout the day with one another and with the program staff (the director and three graduate students), exploring a series of challenging problem sets. Students will be asked to experiment with the subject, formulating conjectures about what they believe to be true, and then to justify their claims rigorously. Each student will, with the assistance of the counselors, substantially develop her or his ability to communicate mathematical ideas and arguments precisely.

Each day the students and the staff will share a lunch break in which they get to know one another better and continue more informally their mathematical discussions. In addition to the core number theory course, once each week a member of the Utah mathematics department will run an afternoon program devoted to other areas of mathematics, both theoretical and applied, so that students can catch a glimpse of the staggering range of the contemporary mathematical landscape.

 

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For more information, contact: 

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For information on other youth programs at the University of Utah visit:
www.smartkids.utah.edu
www.youth.utah.edu

For information on other summer math programs visit:
Summer Math Camps and Programs for Students

Support for the Summer Mathematics Program for High School Students comes from the AMS, the NSF, and the University of Utah