General course info / Math 454 web site:

There is a course website for Math 454, and this syllabus is published both as part of that site, but also as a standalone version on the BrightSpace site. You can link to my Math 454 site from my instructor's home page. Here is a direct link to the home page of the Math 454 web site.

Course description:

• Can be found at the beginning of the just mentioned home page of the Math 454 web site.

Prerequisites:

• The full calculus sequence, including multivariable calculus (Math 323).
• Math 447 (C or better), in particular, the Central Limit Theorem and the moment-generating function   φ(u) = E[uX]   of a random variable X. A background in statistics (Math 448) is NOT required.
• A VERY SOLID GROUNDING IN ABSTRACT MATH ON THE LEVEL TAUGHT IN MATH 330. There is not much emphasis is on rigorous proofs; however, you need the ability to understand the meaning of quite abstract definitions and theorems and how they relate to the examples given for clarification of those items. There is no official prerequisite for a background in abstract math but you will not do well in this course without this knowledge. In that case you are strongly advised to contact me so we can have some discussion about your plans.
• Linear algebra.
• I do not consider Math 346 an absolutely necessary prerequisite, but I assume that you have Knowledge of the basic differences between stocks and bonds, some simple facts about (European) put and call options, and interest payments in the presence of a varying interest rate.
• Knowledge of ordinary and partial differential equations is not assumed, but it certainly will not hurt.

Course material:    

• Please visit the Course Material page of the Math 454 web site.

Homework:

• Will be posted on the Homework page of the Math 454 web site.

BrightSpace and your grades:

• Grades will NOT be recorded in BrightSpace! Rather, I will send emails with your grades periodically.
• To preserve your anonimity, I will assign to each one of you a cryptic identifier and you will use that ID to find the row with your grades.
• Stay on top of your grades! If your grade is incorrect you must contact me immediately.

Record keeping:

• You must retain all returned papers in case of any discrepancy with your recorded grade.
• I cannot correct mistakes in grading or recording of scores without the original document.
• I won't review disputed points after the final.
• All grading issues must be settled WITHIN ONE WEEK of the return of the paper.

Homework:

Homework assignments will be given but not collected for grading. However a quiz or exam may ask you to outline part of a proof given previously as a homework assignment.

Quizzes:

• There will be approximately 10 quizzes. The sum of points will be adjusted to 250.
• Quizzes will often not be announced.
• The number of quizzes depends on how the class is doing in knowing the definitions, main propositions and theorems, as checking this will be one purpose of the quizzes. Additional quizzes will be given if the class needs to do better.

Exams:

• There will be two midterm exams and one final exam. Each midterm will last 55 minutes and is worth 200 points.
• The final exam counts for 350 points and it will last two hours. Date and time are not known at the time of writing of this syllabus. I will publish the info in the course home page once it becomes available.
  • Date and time for all finals are set by the office of records (registrar). There is absolutely no flexibility.
  • You can request a makeup final only if you have another final at the same time (direct conflict) or you have three final exams scheduled within 24 hours. The makeup will be given after the regular final, never before. If you want to request to take the alternate final then you must do so by Monday, April 24 2023, by sending me an email.
• See the home page for the dates of all three exams. Make all arrangements necessary to take the tests at those dates as it is extremely unlikely that they will be changed.

Students With Disabilities:

• Students requesting disability-related accommodations should register with the Services for Students with Disabilities office (SSD). They are the appropriate entity on campus to determine and authorize disability-related accommodations. For more info please click here.
• If you are already registered with SSD you should send me asap an email. Please attach your SSD letter. I suggest that you approach me during office hours or after lecture so that you and I can discuss the implementation of your accommodations.

Your grade:

• See the home page of this website!

Success:

• See the Advice page of the Math 454 website.

Attendance:

• Attendance will not be taken.
• You are advised not to skip lecture. I will follow the Shreve text and my lecture notes closely whenever possible, but I will teach some of the material from other sources. If you cannot spare the time to attend the lecture then you should consider dropping/withdrawing from the course before your GPA is messed up.

Make-up exams and quizzes:

• To be excused, absences other than illness must be properly documented. Your documentation must cover the day of the test. You must inform me in writing by sending an email.
• You must request a make-up in writing by sending an email. If you are ill then you must email me no later than the start of lecture
• The makeup will be scheduled within 3 or 4 days after the missed exam.
• You no longer need to provide a Doctor's note when you are ill. To discourage abuse I may decide to make the makeup quiz/exam slightly harder than the original.
• For quizzes I will generally not give a makeup but count the next one double instead.
• Except in very exceptional circumstances such as a prolongued illness, you will NOT be given the opportunity to complete old assignments at the end of the semester to improve your grades. When you receive a grade, you will have one week to discuss that grade before it becomes FINAL.

Academic Honesty:

• Incidents of academic dishonesty will be dealt with severely.
• There is precedent for giving an "F" for the course to a student who attempts to advance his/her grade illegally.
• Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:
  • Copying another student's work
  • Letting someone copy your work
  • lying to or intentionally misleading an instructor
  • Signing someone else's name to a document

Best wishes for a successful semester!

Michael Fochler