Undergraduate Program About Honors Mathematics Our honors program is ideal for students open to the challenges of higher mathematics. State-of-the-art courses are taught in small classes by leading faculty covering a broad range of material in both pure and applied mathematics. Beyond the standard curriculum, we routinely offer courses on recent developments in cutting edge fields such as algorithms, biomathematics, cryptography and financial mathematics. Our honors students also often take advantage of our top-ranked graduate program; qualified students are welcome to take graduate courses. All in all, the honors mathematics program at the University of Michigan will prepare you well for the challenge of a graduate or professional school at the finest universities in the country or a rewarding career in a variety of fields (see our Careers section for a discussion of career options for mathematicians). Our faculty take a strong interest in the honors program and undergraduates, and are available to students at all levels. Beyond teaching courses, we are eager to interact with students in research either through the UROP program of the University of Michigan or REU fellowships in the summer. UROP is the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program at the University of Michigan which creates research partnerships during the semesters for first or second year students (see the UROP website for more details). REU, short for Research Experiences for Undergraduates, is a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation. In our department, undergraduates are individually matched with a faculty member to work on a research project during the summer for typically 6 - 8 weeks. The students receive a stipend of about $3,800.00 for this experience. See the REU Program page for more information. We enroll 20 to 30 highly motivated and exceptionally talented honors students per year. Besides enjoying our academic excellence, these students form a lively and tightly knit social group which provides a special place inside this large university. Thus, our students benefit from all the special opportunities only a large university can provide, and at the same time feel part of a small and quite privileged group of students, much like at a smaller college or university. As a large university, we offer many exceptional classes in all possible subjects. In fact, many of our students pursue a second major in a variety of fields, from the arts and humanities to economics and engineering. The University also offers a multitude of activities and an abundant cultural life both on and off campus. There are a number of special activities within the department. The undergraduate Math Club meets once a week. Several times a year, a distinguished mathematician gives an undergraduate colloquium on a topic of current interest presented at a non-technical level. The VIGRE Seminar, intended for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, discusses recent trends in mathematics and interesting applications as well as career opportunities. On Career Day, a variety of highly successful alumni give presentations on their work experiences and how mathematics has been useful to them in their current careers. We are proud of the outstanding successes of our students, including the following national awards. In the Fall of 2000 a team of our honors students won second place in the famous Putnam exam. Two of our undergraduates, Kannan Soundararajan in 1995 and Sean McLaughlin in 2000, won the Morgan Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematics by an Undergraduate, given jointly each year by the American Mathematical Society, Mathematical Association of America, and Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics to the current undergraduate who has done the best research in mathematics. McLaughlin solved a long-standing problem in combinatorial geometry called the dodecahedral conjecture which he started working on as an REU project with Professor Tom Hales. Jing Li won the 1994 Schafer Prize awarded to an undergraduate woman for excellence in mathematics. Catherine Grasso and Jie Li were runner-ups in 1998 and 1999. Our honors program is esteemed throughout the country. It will provide you with an excellent education in mathematics and its applications, fun and rewarding relationships during your college years, and prepare you well for your future. The technical requirements of the honors program, such as required courses, can be found here.