Professor: Dupuis Course format: Seminar	Number of respondents: 10 Total Enrollment: 10
Class Composition: Froshs: 10 Sophs: 0 Jrs: 0 Srs: 0 Concs: 2 Non-Concs: 6 Don't Know: 2

Instructor Average: 1.98 Course Average: 1.82

Everyone has heard the old statement that mathematics is used in everything. “Introduction to Mathematical Modeling” is a class that does more than repeat that saying; it actually shows how math is used in fields such as biology, economics, and music. It teaches the methods of modeling something into a mathematical system. There are no official prerequisites for this course, although basic calculus is assumed, and some linear algebra is helpful.

Professor Dupuis received good reviews from his students. The setting was a small, seminar environment, and so the class was happy with the amount of individual attention that they received. In fact, some felt that Dupuis could be sidetracked too easily from the main course of the lectures. However, they lauded his organization of the material as very effective, and said he was able to explain concepts in a very logical fashion. Reviewers appreciated that he made efforts to encourage discussion and to interact with the students.

There were no readings or textbooks used for this course. The homework consisted of weekly problem sets that students said didn’t take too much time to complete. There was also one midterm and a final project at the end of the semester. Together, the work met the expectations of some, and fell below those of others.

Overall, respondents spent an average of two hours per week outside of class to complete the necessary work. They thought that “Introduction to Mathematical Modeling” was a good foray into the world of applied mathematics. They said the material was good because it was applicable to the real world and that this helped to keep their interest high. They also liked that the workload was not too heavy. For a fun Applied Math course, consider shopping this one.

View AM/0009 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.