[Phys-L] Re: student mathematical capability

["Polvani, Donald G." <donald.polvani@NGC.COM>]

Mike Edmiston wrote:

> This is a curse of liberal-arts institutions.  And, by the way, it
doesn't work.

I graduated (40 years ago) from a liberal arts institution in Cambridge,
MA (actually, I believe Mike graduated from the same institution).  As a
physics major, I took 3 years of calculus (this included differential
equations, boundary value problems, and linear algebra).  I was allowed
to take, as an elective, a graduate semester course in complex variables
as well as a graduate semester course in quantum mechanics.  In addition
to the general electives all undergraduates had to take, I sampled
courses in economics, anthropology, and philosophy.  All of this fit in
with my physics major requirements at a rate of 4 courses per semester,
two semesters/year and a total of 4 years to graduate.  I went on to get
my PhD in physics from a similar liberal arts institution in New Haven,
CT and had no complaints about my physics training (or liberal arts
"broadening").

Has something changed in liberal arts institutions and physics majors
over the intervening years?

Don

Donald G. Polvani, Ph.D.
Advisory Engineer
Systems Engineering
Northrop Grumman Corp.
Annapolis, MD 21404
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