Three semesters of calc at my college = 2 semesters at MIT?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the comparison of calculus course structures and content between a local college in Florida and MIT. Participants explore the differences in course credit, content coverage, and overall educational value of the calculus courses required for a physics major.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether MIT's calculus courses cover more material in fewer courses compared to their college's three-semester sequence.
  • Another participant suggests that course content varies widely and that some material may be skipped regardless of the institution.
  • A participant provides details about MIT's course structure, indicating that their calculus courses involve more hours of homework and lecture, which may imply a more intensive learning experience.
  • There is a suggestion that the participant may be receiving less educational value from their courses compared to MIT's offerings.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the comparison of course content and credit hours, with no consensus reached on whether one program is definitively better than the other.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that course structures and content can vary significantly between institutions, and there may be assumptions about the equivalence of credit hours that are not fully addressed.

Who May Find This Useful

Students considering transfer credits, those evaluating calculus courses at different institutions, and individuals interested in the academic rigor of various college programs.

Ascendant78
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Three semesters of calc at my college = 2 semesters at MIT?

I'm curious... at my college, I'm currently fulfilling my prerequisites for my AA with a physics major. For my state (Florida), the prereqs. for math include 3 calc courses, Calc I, Calc II, and Calc III (with ODE as a suggested but not required course). However, looking at MIT calculus courses for freshmen, they offer Single Variable Calculus and Multivariable Calculus courses that seem to cover all the same information. Each of ours earn you 4 credit hours, though I don't know what the two MIT courses earn.

So, does MIT cram more into the same credit hours, do they give more credit hours for each course, or is ours possibly more extensive? From what I skimmed over, it seems like their initial calc course covers both our Calc I and at least a decent portion of our Calc II materials, though I'm not sure to what extent. I'm just a bit concerned that I might be getting less out of my course hours after looking at theirs?
 
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sigh..

Take it at your local state university and then compare.
 
Courses vary. Calculus is usually 2-4 semesters or 3-6 quarters. No matter where you take it some things will be skipped over. If you care about such things just learn the extra stuff. While there are differences much of the material is the same everywhere.
 
18.01 and 18.02 are 5-0-7's, which means there are 5 hours a week of lecture and recitation and 7 hours a week of homework. MIT awards 12 units (5+7) of credit, which is 1/30th of what is required to graduate. This would be about 4 hours.

You probably are getting less from your courses than MIT's. But I don't see there's much to be done about it.
 
Ok, thanks for the clarification.
 

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