General Information

This class is an introduction to the theory of partial differential equations.

Prerequisites

MATH 2930, MATH 3270, or equivalent and experince with writing proofs (would benefit from taking a 3000-level MATH class).

Topics Covered

  • First-order quasilinear equations
  • Classification of second-order equations
  • Emphasis on maximum principles, existence, uniqueness, stability, Fourier series methods, approximation methods

Workload

  • Homeworks every other week. About 15 hours to complete [Spring 2023]

General Advice

  • Read the textbook [Spring 2023]
  • Make sure you actually understand the topics and are not just memorizing equations. [Fall 2025]

Testimonials

  • The class was very disorganized but Evans(the textbook) was very good to follow. The professor at the time was fast and was sometimes hard to keep up with but the material itself is well documented and explained in many textbooks. [Spring 2023]

  • This class shows you how to solve partial differential equations that are more complicated than the ones that you are typically expected to solve to in undergraduate physics classes (e.g. quasilinear pdes), though I definitely think it will be useful for physics. The class is definitely more conceptual than MATH 2930, for example. I would recommend this course for anyone interested in learning more about partial differential equations. [Fall 2025] (4/5)

Past Offerings