Fast Facts about Mathcamp

  • Year founded: 1993
  • Annual enrollment: 110 - 120 students
  • Student to Staff Ratio: 4:1
  • Location and Length: Mathcamp is held on a different college campus each year and lasts for five weeks. In 2012, Mathcamp will be at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA.
  • Topics: Material at camp ranges from beginning to the most advanced available to high school students. Some classes discuss topics in theoretical mathematics, such as abstract algebra, topology, or combinatorics (if you don't know what these are, many students coming to camp don't; come to find out!). There are also classes on applied mathematics, such as physics, quantum computation, or cognitive science.
  • Scheduling: You choose what classes to go to and how much mathematics you want to do each day. Multiple classes are offered simultaneously on different topics and at varying difficulty levels.
  • Projects: Students often work on projects, individually or in groups, under faculty supervision. Projects can be anything from better understanding a particular topic, to working out a problem in detail, to attempting to make progress on an open research question. Projects are presented at the end of camp in a project fair.
  • Instructors: Classes are taught by college faculty and graduate students from top universities across the country. Above all, our teachers are always actively involved in mathematical research and are here to share their passion with others. If you come to camp, you'll eat meals with your instructors, play sports or board games or do other activities with them, and live in the same dorms. We like to create an environment where it's easy to ask about math, and also to get to know your teachers on a level that's not just about math.
  • Visiting Speakers: Mathcamp invites visitors to camp each year to broaden students' mathematical perspective. Visitors are chosen for outstanding research and teaching skills. Typically, visitors will give camp-wide colloquia to present a topic of interest and will also give continuing talks over one or two weeks at camp.