Placement Beyond Calculus III (Math 233)

A few incoming students may have had the opportunity to take a multivariable calculus course (Calculus III) in high school. Washington University does not award credit for courses taken in high school.

Students who have earned an "A" (or sometimes a "B") in a high school multivariable calculus course equivalent to our Math 233 may feel they can bypass Math 233.  We do not want students to have to take Math 233 unnecessarily--although students with just a "B" in their high school course might benefit from doing so.  (See the description below for Math 233.).

In such cases
  • the Mathematics Department will consider recommending that the student be deemed "proficient" on this material. No credit is awarded, but the student would be viewed as having completed Math 233 for the purposes of taking other course with Math 233 as a prerequisite, and

    •
  • if the student is in a major or school (such as Engineering) that requires Math 233, the Mathematics Department will recommend to the school or major department that the Math 233 requirement be considered fulfilled "by proficiency".  The final decision on this rests with the school or major department, but these recommendations are usually accepted.
In order to be considered for such a proficiency recommendation, the student should contact Professor Ron Freiwald (203A Cupples I)
and
               1) submit a syllabus for the high school course which includes, at a minimum, the name of the textbook (including the names of the authors) and a list of the chapters actually covered in the course

               2) request that the high school instructor for the course provide a letter or e-mail to Professor Ron Freiwald, briefly describing the course, class size, the student's performance, and whether then instructor recommends that the student should be considered proficient at multivariable calculus

If these are approved by the Math Department, then a notation to the effect that the Math Department recommnds waiving Math 233 wiill be entered on the student's permanent record.  (The exact language varies from school to school within the University.)

If a student bypasses Math 233, then appropriate courses to take next might be Math 127 (Differential Equations), Math 309 (Matrix Algebra), or Math 3200 (Elementary to Intermediate Statistics with Data Analysis).  The choice may depend, to some extent, on the student's school and plans for a major. The choice of courses can be discussed with Professor Freiwald.
If a student has taken a multivariable course equivalent to Math 233 at another college or university, and if the credits for that course were not counted toward fuilfilling the requirements for the high school diploma, then these credits can be transferred to Washington University. You should have the college send an official transcript of your work to your undergraduate school at Washington University (e.g., College of Arts & Sciences, or School of Engineering, or  ...).

Questions should be directed to Professor Ron Freiwald
Course Description for Mathematics 233 (Calculus III)

Differential and integral calculus of functions of two and three variables.  Vectors, curves and surfaces in space, partial derivatives, multiple integrals, line integrals, vector calculus through Green's Theorem.  Sample Syllabus for Math 233 (Spring 2008)