Course Summary

The purpose of Math 322, Advanced Linear Algebra, is to delve deeper into the structure of vector spaces and their transformations. The abstraction and mathematical maturity developed in abstract algebra allow students to approach the content of this course with a new set of tools. Along the way we will study three main players: vector spaces (including basic qualities of vectors, invariants of vector spaces, and canonical vector spaces constructions such as dual spaces, quotient spaces, and linear forms), transformations (including the formal construction of determinants and a review of canonical forms), and orthogonality (from the basics of inner product spaces to the spectral theorems). If time allows, the course will finish with a discussion of modules, a construction which generalizes vector spaces by replacing the scalar field with a scalar ring.

Course Instructor

The professor for this class is Andy Schultz. His office is on the fourth floor of the Science Center, room W408. You are highly encouraged to attend office hours, and you never need an appointment to do so. Office hours are listed in the course syllabus. If these office hours don't fit with your schedule, contact the instructor so that he can either adjust when "official" office hours are held or set up an appointment to help you outside of office hours.

You can contact the instructor at . Though he is always happy to receive emails from you with questions or concerns about the course, he can't guarantee that he'll be able to promptly reply to emails late at night or over the weekend. If you do contact the professor by email, please be sure to follow standard email etiquette. In particular, please make sure you include a greeting and signature and avoid abbreviations. If you're contacting him to ask about a problem, please be sure to specify what the problem asks (as opposed to asking something like "I can't get problem 2 and need your help").