Overview

Meeting information

  • Meeting day: September 6-September 16, MTWRF
  • Time: 9am-1pm CT (week 1); 9am-5pm CT (week 2)
  • Location: 1155 E 60th St (room 142/138)

Instructional staff

Teaching assistants

  • Kaya Borlase
  • John Wang
  • Wenqian Zhang

Course description

This course surveys mathematical and statistical tools that are foundational to computational social science. Topics to be reviewed include mathematical notation and linear equations, calculus, linear algebra, probability theory, and statistical inference. Students are assumed to have encountered most of these topics previously, so that the camp serves as a refresher rather than teaching entirely new topics. Class sessions will emphasize problem solving and in-class exercises applying these techniques. Students who successfully complete the camp are situated to pass the MACSS math and statistics placement exam and enroll in computationally-enhanced or statistically theoretical course offerings at the University of Chicago without prior introductory coursework.

Who should take this course

  • Students in the MACCS program and the MAPSS QMSA concentration
  • MA and PhD students in the social sciences who have significant prior training and experience in mathematics and statistics and seek to complete the Certificate in Computational Social Science
  • Students looking for a slower-paced camp focused specifically on algebra, calculus, and probability should enroll in SOSC 30100 - Mathematics for Social Sciences. This three-week course makes no assumption of prior math/stats training.

Grades

This course may only be taken for pass/fail (non-credit). Assignments are comprised of daily problem sets. You are encouraged to work in groups, and the instructional staff is available for consultation during class hours. We expect most students should be able to finish the problem sets during class hours. Students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of ten problem sets to pass the camp.

Disability services

The University of Chicago is committed to diversity and rigorous inquiry from multiple perspectives. The MAPSS, CIR, and Computation programs share this commitment and seek to foster productive learning environments based upon inclusion, open communication, and mutual respect for a diverse range of identities, experiences, and positions.

This course is open to all students who meet the academic requirements for participation. Any student who has a documented need for accommodation should contact Student Disability Services (773-702-6000 or disabilities@uchicago.edu) and provide me (Dr. Soltoff) with a copy of your Accommodation Determination Letter as soon as possible.

Core texts

There are no required textbooks for the camp. Readings will be drawn from course notes. For topics where you have less confidence, supplementary readings are drawn from:

Course format

Each day’s problem set(s) will be released at 5pm Chicago time the night before the date on the course schedule below. I strongly encourage you to complete the required readings that evening.

Each day you are invited to come to campus between 9am-1pm in week 1 and between 9am-5pm in week 2 to work on the problem sets in small groups. Myself or a TA will be available to answer any questions you have about the readings or the problem sets. You may leave as soon as you are finished with the problem set, and it should be submitted before 5pm or 8pm that evening.

If you have questions or confusions about the material or problem sets, come speak to a TA. I recognize not all students will be able to utilize these hours. You can also post questions on the discussion thread for that day’s material and myself or a TA will respond as soon as possible.

I also have office hours available by appointment. You can schedule them by sending an email. Feel free to meet with me to discuss any concepts or questions regarding the material in the math camp, as well as any other questions you have about the MACSS program, the MAPSS QMSA program or upcoming fall quarter.

Problem sets

Each problem set is designed to take no more than three hours. If you are spending more than three hours on a problem set, you should make sure you are asking questions when you are confused. All problem sets will be submitted via Canvas. For each problem set, write out your answers to each exercise on paper and show your work. You will need to scan your answers to a PDF or Word Doc to upload on Canvas. If you do not have a scanner at home, you can use your phone to scan your work. A couple recommended scanning apps are:

It is crucial you show your work on your responses, otherwise you will receive an incomplete for the assignment. I care more about the process you follow to get the answer, rather than the answer itself. And please make sure your writing is legible!

Course schedule

Date Topic
6-Sept Linear equations, inequalities, sets and functions, quadratics, and logarithms
7-Sept Sequences, limits, continuity, derivatives
8-Sep Critical points and approximation
9-Sep Linear algebra
12-Sep Functions of several variables and optimization with several variables; Integration and integral calculus
13-Sep Sample space and probability; Discrete random variables
14-Sep General random variables; Multivariate distributions
15-Sep Properties of random variables and limit theorems; Classical statistical inference
16-Sep Maximum likelihood estimation and linear regression; Bayesian statistical inference