Curriculum

There are four main subject areas covered in math competitions: Algebra, Combinatorics, Geometry, and Number Theory. Our goal at the AwesomeMath Summer Program is to build and hone students problem solving skills in these four fields. We offer 12 courses, each of which lasts for the duration of the camp and covers one of the four subjects mentioned above (though there will be some overlap between disciplines, many techniques are helpful for different kinds of problems.) Each course meets 5 times per week, with a lecture and a problem session taught by one or two instructors. The instructor(s) of each course will teach the 90-minute lecture, and supervise the 90-minute problem sessions following the lecture. Because communication plays an important role in developing problem solving skills, students will be asked to participate actively in the problem sessions, i.e., to ask questions and present and defend solutions. Each student will select two courses, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, based on the following criteria:

  • Students personal choices and interests (please see below for course selection tips);
  • Students mathematical background and ability as reflected in the personal application, recommendation letters, and achievements on AMC8, AMC10/12, AIME, ARML, USAMO, and AwesomeMath Summer Camp.

When you arrive, we will go over your selections with you to ensure that you are in the courses that suit you best. Switching between courses will be allowed only in exceptional cases and only during the first week. Permission to change will be granted based on the recommendations of the academic teams.

How Students Should Select Courses

Students should complete the course selection survey and contact AwesomeMath staff via email about the course selections as soon as possible. To keep the teaching quality high and ensure individual attention to each student, each class has a maximum size. (Popular courses might have multiple classes, but it is important for us to know this in advance to make such arrangements.) We grant students course selections, following our guidelines, on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Visit the course descriptions page to view a list of course together with descriptions and sample problems. Check out our course selection tips to help you decide.