Can't take Real Analysis

[kawaiiresa]

I registered for classes months ago and planned on taking Real Analysis. However, this morning, I found out a class that I need to take for my major to graduate has moved to the same time slot. I really need to take both courses, but now I can only take the one needed for graduation (there is only one section of both of these classes). I will be applying to graduate schools this fall, and I know most of them look for Real Analysis. Should I mention the schedule conflict at all in my statement of purpose? Would schools understand? Thanks for the advice. 

[fluffyj]

Maybe you can set up an independent reading course with a math professor in a real analysis text?

 

Most universities' math departments offer some form of independent reading courses and you could easily set one up with a professor and study the text yourself. Perhaps you can take the final exam of the regular real analysis class and still get credit for it? I think grad schools would understand if you had no choice but to take an independent course as long as you learned the material in the end.

[EdNeuroGrl]

Another option is to take an online course. Coursera for example can provide you with a certificate that you took the course and often they are taught by professors in major universities... it may not be a super great option, but at some point having the skills will be more important than checking it off your transcript. :-) I have done this for a bunch of my statistics graduate courses because the courses aren't offered but I need to have the skills for some other project.

[svent]

Can you take real analysis at a nearby school at a different time? Or in the spring/summer?

[GeoDUDE!]

Another option is to take an online course. Coursera for example can provide you with a certificate that you took the course and often they are taught by professors in major universities... it may not be a super great option, but at some point having the skills will be more important than checking it off your transcript. :-) I have done this for a bunch of my statistics graduate courses because the courses aren't offered but I need to have the skills for some other project.

 

This is not a good idea with Real Analysis, unless you have taken many analysis courses (doubtful, considering the sequence) or a very advanced student. At least for me, Real Analysis was the hardest course I took in undergrad. That being said, I wasn't a mathematics major, but a physics major. 

 

I haven't checked, but I'd be shocked to see an online real analysis course....

Edited August 10, 2015 by GeoDUDE!

[kawaiiresa]

Thank you for all of the suggestions. The math department is not offering any sort of independent study this semester and there aren't any other local colleges within reasonable driving distance offering the course. I believe this course is only offered in the fall as well. It seems like I won't be able to take the course at all this fall. Historically, it seems as it independent study is offered during the spring, so hopefully, I will be able to do an independent study of real analysis next semester. 

 

I did have a chance to talk with someone who sits on an admissions committee for biostatistics PhD programs over the summer, and he said that while it is preferred that students take real analysis before enrollment, there have been cases where PhD students took it either the summer before their first year or during their first semester. However, in the event that I cannot take the course before I graduate, should I mention this predicament at all in my statement of purpose (perhaps as a sort of small comment at the end)?

 

 

[svent]

I'd think you'd approach a professor about an independent study, not the department.

 

Anyway, if you take a master's level real analysis course after enrollment, it'll be pretty much the same thing as an undergrad class, maybe a little tougher or more rigorous. Of course you have to get in somewhere first.

 

There will be somewhere in the US where you could take it the summer before enrollment if you have the money and ability to move wherever for the summer.

[ace589]

Depending on the size of your university you may be able to find enough students willing to take it next semester that the department will offer it.  Maybe the professor can post a bulletin?  Alternatively a few universities  will offer it online.  Try to find one where out of state tuition is same as in state for part time and non degree enrollment.

[TakeruK]

In addition to the advice above, here are some suggestions:

1. Taking Real Analysis while in a graduate program doesn't necessarily mean taking a Masters level Real Analysis. It might actually mean taking the undergraduate level course. This might not count towards your PhD credit requirement so it would be an extra course.

2. Can you pull a Hermione and overload? I never heard of this before, but apparently, at my current PhD school, the undergrads here can purposely register for courses that have a time conflict if they get permission from both instructors and have a valid reason such as yours. I've TAed students who are only there for 1 out of 3 lectures per week (the other 2 out of 3 are in the other course)! You would have to do a lot of self-learning this way and if you have a friend who will take notes (or if the instructor agrees to make the course notes available to you), then it might be possible. Even if you have never heard of this at your school before, one big rule about academia I've learned is that you never know what is possible until you ask.