Continuing Education
Q: As a mathematical amateur no longer attending university, I miss the stimulation
of taking a math course. If my interest were modern languages (for example), I
could take what they call 'continuing education' courses at almost any college
or university, but for the mathematical enthusiast these institutions seemingly
have nothing. Can anybody suggest a comparable alternative?
A:Why does 'continuing education' not include (at least potentially) math? At one
university I know (George Mason U.), they have a category called 'Extended Studies',
open more-or-less to anyone paying the tuition, and it is certainly possible to take
courses (including graduate-level) under that dispensation. There may be limits on
how many you can take, etc., but it is routinely used by non-students who want to
sample a course or two, for genuine 'continuing education', or as a way to help
decide if they want to enroll in a degree program. (And if they do, the courses
taken under Extended Studies count.) Not all colleges/universities are going to be
that open, nor should they be. But many are. The kind of program that would be
ideal for you is the Johns Hopkins Part-time Programs in Science/Engineering
(http://www.apl.jhu.edu/), which has math courses (which I've taken.) You are
probably not near the JH area (Baltimore/Washington), but I mention it to indicate
that such programs do exist. These programs, like Mason, consciously cater to a
broad professional audience, people already working in a field who would like to
take a course here-and-there, or even work on an advanced degree in the evening.
For that to be possible the university must be located in an area that has such