The University of Augsburg and its Institute for Mathematics
Augsburg is an old German town, founded 2000 years ago by the Romans. In the Middle Ages, it was one of the main financial centers of Europe. Today it is a flourishing industrial center of 500,000 inhabitants, though the old center has been conserved. Augsburg is half an hour by train from Munich and all German and most other European cities have excellent connections to Augsburg via very efficient high speed trains (naturally, you can also drive, or fly via Munich). The University of Augsburg (founded in 1972) has 13,000 students, mainly in liberal arts. There also is a rapidly growing Physics Department. Besides a teacher education program, the Department of Mathematics offers two Diploma degrees: in Mathematics and in Economical Mathematics ("Wirtschaftmathematik"). The Department of Mathematics has 22 tenured Professors and appr. 50 medium level faculty. There are approximately 700 students in mathematics (300/400 in Mathematik/Wirtschaftsmathematik).
Information about the Mathematical Graduate Program
The Departments of Mathematics has groups working in Algebra, Differential Geometry and Analysis on Manifolds, Dynamical Systems, Control Theory, Optimization and Numerical Analysis, Computer Science, Probability and Mathematical Statistics.
Studying at the University of Augsburg
The University of Augsburg operates on a semester basis with Winter Semester (November I February 28) and Summer Semester (May 1 -July 3 1). Graduate students from Iowa State University will be treated as students after the Vordiplom, with access to all graduate courses. Usually, courses are given in German. However, since every German mathematics student is expected to understand and to speak English, special arrangements will be possible. Computing facilities, library etc. are available to all students. In general, courses completed successfully at the University of Augsburg can be transferred to meet graduation requirements at ISU, and vice versa. After selection by the Selection Committee at ISU, prospective students have to apply to the University of Augsburg for admission to the Graduate Program. Upon arrival in Augsburg, they have to apply for a permission to study in Germany (which is granted routinely).
Financial Aspects
German universities do not charge tuition. The agreement between Iowa State University and the University of Augsburg includes support for one "Studentische Hilfskraft" (teaching assistantship) for American students at Augsburg per year. Payment is about 650 DM (i.e. 400 U.S. Dollar) per month (4 months for the Winter Semester, 3 months for the Summer Semester). Additional support will be available from a group of sponsors, called the "Friends of the University of Augsburg". Total support (DM 1,200 per month for 9 months) will be sufficient to pay the expenses for a single student, which are around DM 1,000 per month, and to do some traveling. The university administration helps to find student apartments, private or in a dormitory. The "Sprachenzentrum" of the university offers free German language courses for those students who already know some German; to participate, they have to pass an initial test.
Being a Teaching Assistant at the University of Augsburg
Teaching assistants at the Institute for Mathematics perform their duties by holding recitation classes (20-30 students) and grading written exams for lower level courses (calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, numerical analysis.) The work load is appr. 15 hours per week including preparation time. The American students will hold their courses in English. Thus, no knowledge of German is necessary for participation in this exchange program (though, certainly, it will help).
| Contacts: | |
| In Ames: | Professor Dr. W. Kliemann Department of Mathematics Iowa State University 448 Carver Hall Ames, IA 5001 1, U.S.A. |
| In Augsburg: | Professor Dr. F. Colonius Institut für Mathematik Universität Augsburg 89 Augsburg, Germany |
| Math Dept Homepage | Systems Theory | Last updated: 5/6/97 |