Why would I take an extra math course? What are the benefits of the program?
The calculus program at Michigan has won national awards for its effectiveness at teaching calculus concepts. It is very rigorous, and also very different from what most students experience in high school math. There is a lot more emphasis on translating from “English” into “Math”, and a de-emphasis of calculation.
DHSP is a problem-solving class, where we will do problems that are harder and more open-ended than those in the regular calculus classes. The idea is to take the tools of calculus and do something interesting with them, so in the end you’ll have an idea of what calculus is good for outside of math class. You’ll learn general strategies for dealing with hard problems, which will serve you well for the rest of your college career and beyond.
Of course, we also want everyone in DHSP to do well in the regular calculus classes too. So we’ll do some old exam problems, make review sheets, and have review sessions before exams.
We’ll also form a community around doing math, and that has proven to be a source of strength for many students in many ways. It will be a small class, and we do all our work in groups, so we’ll all get to know each other well.
I took AP calculus in high school, and I think I did pretty well on the AP exam. Am I eligible for DHSP?
What math class you start in will be determined by your online math placement test, your AP scores (if you took the AP test), and advice from your academic adviser during orientation. If you did well enough on the AP test, you will have the option to skip Calculus 1 and start at a higher level. That means you’ll have a decision to make, and at least two reasonable choices. On the one hand, skipping calculus 1 allows you to advance faster. On the other hand, taking calculus 1 allows you to get used to the way math is taught at Michigan, in a setting where the material is (at least somewhat) familiar. It will be up to you which way to go. One tool for approaching the problem is to try some old Calc 1 exams, to see how different they are from what you’ve seen before. (Be honest with yourself when grading.)
Only students who start in Calculus 1 are eligible for DHSP, but you are welcome (and encouraged) to apply for DHSP even if you think you may start at a different level.
Do I have to be great at math and love math and be a math major to be in the program?
No. You don’t have to be any of those things. DHSP contains students with a wide range of comfort with math.
What you do need to be is willing to engage with hard math problems with your peers. DHSP is an environment where you’re not under pressure to get a right answer, but you cannot be passive – you must participate, and not give up on hard problems. If you love math, you’ll find plenty to get excited about. If you struggle with math, you’ll find that many of your peers do as well. So you’ll struggle through together.
Do I have to take both Calc 1 and Calc 2 to be in the program?
Yes. DHSP is a year-long program, intended to get you through two semesters of calculus, so you can go on to major in math or science. The deal is: you commit to sticking it out for a full year of calculus, and the University, through DHSP, commits to supporting you for that year. You make that commitment when you sign the Statement of Intent form and accept an invitation to join DHSP.
Is this a scholarship program that will give me money?
No. But you’ll get lots of help with math, and lots of fellowship.
Will DHSP help my grades in Math 115 and Math 116?
Yes, very likely. Doing well in the regular calculus classes is one of our goals, though not the only one (see above). We will do some direct preparation for the Math 115 and 116 exams, but be aware that we will also do a lot of problems that are very different from exam problems. It’s important that DHSP students be willing to engage with both kinds of problems.
That said, between 2011 and 2015, 75% of DHSP students earned an A or B in Math 115, and 73% earned an A or B in Math 116. The numbers for a comparable control group are considerably lower.
Who is the instructor for the DHSP workshop?
Mark Conger received his Bachelor’s degree in math from Williams College, after which he worked for a number of years as a professional computer programmer. He completed his Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Michigan in 2007, where he has taught a number of classes including calculus and precalculus. His thesis was about the mathematics of card shuffling.
Mark has developed DHSP and taught the DHSP workshop for the past 16 years. He is the winner of the 2019 Golden Apple Award, the only University-wide teaching award at Michigan that is voted on and decided by students.
Who was Douglass Houghton, anyway?
Douglass Houghton (1809-1845) was the first science faculty member at the University of Michigan. He became Professor of Geology, Mineralogy, and Chemistry in 1838. At the time he accepted the professorship at the University of Michigan, he was also offered its presidency, but turned the offer down because he was too busy with his geological survey work.
Douglass Houghton was a remarkable individual. In addition to his university career, he practiced medicine in Detroit, was appointed the first geologist of the State of Michigan, was elected mayor of Detroit for two consecutive terms (1842-1845), was president of Detroit’s first Board of Education, and was a founder of the Association of American Geologists (now the American Association for the Advancement of Science). He was the Association’s president-elect at the time of his death in 1845.
The Douglass Houghton Scholars Program was founded in 2006 and named in his honor to encourage and promote careers in math and science.
