Math 348, Computational Linear Algebra, Fall 2026
Syllabus
Section 26719
MW 10:10-12:05 1S-112
| Instructor: | Joseph Maher |
| Office: | 1S-222 |
| Office hours: | M 9:05-9:55, M 1:25-2:15, W 1:25-2:15 (in 1S-214) |
| Webpage: | http://www.maher.org.uk/~math/teaching |
| Email: | joseph.maher@csi.cuny.edu |
| Phone: | (718) 982-3623 |
Important Dates (http://www.csi.cuny.edu/currentstudents/academiccalendars/)
Text: Numerical Linear Algebra by Rachel Thomas
Homework: Homework will be assigned in class, quizzes, etc. I encourage you to discuss strategies for solving the homework problems with other students; however, your final write-up of the problems must be done entirely on your own.
Grading:
| Homework/Attendance | 25% |
| Midterm | 25% |
| Paper/Presentation | 25% |
| Final | 25% |
You must take the final exam at the time scheduled by the university.
Method of Study: Optimal Method of Study: (1.) Come to class (attendance is mandatory). (2.) Read the relevant sections after class. (3.) Do the homework. (4.) Compare your solutions with other students. (5.) Come to office hours or the help room with any remaining questions.
Help: Email is the best way to contact me. Come and see me during my office hours! Free math tutoring is also available (http://www.math.csi.cuny.edu/Students/Tutoring).
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory.
Disability policy: Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable academic accommodations if determined eligible by the Office for Disability Services. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of student’s eligibility from the Office of Disability Services, which is located in 1P-101. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate contact with the Office for Disability Services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.
Integrity policy: CUNY’s Academic Integrity Policy is available online at https://csicuny.smartcatalogiq.com/en/current/undergraduate-catalog/academic-policies-and-procedures/academic-integrity-plagiarism-and-cheating/
ROLE IN CURRICULUM
This course will satisfy a 300-level elective requirement for B.S. majors in Mathematics, Computer Science and the joint CS-Math degree. This course may be an elective or required course in a future Data Science and AI major.
LEARNING GOALS AND ASSESSMENT PLAN
| LEARNING OBJECTIVE | EXAMPLE OF EVIDENCE |
|---|---|
| Students will be able to find canonical forms for matrices. | When the class is being assessed, the final exams will include embedded questions to assess student performance on these topic-specific learning goals. |
| Students will be able to find exponentials of matrices. | Same. |
| Students will be able to apply factorization algorithms. | Same. |
| Students will be able to apply principal component analysis algorithms. | Same. |
Undergraduate Catalog Course Description
MTH 348 - Computational Linear Algebra (4 cr)
Course Title
Computational Linear Algebra
Catalog Description
Builds on the material in MTH 338 Linear Algebra with an emphasis on effective computational approaches as a foundation for further study in data science, machine learning and AI. Topics include matrix canonical forms, exponentials, tensor products, singular value decompositions, principal component analysis and compressed sensing. Computational aspects include stability, speed, resource usage, effective factorization methods, stochastic gradient descent and L1 methods for sparse matrices.
Credit Hours
Minimum 4
Max 4
Academic Progress Units 4
Requirement Designation
Regular Liberal Arts
Prerequisites & Corequisites
Pre-requisite MTH 338
Components
Lecture
Contact Hours 4