Math 776: Graph Theory (I)
Fall 2017 Course Syllabus

Instructor:  Prof. Linyuan Lu

Office: LC 400I, Email: lu@math.sc.edu

Office hours: Monday, Wednesday 1:00PM-2:00PM, and by appointment

Lecture time: MW & 2:20PM- 3:35PM, LC 303B

Credit Hours:  3

Textbook: Graph Theory, (4th or 5th edition) by Reinhard Diestel, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Graduate Texts in Mathematics, Volume 173, ISBN 978-3-642-14278-9 July 2016 (2010, 2005, 2000, 1997).

Overview: This is the first part of the year-long course on graph theory. This semester we will begin with basics of graph theory, and will cover fundamental subjects such as matchings, connectivities, planar graphs, coloring, and flows. Next semester we will cover special topics such as extremal graph theory, infinte graphs, ramsey theory, Hamilton cycles, random graphs, and tree width.

Learning Outcomes: Students will state fundamental concepts and classical theorems in graph theory. They will combine methods learned from this course and practice them at new problems. Students will demonstrate their problem-solving skills through homework and exams.

Subject Material:   We shall cover most material in first 6 chapers of the textbook, and part of chapter 7 if time is allowed.

Assessment:   The assessment consists of homework assigments, a mid-exam and a final exam. Homework will normally be assigned every other week. Each homework has 6 problems and you can select any 5 problems to solve. The total score of each homework is 10 points. You get a bonus point if you solve all 6 problems correctly.

The midterm exam is scheduled on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

The final exam time is 12:30pm--3:00pm Friday, December 15, 2017.

Grading: The breakup grades are homework 50%, midterm exam 25%, and final exam 25%. Your final grade is based on the percentage as follows.

Grading Scale

Grading Scale:

90-100% A

76-79% C+

60-65% D

86-89%   B+

70-75% C

0-59%   F

80-85%   B

66-69% D+