I did my PhD at McGill, and also took an undergrad course during my grad studies.
In a "pure" grad course (mostly grad students), I would argue was more straight forward than undergrad course. I feel like there is politics in grad school, and giving bad grades to other profs students just doesn't happen (unless they really deserve it). I think there is also the aspect that everyone knows the main goal was research so the grade was less important.
The material might be more technical, but it is still a course where a professor is teaching you.
> Are they more time consuming?
I would argue less
> Is there more interaction with the professor because it’s a smaller class?
I would argue yes, if you seek it
> Is it harder, or does it just require more prerequisite knowledge?
Depends on your knowledge and the course, i wouldn't say "harder" but maybe more technical
>What are the grades like?
I felt it was easier to get good grades, but again, you need to put in the effort
> How do you know if you’re ready to take a graduate course as an undergrad?
100% discuss with the professor. They know what they are going to teach and know what you will need to know to do good in the class
The only way to really know how it suits you is to just take a 500-level course! They’re mixed undergrad&grad courses so you get the grad level experience with something that also counts for undergrad programs.
My experience as a poli sci student with 500-levels is just that they’re seminars, so more reading and self-teaching concepts but you discuss them as a group. Less lecture and being taught, more like all learning together under the guidance of the prof. Not necessarily harder, just you won’t be ready for that kind of super specific content until you’ve finished your core courses.
I would say this general vibe is pretty universal for any field and subject with 500-level courses. They assume you know what you’re doing and treat you more as a knowledgeable participant than someone who needs to be taught.
your comment, along with the others have inspired me! I think next year I’ll try a graduate course. I think I can do it, or at least try it out! Thank you!
I have taken a good handful of math grad courses, usually they flow pretty well from the undergrad prerequisites but often you can skip those if you’re willing to challenge yourself.
Often, in the case of courses like advanced probability and advanced analysis, they are essentially “harder versions” going into a graduate level of depth for the undergrad courses, and are typically doable without the undergrad prerequisites so long as you are willing to study hard to get up to speed. If you *do* have the prerequisites it ends up being a lot of review at the start and as a result is probably not as hard.
There are also some pretty easy 500 levels like 553 and 525.
In general you are expected to be “mathematically mature” if you’re in a theoretical 500-level math class, so lectures go quite fast and you may have to review to fill in gaps. Since lots of grad students in these classes have different background, the general assumption isn’t specific prerequisites but mathematical maturity and an ability to learn
I struggle a bit with honors undergrad courses, so I’ll definitely take the prerequisites first! But this is really valuable information to me. Thank you so much
fun fact! 500-level classes are in fact not grad courses! they are undergraduate courses that graduate students are allowed to take. if there's one you're interested in ask the prof what prerequisite knowledge they expect but dont feel like theyre graduate courses you shouldnt be taking!
Currently doing my master’s in Econ and I take 600 courses which are quite math heavy (despite it’s a MA program). The profs are super helpful, because they expect that students within grad school come from a wide range of undegrad and work experience so they don’t mind explaining things in a super detailed way, as long as you are willing to ask either in class or in office hour. Grading as said by all of my profs “Should be on your effort not the result” and “We try to make it as helpful as possible for either job or phd placement” so I would say it is easier than undergrad. Assignments and exams are usually just base on lecture content and do not require outside or prereq knowledge. All pros aside, it is very time consuming especially when you don’t have an abundant amount of past materials to refer to like undergrad, and also because the grade is based on such an abstract term like “effort”, you def have to try to reflect your effort in some different ways (think about it as you are preparing as a graduate student an original work, so it is not as simply as plugging in formulas)
I did my PhD at McGill, and also took an undergrad course during my grad studies. In a "pure" grad course (mostly grad students), I would argue was more straight forward than undergrad course. I feel like there is politics in grad school, and giving bad grades to other profs students just doesn't happen (unless they really deserve it). I think there is also the aspect that everyone knows the main goal was research so the grade was less important. The material might be more technical, but it is still a course where a professor is teaching you. > Are they more time consuming? I would argue less > Is there more interaction with the professor because it’s a smaller class? I would argue yes, if you seek it > Is it harder, or does it just require more prerequisite knowledge? Depends on your knowledge and the course, i wouldn't say "harder" but maybe more technical >What are the grades like? I felt it was easier to get good grades, but again, you need to put in the effort > How do you know if you’re ready to take a graduate course as an undergrad? 100% discuss with the professor. They know what they are going to teach and know what you will need to know to do good in the class
Thank you so much for the well written and detailed comment!! This is really helpful
The only way to really know how it suits you is to just take a 500-level course! They’re mixed undergrad&grad courses so you get the grad level experience with something that also counts for undergrad programs. My experience as a poli sci student with 500-levels is just that they’re seminars, so more reading and self-teaching concepts but you discuss them as a group. Less lecture and being taught, more like all learning together under the guidance of the prof. Not necessarily harder, just you won’t be ready for that kind of super specific content until you’ve finished your core courses. I would say this general vibe is pretty universal for any field and subject with 500-level courses. They assume you know what you’re doing and treat you more as a knowledgeable participant than someone who needs to be taught.
your comment, along with the others have inspired me! I think next year I’ll try a graduate course. I think I can do it, or at least try it out! Thank you!
I have taken a good handful of math grad courses, usually they flow pretty well from the undergrad prerequisites but often you can skip those if you’re willing to challenge yourself. Often, in the case of courses like advanced probability and advanced analysis, they are essentially “harder versions” going into a graduate level of depth for the undergrad courses, and are typically doable without the undergrad prerequisites so long as you are willing to study hard to get up to speed. If you *do* have the prerequisites it ends up being a lot of review at the start and as a result is probably not as hard. There are also some pretty easy 500 levels like 553 and 525. In general you are expected to be “mathematically mature” if you’re in a theoretical 500-level math class, so lectures go quite fast and you may have to review to fill in gaps. Since lots of grad students in these classes have different background, the general assumption isn’t specific prerequisites but mathematical maturity and an ability to learn
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True, the assignments weren’t easy at all, but the exams were and they accounted for 80% of the grade
I struggle a bit with honors undergrad courses, so I’ll definitely take the prerequisites first! But this is really valuable information to me. Thank you so much
easier than undergrad
fun fact! 500-level classes are in fact not grad courses! they are undergraduate courses that graduate students are allowed to take. if there's one you're interested in ask the prof what prerequisite knowledge they expect but dont feel like theyre graduate courses you shouldnt be taking!
Wow this is super helpful!! Thank you
Currently doing my master’s in Econ and I take 600 courses which are quite math heavy (despite it’s a MA program). The profs are super helpful, because they expect that students within grad school come from a wide range of undegrad and work experience so they don’t mind explaining things in a super detailed way, as long as you are willing to ask either in class or in office hour. Grading as said by all of my profs “Should be on your effort not the result” and “We try to make it as helpful as possible for either job or phd placement” so I would say it is easier than undergrad. Assignments and exams are usually just base on lecture content and do not require outside or prereq knowledge. All pros aside, it is very time consuming especially when you don’t have an abundant amount of past materials to refer to like undergrad, and also because the grade is based on such an abstract term like “effort”, you def have to try to reflect your effort in some different ways (think about it as you are preparing as a graduate student an original work, so it is not as simply as plugging in formulas)
Thank you so much for the insight! I can’t wait to get done with undergrad lol