2 comments

  • mamonster 8 hours ago

    Just look at qualifying exams for some PhD program in the relevant area.

    For example, if we take abstract algebra (I assume you mean rings, groups and fields), I found this

    https://www.math.kent.edu/~white/qual/

    I had a look at for example the Aug19 one, 80% of the problems are doable for a 3rd year Bachelor student and close to what you would see in a term exam for the topic (except for the Galois stuff because AFAIK Galois theory is a separate optional course in most undergrad degrees).

      _willhf 8 hours ago

      Thanks for the reply. That looks like a great resource, and I’ll check it out.

      What I was missing is the verification aspect. Someone can work through old quals on their own, but there’s no standard way to demonstrate to a third party that they actually met a particular bar, short of enrolling in a program. I’m curious whether people see that gap as something that matters, or whether it’s simply not something most people care about.