MAS4203 was a great course and was very manageable with Dr. Robinson. The class was exam-heavy, but the exams were fair and closely reflected the homework. The grading was generous, and the course was a useful introduction to number theory.

The course covers divisibility, primes, greatest common divisors, congruences, Wilson’s theorem, Euler’s phi function and arithmetic functions more generally, the Möbius function and inversion, quadratic residues, Legendre symbols, and quadratic reciprocity. It was very useful for strengthening proof-writing and problem-solving skills while introducing a beautiful area of higher mathematics.

Dr. Robinson is an excellent professor. He is passionate, funny, caring, lectures clearly, and is always happy to help. He genuinely cares about his students and makes difficult material much more manageable and enjoyable. He was very clear that the exams would closely reflect the homework.

Study the homework problems carefully because they are excellent preparation for the exams. Go to office hours if you need help, keep up with the material, and practice the proofs until you can reproduce them confidently. The course moves quickly, but it is very fair.