Syllabus

Lecture

Thu 10am-12pm @ CHS 51-279

Instructor

Dr. Hua Zhou
Office: CHS 21-254A
Phone: (310)794-7835
Email: huazhou@ucla.edu
Office hours: Thu @ 1pm-3pm

Teaching Assistant

TBA XXX@ucla.edu
Office hours: TBA @ ???

Course Description

This 2-unit course is designed for incoming first year biostatistics MS and PhD students. It will review, and in some cases introduce, specialized topics in Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus and Scientific Computing that are considered to be particularly pertinent for the subsequent courses in our MS and PhD curriculum. It will not be a required course, and incoming students with more than the core mathematical preparation required for admission into the MS program may not need to take it.

See the schedule page for a tentative list of topics.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites are the same as those for admission into biostatistics MS program. Students should have seen one course in basic linear algebra at the level of UCLA’s Math 33A (using a textbook such as O. Bretscher, Linear Algebra, 5th Ed., Prentice Hall.) and a Calculus sequence at the level of UCLA’s Math 31AB (e.g. J. Rogawski, Calculus, 3rd Edition , W.H. Freeman & Co). Biostatistics MPH students will need to obtain consent from the instructor to take this course. Students with more advanced mathematical preparation prior to admission may not need to take this course and should consult with their academic advisors.

Course Webpage

https://ucla-biostat216-2019fall.github.io/

Course Materials

Required book:

• Banerjee and Roy, Linear Algebra And Matrix Analysis For Statistics, 2nd Edition, CRC Press (2014), UCLA library link

Recommended books (not required):

• Magnus and Neudecker, Matrix Differential Calculus With Applications in Statistics and Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2019), UCLA library link

• Minka, Old And New Matrix Algebra Useful for Statistics, (2000) https://tminka.github.io/papers/matrix/minka-matrix.pdf

• Peterson and Pedersen, The Matrix Cookbook, version 2012-11-15, https://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/~hwolkowi/matrixcookbook.pdf

Attendance

Class attendance is mandatory.

Homework

You will be required to hand in 4-6 homework assignments throughout the quarter.

Exam

There will be a take-home final exam.

Final Grade

Grades will be based on attendance (5%), homework (65%) and final exam (take-home) (30%).

UCLA ADA Policy

Students needing academic accommodation based on a disability should contact the Center for Accessible Education (CAE) at (310)825-1501 or in person at Murphy Hall A255. When possible, students should contact the CAE within the first two weeks of the term as reasonable notice is needed to coordinate accommodations. For more information visit https://www.cae.ucla.edu.

ADA Contact:
Nickey Woods
Center for Accessible Education
A255 Murphy Hall. Phone: (310)825-1501
TTY/TTD: (310)206-6083
Fax: (310)825-9656

Inclusivity

UCLA’s Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion provides resources, events, and information about current initiatives at UCLA to support equality for all members of the UCLA community. I hope that you will communicate with me or your TA if you experience anything in this course that does not support an inclusive environment, and you can also report any incidents you may witness or experience on campus to the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion on their website https://equity.ucla.edu.

Academic Integrity

Message about Academic Integrity to All UCLA Students from UCLA Dean of Students: UCLA is a community of scholars. In this community, all members including faculty staff and students alike are responsible for maintaining standards of academic honesty. As a student and member of the University community, you are here to get an education and are, therefore, expected to demonstrate integrity in your academic endeavors. You are evaluated on your own merits. Cheating, plagiarism, collaborative work, multiple submissions without the permission of the professor, or other kinds of academic dishonesty are considered unacceptable behavior and will result in formal disciplinary proceedings usually resulting in suspension or dismissal.

Forms of Academic Dishonesty: As specified in the UCLA Student Conduct Code, violations or attempted violations of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, multiple submissions or facilitating academic integrity:

• Allowing another person to take a quiz, exam, or similar evalution for you
• Using unauthorized material, information, or study aids in any academic exercise or examination – textbook, notes, formula list, calculators, etc.
• Unauthorized collaboration in providing or requesting assistance, such as sharing information
• Unauthorized use of someone else’s data in completing a computer exercise
• Altering a graded exam or assignment and requesting that I be regraded

Plagiarism: Presenting another’s words or ideas as if they were one’s own

• Submitting as your own through purchase or otherwise, part of or an entire work produced verbatim by someone else
• Paraphrasing ideas, data or writing without properly acknowledging the source
• Unauthorized transfer and use of someone else’s computer file as your own
• Unauthorized use of someone else’s data in completing a computer exercise

Multiple Submissions: Submitting the same work (with exact or similar content) in more than one class without permission from the instructor to do so. This includes courses you are currently taking, as well as courses you might take in another quarter.

Facilitating Academic Dishonesty: Participating in any action that compromises the integrity of the academic standards of the University; assisting another to commit an act of academic dishonesty

• Taking a quiz, exam, or similar evaluation in place of another person
• Allowing another student to copy from you
• Providing material or other information to another student with knowledge that such assistance could be used in any of the violations stated above (e.g., giving test information to students in other discussion sections of the same course)
• Altering data to support research
• Presenting results from research that was not performed
• Crediting source material that was not used for research

While you are here at UCLA, if you are unsure whether what you are considering doing is cheating, don’t take chances – ask your professor. In addition, avoid placing yourself in situations which might lead your professor to suspect you of cheating.

Alternatives to Academic Dishonesty

• Seek out help – Meet with your professor, ask for assistance as needed.
• Ask for an extension – if you explain your situation to your professor, she/he might be able to grant you an extended deadline for an upcoming assignment.
• See a counselor at Student Psychological Services, and/or your school, college or department – UCLA has many resources for students who are feeling the stresses of academic and personal pressures.

If you would like more information, please come see us at the Dean of Students’ Office in 1206 Murphy Hall, call us at (310)825-3871 or visit their website at https://www.deanofstudents.ucla.edu.