UnitLevel 4Postgraduate

MTH4111 Differential geometry

Faculty of Science

MTH4111 Differential geometry is a level 4, 6-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Science, offered in 2025 in Semester 2 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.

Credit points
6
Offered in 2025
Semester 2
Clayton
Assessment
Exam 50%
and 1 other task

This is the 2025 handbook entry. See the 2026 entry.

Reviews

No reviews yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to review MTH4111.

Requisites

Before MTH4111

No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.

After MTH4111

No unit lists MTH4111 as a prerequisite in the 2025 handbook.

Enrolment rules

COREQUISITE: Enrolment in the Master of Mathematics.

PROHIBITION: MTH5111

Equivalent units

The same content under another code. Only one of them counts.

Overview

Manifolds are topological spaces that are locally homeomorphic to Euclidean space. A differentiable structure on a manifold makes it possible to generalize many concepts from calculus in Euclidean spaces to manifolds. This is a course on differentiable manifolds and related basic concepts, which are the common ground for differential geometry, differential topology, and geometric analysis.

Foundational topics covered in the unit include: Smooth manifolds and coordinate systems, submanifolds, tangent and cotangent bundles, tensor bundles, tensor fields, Lie derivatives and tensor derivations.

This unit will also cover advanced topics and applications such as: degree theory, de Rham cohomology, symplectic geometry  and classical mechanics, Riemmanian geometry, comparison geometry, Lie groups and homogeneous spaces.

Offerings in 2025

Teaching periodCampusMode
Second semesterClaytonOn campus

Assessment

  • Continuous assessmentWritten
    50%
  • Final assessment - Exam (3 hours and 10 minutes)Examination
    50%

Learning outcomes

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

  1. 1

    Apply expert differential geometric techniques to solve problems that arise in pure and applied mathematics.

  2. 2

    Construct coherent and precise logical arguments.

  3. 3

    Develop and extend current techniques in differential geometry so that they can be applied to new situations in novel ways.

  4. 4

    Communicate complex ideas effectively.

Workload and teaching

  • Seminars36 hours
  • Applied sessions12 hours
  • Three hours of seminars;
  • One hour of applied class and
  • Eight hours of independent study per week.

Contacts

Chief Examiners
Professor Todd Oliynyk
Unit Coordinators
Professor Todd Oliynyk

Common questions

What are the prerequisites for MTH4111?

MTH4111 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.

When is MTH4111 offered?

In 2025, MTH4111 runs in Semester 2 at Clayton.

Does MTH4111 have an exam?

Yes. The exam is worth 50% of the final mark, alongside 1 other task.

More details

Credit points
6
Level
4
Study level
Postgraduate
Faculty
Faculty of Science
Organisational unit
School of Mathematics
Type
Coursework
EFTSL
0.125
Student contribution
SCA Band 1
Study abroad
Available
Handbook years
2020202120222023202420252026