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CO 431Symmetric Functions

Units
0.50
Faculty
Mathematics
Subject
Combinatorics and Optimization

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 3 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

The ring of symmetric functions, standard bases, the Hall inner product. Young tableaux. The Robinson-Schensted-Knuth correspondence, the hook-length formula, the Jacobi-Trudi formula, the Pieri rule, the Littlewood-Richardson rule. Representation theory of the symmetric groups. Enumeration of plane partitions. Enumeration of maps on surfaces. Other topics.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • PMATH336 - Introduction to Group Theory with Applications (0.50)
      • PMATH347 - Groups and Rings (0.50)
    • Earned a minimum cumulative overall average of 80

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00165039 / 10MW 14:30–15:50

Reviewed on UW Flow

100% liked it63% easy88% useful

From 2 ratings and 1 comment on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Super fun course if you're interested in combinatorics. The hardest part of the course is the lectures, which can be hard to follow because of how many different topics you need to have a decent understanding of. The marked components were very fair, and we weren't required to have a perfect understanding of everything that was covered.

    Dec 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

One post or comment in 1 thread mentions CO 431, May 2024 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Spring 2024

2A math courses selection how doable is five major courses? 10 points, 13 comments

“Honours Math, for 2A courses selection I'm choosing between the following two plans Plan A: Math 237 Stat 230 CO 250 CS246 + CLAS104 Plan B: Math 237 Stat 230 CO 250 CS246 + Math235 given that i'm …”

u/KLWG-: “I do CO330/431/456/450/442 and ECON102 in my 3B. I suggest to try how far you can go and drop some if you feel burned out.”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar