PMATH 365Differential Geometry
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Mathematics
- Subject
- Pure Mathematics
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
Curves and hypersurfaces in Euclidean space; integration and Stokes' Theorem; Gaussian and mean curvatures; Frenet-Serret frames and geodesics; Gauss-Bonnet Theorem.
Prerequisites
- Complete all of the following
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 5907 | 0 / 90 | MWF 12:30–13:20 |
| LEC 701 | 2319 | 42 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
Resources
Around the web
Found by uwloo’s link finder, which checks that each page names PMATH 365.
- notes.html Course notes · math.uwaterloo.ca · from Stephen New’s site Remove
- classnotes Course notes · tex.japorized.ink · posted on r/uwaterloo Nov 2020 Remove
Reviewed on UW Flow
85% liked it65% easy78% useful
From 34 ratings and 15 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Awresome but super hard with Karigiannis
Jan 2019 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Good course! If you took 237 you might need to pick up a bit more multivariable calc and get fluent with things like chain rule with matrices (instead of the tree thing) and differentiation of vector-valued functions. It's nothing too crazy, still lighter than the other PMATHs I took this term, but some effort is required.
May 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
I think this course is in a difficult position with the limit pre-requisites. There's so much underlying topological knowledge needed to know what's going on at a fundamental level that I just didn't have. Most of the topology material was presented passively through the course when the professor realized we didn't know it, but it should have been a more formal part of the course.
The main course content itself was interesting. Generalizes some of what is learned in MATH 237 by covering curves and surfaces (primarily in R^3) and how to do calculus on them. Proofs for many theorems felt clunky and undirected, but I think that's the analysis in the course coming to kill me. Happy I took it…Aug 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
fun & easy class if you take it with rux
May 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
A good extension (and perhaps some review) of Math 247
Apr 2024 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
50 posts and comments in 42 threads mention PMATH 365, December 2011 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
How is AMATH 333? 4 points, 4 comments
u/Personal-Werewolf-26: “… though some topics include differential forms/geo which would be things introduced in PMATH 365 which I am taking the Winter after, and topics like lie groups, manifolds, and tensors are completely foreign to me makes me a bit worried. …”
u/eranand04: “I know a whole bunch of ppl who took it/is taking it next term”
u/Personal-Werewolf-26: “Thx for the reply. I was wondering if they could let me know if would be tougher to come into 333 without having PMATH 365 first.”
Is this term doable 8 points, 4 comments
u/Personal-Werewolf-26: “AMATH 342, STAT 431, STAT 333, PMATH 365, PMATH 340 This will be my Winter 2025.”
u/Regular_Maybe5937: “Omg winter 2025 pmath 365 taught by xuemiao chen!!!!!”
Fall 2023
Advice for CS major who doesn’t like CS? 30 points, 7 comments
“I’m a 4A CS major who will graduate in 2025 on my current plan, but I haven’t found a job the past two years and throughout this degree I found I don’t even like CS that much. …”
u/Ok_Meeting_2592: “… \- pmath 352: Also offered in the spring and winter \- pmath 347: Offered Spring and Fall \- pmath 348: Offered Fall and Winter \- pmath 365: Offered Winter (take it next term!) \- pmath 450: Offered Winter \- 3 more 4xx pmath courses, depending on your interests. …”
Spring 2023
Suggestions for PMath grad courses in 4th year 1 point, 2 comments
u/peevedoldfart: “… I have the prerequisite material (I did PMath 365 & 465 last year, will have the whole analysis sequence, and most of the other algebra courses), but am kind of wary about PMath 833. …”
Easiest level 300/400 math course 24 points, 14 comments
“I know there is a post about this, but that is five years old, and looking at UWflow, some courses have been restructured. Any advice on what courses may still fit into this?”
u/sebasdrl: “PMATH 340/370/365”
Fall 2022
how to balance a heavy pmath load. 13 points, 8 comments
u/Offset_Diagram: “Hi there. Next term I have pmath351 , 352, 365 and 348. I know it sounds like hell and probably will be but I am wondering what your advice is for people who did a huge load like this? Is it possible? Is there ways to make it easier? etc....”
Spring 2022
Any good PMATH course recs for physics? 6 points, 6 comments
“I'm a second-year Math-Phys student looking for some good PMATH courses that accommodate theoretical physics and its framework well (for a minor). …”
u/AirPodGoose: “PMATH 336/334/343/347/365/465 can be good courses, u don’t have a lot of options for pmath electives since you are in math phys (and assuming you take 5 courses per term) but a minor is doable with no problem.”
Mathematical physics Course blueprint recommendations 3 points, 21 comments
“Hey everyone, I’m going into the mathematical physics program at Waterloo next year and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on a sort of blueprint I could follow for courses because …”
u/Yu-Li: “… AMATH 231 AMATH 251 AMATH 271 PMATH 351 PHYS 358 3A Winter AMATH 353 AMATH 373 PMATH 352 PMATH 365 / PMATH 343 PHYS 242 First coop term Do your first research coop PHYS 342 3B Fall AMATH 473 AMATH 351 PMATH 347 PHYS 442 (get override request) PHYS 475 (get override request) / …”
Worst Professors 5 points, 32 comments
u/void_nemesis: “Xinzhi Liu. Had him for AMATH 351, absolutely awful. Also Stephen New, but only when online - everyone I've talked to says he's great in person, but his online PMATH courses were really badly taught. …”
u/void_nemesis: “It's worse than that. I had PMATH 365 with him, he didn't give us a single lecture. All we had were horribly formatted lecture notes.”
Spring 2021
Snew m245 online 1 point, 11 comments
“For those of you who took it in spring 2020, how was it?”
u/void_nemesis: “I had snew for PMATH 365 online in the winter. It was awful. Easy good grade, but extremely and painfully grindy, and I remember nothing.”
Winter 2021
Best professors at UW? 38 points, 88 comments
“Who in your opinion were/are the best profs at UW? Not just in terms of lecturing or grading only, but helpfulness, knowledgeability, and actually caring about whether or not the students succeeded? …”
u/Paul_A_M_Dirac1: “Snew”
u/notfin4: “pmath365?”
What course teaches Gauge Theory? 1 point, 5 comments
u/Paul_A_M_Dirac1: “Are you interested in pmath gauge theory or physics? If its pmath then 965 teaches gauge theory”
u/yet_another_lemma: “… You need a lot of background to do the mathematician's take on gauge theory; PMATH 347/365/465 are absolutely necessary, but you'll also probably want a course on Lie groups (of which there is no regular one; it's offered sporadically as a PMATH 7xx course). …”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
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