PMATH 432Mathematical Logic
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Mathematics
- Subject
- Pure Mathematics
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 3 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
First-order languages and structures, syntactic provability and semantic truth, the soundness and completeness theorems, compactness and its consequences, elementary equivalence, the ZFC axioms of set theory, ordinals, cardinals, computability, and Gödel's incompleteness theorem.
Prerequisites
- Must have completed the following:
- PMATH347 - Groups and Rings (0.50)
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 6614 | 19 / 20 | MWF 10:30–11:20 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
50% liked it0% easy50% useful
From 6 ratings and 2 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Hard course, especially with Andy
Dec 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
It's logic. I took it because I wanted to run through Godel's theorem, but it's about as pedantic and boring as it's reputation implies.
Mar 2014 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
17 posts and comments in 14 threads mention PMATH 432, June 2012 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 2020
I'm teaching MATH 145 in the fall 820 points, 151 comments
“Hi all. I'm Jason Bell. Probably most of you have never heard of me, and that's OK. In fact, I had never heard of myself either till recently. But I figured I'd introduce myself, anyway. …”
u/confused_buffoon: “when i took math 145 i was stumped on this particular part (well really 1/3) of the course and it turns out that 1/3 of the course was actually 1/2 of PMATH 432 so i think you should include that so they can have the same experience i did”
Winter 2020
Is it worth it to take pmath 330 if you're planning to take 432? 3 points, 1 comment
u/loconate: “Pmath 330: "Introduction to Mathematical Logic" Pmath 432: "First Order Logic and Computability" On the pmath courses page it says 432 can be subbed for 330 which leads me to believe that 432 just covers more than 330. Has anyone taken both and can inform? …”
u/TruthHadGone: “With respect to first-order logic, PMATH432 undoubtedly covers more, and with greater mathematical rigour as expected of an upper-year PMATH student. My offering of 432 did not explicitly discuss propositional logic, which is, in some sense, a restriction of first-order logic. …”
CS-Like Math Courses 4 points, 7 comments
u/maththrowaway482: “… I'm taking PMATH330 as an equivalent to CS245, and if I can, PMATH432 for computability. But are there any other courses that deal with these concepts? …”
Fall 2019
Is cs466 worth taking? 7 points, 5 comments
“I genuinely enjoyed cs245, 240 and 341. Should I consider taking 466 in summer or fall? I don't want to kill my grades tho.”
u/GokuTheGod: “… PMATH 432 is also a course dedicated to the topic of first order logic.”
Spring 2019
math course on derivation and proof 0 points, 10 comments
“hi, are there any math courses that focus on the deriving part? as well as proofing. i am an exchange student from melbourne. thanks.”
u/Hyacinth_s: “MATH 145 talks about first order logic and derivations a little bit. PMATH 432 talks more about logics, 433 talks about model theory which should be pretty interesting. Take MATH 147 as well if you like proofs.”
any logic course to take at UW 11 points, 8 comments
“I actually love the content of cs245 and want to learn more logic.”
u/Math_failuree: “Pmath 433 Pmath 432 might interest you. Both require pmath 347. 347 is interesting and it requires 235/245. You can try to override it though.”
Spring 2018
Courses like CS245? 2 points, 4 comments
“I really enjoyed CS245 (took the E section with Shai Ben-David). I liked how all these concepts like satisfiability and L-structures and soundness/completeness came together and I’m interested in …”
u/PPewt: “… Your best bet if you're interested in logic specifically is PMATH 432 (for similar-ish but faster paced stuff up the same alley) and PMATH 433 (for the semantics side of things). …”
Should I take advanced courses in first year CS? 9 points, 21 comments
“I'll be choosing my 1A courses soon and I'm not sure whether or not I should request the 14X versions of CS 135, MATH 135, and MATH 137. What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? …”
u/mathlord1337: “Math 145 must do”
u/mathlord1337: “I don't know what classes you took, but the material overlapped a bit with pmath 352 complex analysis, pmath 340 number theory, pmath 347 groups and rings, first order logic in pmath 432 and it had many other cool chapters, such as cryptography, for example.”
Spring 2017
CS245E 95 points, 11 comments
u/HumanLovesDophin: “Can anyone explain this to me? I'm retarded. Thank you very much.”
u/TaintedQuintessence: “I guess now we go to PMATH432”
Any more logic courses beyond 3A? 12 points, 5 comments
“I genuinely loved SE212 and was wondering if there's any more logic courses that I could register in 3A or later?”
u/lucky94: “Take a look at CS 365 and 442, which cover a lot of theoretical computer science, like formally expressing ideas in CS using mathematical logic. There's also PMATH 432, which I haven't taken, but go deeper into mathematical logic and its connections to computability theory.”
u/Postmodernist_Cancer: “PMATH 330,432”
u/johnlee3013: “… PMATH 432,433 are both logic courses, although I haven't taken them so can't comment. The Philosophy department sometimes have special topic courses in logic. I took one last fall about non-standard logics and it's great. …”
Spring 2016
Questions about CS 245 4 points, 13 comments
“I originally applied to UW for CS but got deferred to math. I didn't like CS 135 / 136 all that much, so I'm leaning towards staying in math. …”
u/Gibstick: “… The alternative is to take PMATH 330 and/or PMATH 432.”
Winter 2016
Anyone here who took CS 245 out of interest (and not as a major requirement)? 2 points, 9 comments
“If so, were you satisfied with your decision at the end of your course? I'm interested in logic, but I hear how prof-dependent it can be, and I'm unsure of Lila Kari's (prof next term) ratings”
u/iCanHelpU2: “fyi there is also pmath 330 which covers similar stuff (they're anti-reqs). Imo a lot of the later material in cs245 is kind of silly, especially for people not in CS. …”
u/haruka_sora: “Even PMATH 330 stuff is kind of silly, OP can ask for an override into PMATH 432 if he is really interested in a rigorous treating of logic and computability theory.”
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