| Information | Review |
|---|---|
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Charalampos Papamanthou
CMSC456 Expecting an A- csmathstudent 06/04/2021 |
The grading in this class is significantly harsher than Washington's Cryptography section (class average was 79.5% while Washington historically averages ~87% and we did not get a curve. In addition, Dr. Papamanthou did not hold us back from the mathematical rigor that a cryptography course should have. Homeworks and course content are proof-based and taught rigorously. Having a good understanding of proofs will likely make this course much easier. That being said, I felt like Dr. Papamanthou was a very good professor. He frequently stopped to ask questions in class and carefully answered all of them, trying to make sure everyone understood the material. The course content reflected content in corresponding chapters of the textbook, but his lectures definitely condensed the material and made it more digestible. Overall good professor, but I would suggest having a good understanding of proofs before taking this class. In addition, taking MATH406 Number Theory before or alongside this course makes the group theory part of the course much more understandable, in addition to helping you get used to proofs. |