Combinatorics is the branch of mathematics that deals with discrete structures. Although its origins date several centuries back, it is really in the second half of the twentieth century that it has gained major status in mathematics due to its applicability in diverse fields such as computer science, operations research, economics, chemistry, electrical engineering and linguistics.

The field of Operations Research emerged in the 40's and 50's from the need to model real-world problems mathematically and solve them algorithmically. The basic paradigm is optimization under constraints of various types. The field of Computer Science emerged in the 60's, though it originated in the 30's from the work of Turing and others. In particular, the study of algorithms was greatly influenced by the work of Knuth. His studies of common computational problems, such as sorting and searching, inaugurated the modern discipline of design and analysis of algorithms. These three fields have developed at great speed over the last three decades. The development has often been interrelated, with researchers from all three fields working together, using each other's techniques, and making major breakthroughs by developing new algorithms for important problems such as linear programming. Despite the inherent multidisciplinarity of the three fields, there is still a need for advanced graduates with a strong background in all of them. With our program we hope to fill this educational gap.

Algorithms, Combinatorics, Optimization course list