Welcome to Math 421/621, my name is Jim Coykendall, and I will be your instructor for this course. My office is 306 Minard Hall. My office hours this semester will be from 5:30-8am and from 9am-12pm on M, W, F. If my hours are inconvenient then email me (coykenda@plains) or give me a call (office 231-8079, home 280-7086). Another good resource for this course is my webpage, which can be found at

In general, you may consider my office an "open door", and I strongly recommend that you come and see me if you are having any trouble in class (or if you find that you are not being challenged enough). Come by…I enjoy seeing my students.

COURSE SCHEDULE/DESCRIPTION: This course will cover the fundamentals of basic abstract algebra (in a standard second semester). Topics covered will include vector spaces, linear transformations, module theory (including projective, injective, and free modules, the fundamental theorem of finitely generated modules over a PID, and the decomposition of a linear transformation), field theory, algebraic and transcendental extensions, Galois theory and its applications. Time permitting, we will also cover selected topics in commutative/homological algebra.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: It is the objective of this course to impart some of the beauty and utility of basic abstract algebra. Computational and conceptual skills will be conveyed and applications to other fields will be stressed where appropriate.

TEXTBOOK: The text for this course will be Abstract Algebra by Dummit and Foote. Additional references are Topics in Algebra by Herstein, Algebra by Hungerford, and Commutative Rings by Kaplansky.

HOMEWORK: There will be a number of homework exercises given in class. I encourage you all to get together and discuss the problems as much as you can (write-ups, of course, should be done individually). The harder you work to understand the problems, the more benefits that you reap mathematically.

EXAMS: There will be two exams (and a final) given in this class. The times will be announced later.

GRADES: Here is a breakdown of the quizzes/exams/final:

Homework…..….35%

Exam 1…………20%

Exam 2…………20%

Final……………25%

If you get the following scores (out of 100) you will get:

90-100.………A

80-89…………B

70-79…………C

60-69…………D

SPECIAL NEEDS: Any students with disabilities or other special needs, who need special accommodations in this course are invited to share these concerns or requests with the instructor as soon as possible.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: All work in this course must be completed in a manner consistent with NDSU University Senate Policy, Section 335: Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct (http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/policy/335.htm).

I wish you the best of luck in this course, please stop by and keep me posted on how you are doing.