mathematics

Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science

Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science rather than just read about it. In short: The Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science, previously known as the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (CIMS), is a constituent school of New York University. Founded in 1935 as the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, the school is named after Richard Courant, who was one of its founders and mathematics professors from 1936 to 1972.

Key takeaways

Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science, previously known as the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (CIMS), is a constituent school of New York University. Founded in 1935 as the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, the school is named after Richard Courant, who was one of its founders and mathematics professors from 1936 to 1972. The Mathematics Department is housed in Warren Weaver Hall on Gould Plaza. On November 13, 2025, New York University announced the creation of the Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing and Data Science. The new school includes the university's Department of Mathematics, the Center for Data Science, and an expanded Department of Computer Science now linked with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Tandon School of Engineering.

History In 1934, Richard Courant left Göttingen University in Germany to become a visiting professor at NYU. He was given the task of building up the Department of Mathematics at the NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science. He was later joined by Kurt O. Friedrichs and James J. Stoker. In 1946, the department was renamed "Institute for Mathematics and Mechanics". Also in 1946, NYU Professor Morris Kline focused on mathematical problems of electromagnetic wave propagation. This project gave rise to the institute's Division of Wave Propagation and Applied Mathematics. In 1952, the United States Atomic Energy Commission installed one of the first (electronic) computers at New York University, which led to the creation of the Courant Mathematics and Computing Laboratory. The Division of Magnetofluid Dynamics was initiated by a project on plasma fusion by NYU Professor Harold Grad in 1954. The institute was in the forefront of advanced hardware use, with an early IBM 7094 and the fourth produced CDC 6600. The Division of Computational Fluid Dynamics was created in 1978, arising from a project of NYU Professor Paul R. Garabedian. The director of the Courant Institute directly reports to New York University's provost and president and works closely with deans and directors of other NYU colleges and divisions respectively. The undergraduate programs and graduate programs at the Courant Institute are run independently by the institute, and formally associated with the NYU College of Arts and Science, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, and NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science, respectively. On November 13, 2025, president of New York University Linda G. Mills announced that the Courant Institute would become a new school within the university. The Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science includes the university's Department of Mathematics, the Center for Data Science, and an expanded Department of Computer Science now linked with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Tandon School of Engineering. The decision to create a new school was based on consultations with faculty-led committees. The university's announcement confirmed that Mathematics professor Gérard Ben Arous would serve as the new school's inaugural dean until the search for a permanent dean was completed. In August 2026, it was announced that Denis Zorin will serve as Dean of Courant.

Academics

Rankings The Courant Institute specializes in applied mathematics, mathematical analysis and scientific computation. There is emphasis on partial differential equations and their applications. The mathematics department is consistently ranked in the United States as #1 in applied mathematics. Other strong points are Analysis (#6 as of 2022) and geometry (#12 as of 2022). Within the field of computer science, CIMS concentrates in machine learning, theory, programming languages, computer graphics and parallel computing. In 2022, the computer science program was ranked #19 among computer science and information systems programs globally. In 2022, the Academic Ranking of World Universities placed the Courant Institute as #9 worldwide in the subject ranking for mathematics. Six (at the time of award) faculty members have been awarded the National Medal of Science (Kurt O. Friedrichs, Peter Lax, Cathleen Synge Morawetz, Louis Nirenberg, Charles S. Peskin, S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan), one (Mikhail Gromov) was honored with the Kyoto Prize, and nine have received career awards from the National Science Foundation. Courant Institute professors Lax, Varadhan, Gromov, Nirenberg won the 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2015 Abel Prize respectively for their research in partial differential equations, probability and geometry. Louis Nirenberg also received the Chern Medal in 2010, and Subhash Khot won the Nevanlinna Prize in 2014. Amir Pnueli and Yann LeCun won the 1996 and 2018 Turing Award respectively. In addition, Jeff Cheeger was also awarded the Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences in 2021.

Admissions The Courant Institute offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and PhD degree programs in both mathematics and computer science with program acceptance rates ranging from 3% to 29%. The overall acceptance rate for all CIMS graduate programs is 15%, and program admissions reviews are holistic. A high undergraduate GPA and high GRE score are typically prerequisites to admission to its graduate programs but are not required. Majority of accepted candidates met these standards. However, character and personal qualities and evidence of strong quantitative skills are very important admission factors. Consistent with its scientific breadth, the institute welcomes applicants whose primary background is in quantitative fields such as economics, engineering, physics, or biology, as well as mathematics. Undergraduate program admissions are not directly administrated by the institute but by the NYU undergraduate admissions office of College of Arts and Science.

Graduate program The Department of Mathematics at the Courant Institute offers PhDs in Mathematics, Atmosphere-Ocean Science, and Computational Biology; Masters of Science in Mathematical Finance, Mathematics, and Scientific Computing.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science

In research: Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1935 establishments in New York City, Educational institutions in the United States established in 1935, Mathematical institutes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science in simple terms?

Why does Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Courant Institute School of Mathematics, Computing, and Data Science.