The University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program (UMTYMP) is an alternative secondary mathematics education program operated by the University of Minnesota's School of Mathematics Center for Educational Programs (MathCEP). Classes are offered in St. Cloud, Rochester, Duluth, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.[1] The Program is supported by the Minnesota state legislature. The course structure, intensity, and workload are comparable to college-level classes in rigor.
UMTYMP offers a total of five years of math coursework. The program is divided into a high school component and a calculus component.
The UMTYMP high school component lasts two years and covers standard high school mathematics. The classes are taught by local secondary school teachers.
Students receive high school credit for these courses. To pass each semester, a grade of at least 70% in the class must be achieved, and a grade of 70%-75% results in probation and potential ejection from the course.
The UMTYMP calculus component lasts three years and covers honors-level college calculus. The classes are taught by university faculty members.
Students receive both high school and University of Minnesota credit (4 credits per year) for these courses.
The content covered in UMTYMP Calculus 1 corresponds to that of AP Calculus BC.
UMTYMP graduates can take 4000- or 5000-level math classes at the University of Minnesota either as a undergraduates (if enrolled there for college) or as PSEO students (if still in high school). UMTYMP also offers an optional semester-long course known as Advanced Topics.
Interested students in 5th to 7th grade are eligible to take a qualifying exam in April. Students who pass the qualifying exam are invited to enroll in UMTYMP's Algebra I/II class in the fall or may defer their enrollment for a year.
Non-UMTYMP students in 7th to 10th grade may take an entrance exam to begin the calculus component.
The enrollment fee is usually around $1000.
In the 2005-2006 school year, 506 students from 134 public and 28 private schools were enrolled in UMTYMP. Of them, 421 attended classes in Minneapolis, 56 in Rochester, and 29 in St. Cloud. 361 (71%) were male and 145 (29%) were female. Among those who reported their ethnicity, 277 (62%) were White, 142 (32%) were Asian/Pacific Islanders, 10 (2%) were Chicano/Latino, 3 (0.7%) were Alaskan/American Indian, 2 (0.4%) were African-American, and 14 (3%) described themselves as other.[2]