Doctorate Algebraic Topology Syllabus

Topological Spaces

  • Compactifications, various characterizations of paracompactness in terms of coverings and partitions of unity
  • Metrization, completion, uniform spaces
  • General topological constructions such as induced, coinduced topologies, adjunction spaces, etc.

Fundamental Notions of Algebraic Topology

  • Homotopy (deformation, homotopy type, fundamental group), (Universal) covering space
  • Mapping cone, mapping cylinder, suspension
  • Eilenberg-Steenrod axioms for (co) homology theories, uniqueness theorems
  • Simplicial sets, singular, simplicial, and Cech Theories
  • Derived functors, EXT, TOR, Universal Coefficient theorem, Kunneth formula

Computation of (Co) homology and Fundamental Groups

  • Graphs, compact 2-manifolds (sphere, torus, projective plane, sphere with handles and cross caps), adjunction spaces, topological spaces

Applications

  • Invariance of dimension, existence of extensions and retractions
  • Fixed point theorems, fundamental theorems of algebra

Past Exams

Below are some Doctorate Algebraic Topology exams from previous years. They should give you an idea of the range of topics covered by the exams.

2006
 
2011
 
2015
 
2019
 
May 2021
September 2021

References

Lin and Lin: Set Theory
J.R. Munkres: Topology
Dugundji: Topology
Greenberg & Harper: Algebraic Topology
Hatcher: Algebraic Topology
Hu: Homology Theory
Spanier: Algebraic Topology