CMI Entrance Exam Syllabus

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CMI Syllabus

The application of mathematical concepts generally covered up to the 12th level is given importance in the CMI admission exam. The main areas of the exam are Calculus, Algebra, and Geometry. However, there are additional questions on Combinatorics, Number theory, and a Variety of other Mathematical Disciplines. Moreover, candidates may encounter problems that test their mathematical thinking skills, such as logic puzzles. Instead of only testing memory and routine application of mathematical principles, the exam tries to measure independent thinking. The CMI admission exam encourages applicants to think critically and creatively in order to efficiently solve mathematical issues by providing difficult scenarios.

CMI Entrance Exam 2025 Syllabus

For Computer Science

Syllabus Important topics
Discrete Mathematics: Elementary Probability Theory Sets and relations, elementary counting techniques, pigeonhole principle, partial orders
Logic Boolean logic, truth tables, Boolean circuits — and, or, not, and NAND gates.
Automata Theory Regular expressions, non-deterministic and deterministic finite automata, subset construction, regular languages, non-regularity (pumping lemma), context-free grammars, basic ideas about computable and non-computable functions.
Algorithms O notation, recurrence relations, the time complexity of algorithms, sorting and searching (bubble sort, quick sort, merge sort, heap sort)
Data structures Lists, queues, stacks, binary search trees, and heaps
Graphs Basic definitions, trees, bipartite graphs, matchings in bipartite graphs, breadth-first search, depth-first search, minimum spanning trees, shortest paths
Algorithmic techniques Dynamic programming, divide and conquer, greedy

For Mathematics

Subject Topics
Algebra Part A Groups, Homomorphisms, cosets, Lagrange’s Theorem, group actions, Sylow Theorems, symmetric group Sn, conjugacy class, rings, ideals, quotient by ideals, maximal and prime ideals, fields, algebraic extensions, finite fields
Algebra Part B Matrices, determinants, vector spaces, linear transformations, span, linear independence, basis, dimension, the rank of a matrix, characteristic polynomial, eigenvalues, eigenvectors, upper triangulation, diagonalization, nilpotent matrices, scalar (dot) products, angle, rotations, orthogonal matrices, GLn, SLn, On, SO2, SO3.
Complex Analysis Holomorphic functions, Cauchy-Riemann equations, integration, zeroes of analytic functions, Cauchy formulas, maximum modulus theorem, open mapping theorem, Liouville's theorem,poles and singularities, residues and contour integration, conformal maps, Rouché’s theorem, Morera’s theorem
Calculus and Real Analysis
  • Real Line: Limits, continuity, differentiability, Riemann integration, sequences, series, limsup, liminf, pointwise and uniform convergence, uniform continuity, Taylor expansions
  • Multivariable: Limits, continuity, partial derivatives, chain rule, directional derivatives, total derivative, Jacobian, gradient, line integrals, surface integrals, vector fields, curl, divergence, Stokes’ theorem
  • General: Metric spaces, Heine-Borel theorem, Cauchy sequences, completeness, Weierstrass approximation.
Topology Topological spaces, base of open sets, product topology, accumulation points, boundary, continuity, connectedness, path connectedness, compactness, Hausdorff spaces, normal spaces, Urysohn’s lemma, Tietze extension, Tychonoff’s theorem.
M.Sc Applications of Mathematics The entrance test for MSc Applications of Mathematics will consist of Class XII / BSc level questions on the following topics:
  • Sets, operations on sets. Prime numbers, factorization of integers, and divisibility. Rational and irrational numbers. Permutations and combinations. Binomial theorem. Logarithms. Theory of quadratic equations. Polynomials and the remainder theorem. Arithmetic, geometric, and harmonic progressions. Complex numbers. Algebraic inequalities.
  • Functions, one-one functions, and onto functions. Limits and continuity. Derivatives and applications to maxima and minima. Sequences and series.
  • Matrices, Rank of a Matrix, eigenvalues, and the system of linear equations.

Best Books to refer to for the Entrance Exam

For Computer Science

  • Frank Harary: Graph Theory, Narosa
  • John Hopcroft and Jeffrey D Ullman: Introduction to Automata, Languages and Computation, Narosa.
  • Jon Kleinberg and Eva Tardos: Algorithm Design, Pearson.
  • C. Liu: Elements of Discrete Mathematics, Tata McGraw-Hill

For Mathematics

Subject Best books
Algebra
  • Algebra, M. Artin
  • Topics in Algebra, Herstein
  • Basic Algebra, Jacobson
  • Abstract Algebra, Dummit and Foote
Complex Analysis
  • Functions of one complex variable, John Conway
  • Complex Analysis, L V Ahlfors
  • Complex Analysis, J Bak and D J Newman
Calculus and Real Analysis
  • Principles of Mathematical Analysis, Rudin
  • Real Analysis, Royden
  • Calculus, Apostol
Topology Topology, James Munkres
MSc Applications of Mathematics
  • Calculus, Volume 1, Tom M. Apostol.
  • Understanding Mathematics, K.B. Sinha et al, Universities Press, Hyderabad

The candidates can find the syllabus for the CMI entrance exam on the official website of the institution.
The Chennai Mathematical Institute will set the syllabus for the CMI entrance exam.
The subjects included in the CMI syllabus are primarily mathematics, covering topics such as calculus, algebra, geometry, combinatorics, and number theory.

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