Certificate of Advanced Study in Mathematics

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For the travel industry measure, see CASM (travel)

CASM stands for "Certificate of Advanced Studies in Mathematics". It is both the culmination of the Cambridge University mathematics degree, as an additional year for those who wish to go on beyond the BA course, and a separate graduate course which accepts many people coming from other universities. It is roughly equivalent to a one-year taught Master's degree in Mathematics, but Cambridge has a long running tradition of terminology which doesn't quite correspond to the norm. The course is also referred to as Part III, since it is part III of the Mathematical Tripos. (Parts Ia, Ib, and II occupy the first three years of the undergraduate degree.)

The course lasts one year, divided into three eight-week terms. There are a wide variety of lectures on both pure and applied maths, mostly concentrated in the first two terms. The third term is primarily for examinations (and revision for said examinations) which, together with the option of writing a part III essay (a miniature thesis of sorts, often in the form of a literature review), determine one's final grade entirely.

The grades available are Fail, Pass, Merit, and Distinction (the Merit grade was introduced in 2000). The level of achievement required for a distinction is somewhat higher than that required for a First in the British undergraduate degree classification.