MATH3161 Optimization (UNSW Sydney): rated 4.0/5 overall across 13 reviews collected on UNSW Wall.
MATH3161 is a UNSW Sydney course taught by the Faculty of Science in School of Mathematics & Statistics. This page brings together its handbook details and what UNSW students say about it.
Review data updated 2026-10-24.
Chinese title: 最优化
Type: Undergraduate course
Credit points: 6
Subject area: School of Mathematics & Statistics
Faculty: Faculty of Science
Level: Undergraduate Level 3
Handbook year: 2026
This is an advanced level course in optimization for undergraduate students from all disciplines. Optimization is a field that develops techniques for finding the best possible choice from numerous available alternatives for a given criterion.
MATH3161 has 13 scored reviews: overall 4.0/5 · usefulness 5.0 (all out of 5; higher difficulty means harder).
Sources: 1 StudentVIP review (average 5.0 stars); 12 Reddit comments that an AI model judged to be reviewing this course (average would-recommend 4.0/5).
On Reddit: "MATH3161 Optimization (23T1) Pre-req: MATH2111 and MATH2601 Difficulty: 2.5/5 (if you major in pure or did very well in algebra you might rate it as low as a 0/5) Overall rating: 4.5/5 Mark: 87 HD (After checking exam script: Marking was harsh especially starred questions, but c…"
On Reddit: "It's not high workload. The thing which made this course a bit of a pain when I did it was that you need to be *extremely* sensitive and careful with the details. Most questions will involve a fair amount of computation (e.g. working out hessian matrices, solving systems of equa…"
The course panel on UNSW Wall shows every review and discussion in full.
Q: Is MATH3161 worth taking?
A: Averaged over 13 reviews: usefulness 5.0/5, overall 4.0/5.
Q: Which faculty teaches MATH3161, and when is it offered?
A: MATH3161 is taught by the Faculty of Science. Check the official handbook for the current year.
UNSW Wall is an independent student community and is not affiliated with UNSW Sydney.