Possible Duplicate:What kind of mathematical background is needed for complexity theory? I'm a final year undergrad and I'm looking to pursue a PhD in theoretical computer science in the long term. I've been admitted to some great schools to do theory, I'm looking to defer all my admits to study math for a year in the university.I'd very much appreciate your thoughts on the following couple of questions.So, given that I'm not really sure what sort of theory I want to be doing at grad school (as of now, algorithms and combinatorics) what sort of things should I be looking to study there?As someone who has studied computer science and not pure mathematics for the last few years, I want to take the next few months to prepare myself for the course. Can anyone recommend areas (and/or books) to bone up on before going there? (Since for instance, I never formally studied abstract algebra or complex analysis)Thanks.
Mathematical background needed for pursuing a PhD in TCS
reference request;co.combinatorics;soft question;advice request