35001 Honours (Mathematical Sciences) 2

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Science: Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Credit points: 16 cp
Result type: Grade and marks

There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Description

The thesis is an individually supervised subject with no formally scheduled classes. Regular meetings are arranged between the supervisor and student. Students are required to give oral presentations and/or seminars during the course of the subject. Students perform an independent investigation of an area of the mathematical sciences chosen in consultation with a supervisor.

The subject is a continuation of 35000 Thesis: Mathematics (Honours) Part A and results are only allocated on completion of both subjects.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1.	develop a broad and deeper knowledge of the chosen field of study
2.	review and respond to existing academic literature
3.	work independently on a topic in the area of specialisation
4.	present talks and seminars appropriate to professional meetings or academic conferences
5.	prepare a formal report on the findings and results of a project

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject also contributes specifically to the development of following course intended learning outcomes:

Analyse: Examine and combine the principles and concepts of a broad understanding in a range of fundamental areas in the mathematical sciences (calculus, discrete mathematics, linear algebra, probability, statistics and quantitative management). (1.2)
Synthesise: Integrate extensive knowledge of at least one sub-discipline of the Mathematical Sciences. (1.3)
Apply: Formulate and model practical and abstract problems that are complex in nature using advanced quantitative principles, concepts, techniques, and technology. (2.1)
Analyse: Devise solutions to problems based on a selection of approaches (e.g. analytic vs numerical/experimental, different statistical tests, different heuristic algorithms) and various sources of data and knowledge. (2.2)
Apply: Ability to work effectively and responsibly in an individual or team context. (3.1)
Synthesise: Test critical thinking skills to create solutions for contemporary mathematics problems. (4.3)
Synthesise: Conduct independent research to clarify a problem or to obtain the information required to develop elegant mathematical solutions. (5.3)

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

1. Disciplinary Knowledge

You will learn about one sub-discipline of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences. These knowledge are presented throughout regular meetings and consultations with the supervisor, as well as other activities such as reading textbooks and journal articles. These knowledge are assessed in assessment tasks 1 and 2.

2. Research, inquiry and critical thinking

Scientific inquiry and critical thinking are developed through regular meetings and consultations with the supervisor, where real-world examples, research and articles on a mathematical problem are discussed in detail. You will also explore the value of scientific thinking and apply existing approaches and strategies (e.g. analytic vs numerical/experimental, different statistical tests, different heuristic algorithms) to problem-solving and decision-making.

3. Professional, ethical, and social responsibility

You will engage in critical discussions during meetings and consultations with your supervisor around professional, ethical and social responsibilities of scientists to address complex and topical issues. During this subject you will also develop and employ a range of skills relevant to professional contexts, including the ability to work independently and collaboratively, academic integrity, preparation and organisation, project and time management.

4. Reflection, Innovation, Creativity

In this subject you will develop advanced information retrieval and consolidation skills applied to the critical evaluation of the mathematical/statistical aspects of information gathered. Through well-developed self-reflection and independent learning strategies, you will apply critical thinking skills to create solutions for contemporary mathematical/statistical problems.

5. Communication

Development of communication skills, including reading of scientific texts and writing using scientific and academic language, is presented throughout this subject. You will learn how to write succinctly and accurately, information, reasoning and conclusions to diverse expert and non-expert audiences. Through completion of assessment tasks 1 and 2, you will develop the ability to convey complex problem statements and solutions to non-technical stakeholders, clearly and coherently.

Teaching and learning strategies

Your supervisor will inform you about consultation hours and the supervisor’s availability during the academic year.

It is assumed that students commencing their Honours program in Autumn session will begin work on their project immediately on enrolling in the Honours course (usually mid-February). It is assumed that students commencing their Honours program in Spring session will begin work on their project at the start of Spring session (usually the first week of August).

You are expected to have regular contact with your supervisor and to maintain satisfactory progress. Your supervisor will provide regular feedback (written and verbal) on your work. Consultation sessions should be complemented by regular work. The workload in each part of the project is equivalent to two six credit point subjects.

Content (topics)

The content of the project will be determined by the supervisor in consultation with the student.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Honours Seminar

Intent:	This assessment task contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1. Disciplinary Knowledge 2. Research, inquiry and critical thinking 3. Profesional, ethical and social responsibility 4. Reflection, Innovation, Creativity 5. Communication
Objective(s):	This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3 and 4 This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 4.3 and 5.3
Type:	Presentation
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	10%
Length:	You will be allocated a 30 minute timeslot. Your presentation should last around 20 minutes, to be followed by approximately 10 minutes of questions from the audience. Your ability to address the questions will also be assessed.
Criteria:	All members of the seminar audience with broad expertise in the mathematical sciences may act as seminar examiners, with the following exceptions: no current student (undergraduate or postgraduate) shall be a seminar examiner; nobody (directly or indirectly) involved with your project supervision shall be a seminar examiner. You will be awarded a mark out of 100 based on your overall performance during the seminar, assessing both your demonstrated mathematical understanding and ability and also on your presentation technique. This will be calculated by taking a trimmed mean of the marks by all seminar examiners. After both the highest and lowest marks are discarded, the simple arithmetic mean will be taken of all others. Your mark will be twice the trimmed mean of the marks from your seminar examiners, all out of 50. Specifically, assessment criteria are based on your ability to: i) engage with audience and demonstrate knowledge of the subject area; ii) explain the scope and achievements of the project; iii) present at a pace and in a tone suitable for an academic seminar; iv) use audio-visual and/or whiteboard graphics or calculations/derivations to strengthen the communication of ideas; v) respond to questions promptly and correctly. Any student failing to present a seminar at the prescribed time shall be awarded a zero mark for this component of the assessment. This does not apply to students whose cases are covered by Section 8.3 – Special consideration of disruption to assessment in the Rules of the University: http://www.gsu.uts.edu.au/rules/8-3.html

Assessment task 2: Honours Thesis

Intent:	This assessment task contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1. Disciplinary Knowledge 2. Research, inquiry and critical thinking 3. Profesional, ethical and social responsibility 4. Reflection, Innovation, Creativity 5. Communication
Objective(s):	This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 4.3 and 5.3
Type:	Thesis
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	90%
Length:	There is no prescribed word limit for an Honours thesis, although you are advised that a thesis should typically be around 70 pages, including references.
Criteria:	Your Honours examiners will each assign your thesis a mark out of 100. This mark will be the sum of the assessed marks for the following four criteria: Criterion One– Knowledge of Research Field (20 marks) Criterion Two – Methodology and Mathematical Depth (30 marks) Criterion Three – Critical Analysis (30 marks) Criterion Four – Communication Skills (20 marks) In exceptional cases, where it is felt that the 20/30/30/20 weighting assigned to these criteria is not appropriate for the project, it may be varied. For such projects (for example, in the case of literature reviews of an advanced field of the mathematical sciences) a clear statement of justification and agreed new weightings, signed by both you and your principal supervisor, should be submitted to the Honours Subcommittee not later than one working day before the census date for this subject. For amended weightings of criteria, no single criterion shall be worth more than 50 marks or fewer than 10 marks. Except in cases when the examiners’ marks for your thesis differ by greater than 10/100, your mark for the thesis component will be the simple arithmetic mean of the examiners’ marks. For cases where the examiners differ by more than 10 in their assessed marks, your thesis mark will be determined by the procedures outlined in the Faculty of Science Honours Subject Information Booklet. Any thesis submitted later than 5pm on the due-date specified in the Subject Outline may be subject to academic penalties as determined by the Honours Subcommittee. Possible sanctions include the deduction of marks and/or ineligibility for consideration for University Awards, including the University Medal. This does not apply to students whose cases are covered by Section 8.3 – Special consideration of disruption to assessment in the Rules of the University: http://www.gsu.uts.edu.au/rules/8-3.html

Minimum requirements

In order to pass this subject you must get a final mark of at least 50.