35507 Mathematics Thesis 2
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
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Subject handbook information prior to 2022 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 12 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 who is appointed by the head of department.
The subject is a continuation of 37493 Thesis: Mathematics (Honours) Part A and results are only allocated on completion of that subject.
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 |
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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 |
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
The Honours project is linked to the following Science graduate attributes:
- An understanding of the nature, practice and application of the chosen science discipline.
- An understanding of the scientific method of knowledge acquisition, including problem solving, critical thinking, and the ability to discover new understandings.
- The capacity to learn in, and from, new disciplines to enhance the application of scientific knowledge and skills in professional contexts.
- An awareness of the role of science within a global culture.
- An ability to think and work creatively and the ability to apply science skills to unfamiliar applications.
- The ability to develop computing skills.
Teaching and learning strategies
Your supervisor will inform you about consultation hours and the supervisor’s availability during the academic year. Your supervisor will not normally be available for advice during the six week period from mid-December until 1 February.
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. 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: | The seminar is designed to offer the students the experience of presenting their progress and findings to an audience of both non-experts and experts in the field of study. This provides an opportunity to assess both their knowledge of the project area and also their ability to structure and present a mathematical seminar. Furthermore, any questions and oral feedback offered may provide further guidance to the student as they finalise the writing of the Honours thesis. |
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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.
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Assessment task 2: Honours Thesis
Intent: | The Honours thesis is designed to offer students the experience of writing up an extended document as a record of their academic progress on a research topic. This provides the potential to improve project and time management skills, as well as practice at writing an academic thesis. The development of these skills should aid students who wish to progress into higher research degrees or into commercial consultancy work. This provides an opportunity to assess the abilities of students, both in terms of their abilities to conduct research within the mathematical sciences and also their academic report writing skills. |
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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)
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.
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Minimum requirements
In order to pass this subject you must get a final mark of at least 50.
Any thesis submitted without a signed Declaration of Originality and Plagiarism Awareness shall be assessed as incomplete and awarded an X(Fail) grade.