Course Catalogue

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This course trains students in the relevant research skills required for a PhD in Mathematics and/or Statistics.

Weekly one-hourly one-to-one tutorials.

This course in only available to students on the PhD programme with integrated study.

Assessment is based on a portfolio (90%) and a talk (10%).

The portfolio consists of a literature review, a write-up of the findings of a small research project developed as part of this course and additional pieces of work evidencing the competence of the student in the relevant tools required for research in the chosen sub-domain of the Mathematical Sciences.

Students also give a talk summarising the key findings of their research project followed by a Q&A session.

This course aims to provide students with the relevant research skills required for a PhD in Mathematics and/or Statistics. In particular, students will learn how to perform a critical review of the literature and how to document and present the results of a small piece of research. This course also acquaints students with some of the technical tools relevant to their chosen field of research and trains them in the more strategic aspects of how to design and conduct a piece of research.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ explore, summarise and critically evaluate the literature in one sub-domain of the Mathematical Sciences

■ competently and efficiently use the technical tools required for research in one sub-domain of the Mathematical Sciences

■ design and conduct a piece of independent research

■ present, report and summarise the findings of a piece of independent research and set it in a wider context.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.