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MATH51460: Dissertation

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Type Tied
Level 5
Credits 60
Availability Available in 2024/2025
Module Cap
Location Durham
Department Mathematical Sciences

Prerequisites

  • Math Sciences I (MATH51860) and Math Sciences II (MATH51760)

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • None

Aims

  • To assist students to develop creative and critical thinking, the ability to assemble material from several sources and to write an extended report.
  • To produce a dissertation that gives a coherent account of the topic, presented in an original, well organised and appropriate manner.

Content

  • Students decide which unit, taken from MATH51760 or 51860, they would like to follow up with a dissertation. They then consult, initially with the lecturer of that unit, to agree a suitable topic for the dissertation. Students wishing to investigate a topic following on from a unit they have taken from outside the list given in MATH 51760 and Math51860 may be allowed to do so provided a member of staff is willing to supervise them.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • specialist knowledge of the chosen dissertation topic, including an appreciation of the development of that topic, its situation with respect to related topics and the directions in which that topic could lead.

Subject-specific Skills:

  • presentation of a body of mathematical knowledge in an interesting, innovative and comprehensible manner.
  • construction of illustrative examples and, possibly, production of original investigations.

Key Skills:

  • the ability to read and digest several sources
  • the ability to tackle material critically and communicate thoughts on it effectively.
  • the ability to make a report with appropriate chapters, sections, numbering, and references with reference lists, contents pages and acknowledgements of others' work in an appropriate format.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • The student will research and write a dissertation on an advanced topic, under the guidance of his/her supervisor and the guidance notes provided.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Supervisions5-101-2 fortnightly1 hour10Yes
Preparation and Reading590 
Total600 

Summative Assessment

Component: DissertationComponent Weighting: 100%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Dissertation40-60 A4 pages100Resubmission the following year

Formative Assessment

The student will produce work (for example, plans, lists of sources, drafts, reference lists, sample calculations, etc.) for the comments of the supervisor.

More information

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