Introduction to Dissertation 

OMMS and Part C students are required to undertake a dissertation worth two units as part of their degree programme. This can be either a mathematics dissertation or a statistics dissertation. 

The dissertation will entail investigating a topic in an area of the Mathematical Sciences under the guidance of a dissertation supervisor. This will culminate in a written dissertation with a word limit of 7,500 words, which usually equates to 25-35 pages. It is expected that students embarking on a dissertation will be working on it over Christmas vacation, Hilary Term and Easter vacation for submission in early Trinity Term.

Students completing a dissertation may request a book for consultation from the Whitehead Library if it is not held in RSL or their College library. Please see further information here

 

Timetable for Dissertations

Michaelmas Term

 
Week 0, Friday Dissertation Information Session
Week 0-1 Dissertation abstracts published
Week 3, Friday 12:00 Deadline for submitting dissertation choices
Week 5, Friday Students notified of project allocation
Weeks 7 and 8 Initial meeting with dissertation supervisor

Hilary Term

 
Weeks 1-8 3 or 4 further supervision meetings
Weeks 7 and 8 Oral presentations take place

Trinity Term

 
Week 1, Monday 12:00 Submission deadline

 

Choosing a topic

Following the Dissertation Information Session, a list of potential dissertation topics will be published below. Each topic will be accompanied by a short abstract outlining the project with details on necessary pre-requisite knowledge and the maximum number of students who will be able to take each topic. You will be asked to complete an online form, ranking 5 of the topics. Please note that Maths Part C students are only permitted to chose a maximum of three statistics topics. You will be notified of which project you have been allocated by the end of week 5.

 

Oral Presentation

Each student is required to give an oral presentation to their supervisors and at least one other person with some knowledge of the field of the dissertation. These will usually take place in the final two weeks of Hilary Term. The presentation does not count towards the final assessment of the project, however, it will give you an opportunity to practice your presentation skills which will prove useful in your later careers.

 

Useful Links and Sources of Information

The First Notices to Candidates (including information on dissertations) can be found here.

Please contact us for feedback and comments about this page. Last updated on 08 Mar 2023 17:56.