Circular on MMath
=================

(This e-mail was circulated to Y3 MMathers around 2000, as part of a
discussion of what they wanted their Y4 MMath to be.)

1. Admissions to MMath
======================
At present admissions to MMath is tacked on as an afterthought to the business
of the 2nd year exam board, which takes place on the last day of Year 2 and
does not leave time for students to consider whether they want to do an MMath,
or to consult on the range of courses and what group in the department they
want to work with.

Q1. Would you favour an "interview" (meeting with tutor plus MMath adviser, as
an advice session on MMath courses) at the time you enter MMath? If so, when
would it be most useful: earlier in Year 2, at the end of Year 2, at the start
of Year 3?

Q2. Entry into MMath. Is there anything else the department can do to make
clearer the choices of courses available through the 3rd and 4th year?

Q3. Would you favour homework vacation to be set for the summer before Year 3,
to help prepare you for 3rd year courses? Approx. how many hours per week of
work is it reasonable to set? Ditto before Year 4?

2. Tutor
========
Up to now, MMath students have continued with their existing tutor from
Years 1--2, whether or not there are common math interests. In contrast, M.Sc.
and Ph.D. students normally choose a research supervisor in their line of
interests. You need to have a pretty good idea of your own interests and of
the choice on offer to make this decision.

Q4. Would you like to change tutor? If so, at the start of Year 3, or sometime
later? Would you like to continue with your existing tutor as "moral tutor",
but be assigned an MMath tutor more in your speciality?

3. Major
========
Many students will know that they have a particular area of interest, say
Algebra, Analysis, Applied Math, Geometry, Stats or combinations of these.
If many students declared such an interest, it would be possible to group
them together, e.g., for tutorial groups, seminars and projects. No-one
should be forced to make such a choice, since a "broad" math education is
also desirable, and the choice would in any case not be exclusive.

Q5. Would you like to be put in a new tutorial group with other students
having similar background and interests?

Q6. Would you want to declare a "major" interest. If so, which? When is
the best time to decide?

4. Project and seminar
======================
Everyone agrees that it is quite wrong for MMath students to get the whole
of their credit from taking lecture courses and written exams on them. The
alternatives are for students to do essays or projects, or to get credit
for seminar work. There is no doubt that this would give you a more balanced
view of math, as well as "transferable skills" that would improve employment
prospects. There are two difficulties with projects: they are time-consuming
for the lecturers, and there is a danger that students could get into trouble
by starting on a project that they subsequently find too difficult, or just
lose interest in. Taking part in a seminars with 4 or 5 other students is one
of the best ways of learning math, and many M.Sc. or beginning Ph.D. students
use it. But we would have to justify giving credit for seminar work, unless
there is either a written exam, or observation of lectures plus an oral exam.

Q7. Would you want to do a 3rd year essay or project for 15 or 30 cats?
A 4th year essay or project for 15 cats, or for 30 cats? (see MA369, MA395,
MA469, MA495 in Pink PYDC). More project work?

Q8. Would you want to take part in a seminar, and if so in what subject
area?

Q9. How do you feel about the inclusion of a compulsory project in the
regulations for the MMath?

5. Choice of courses
====================
The department usually offers approx 15 each MA3xx courses ("List A"), MA4xx
("List C") and MA5xx courses (M.Sc.), to cater for the needs of 3rd year,
4th year, M.Sc. and beginning Ph.D. students. Some MA2xx courses are also
appropriate for MMathers. Although there is not necessarily a clear-cut
distinction between these, many MA5xx courses will be discouraging for MMath
students, and MA4xx courses may be discouraging for 3rd year MMath. Because
of availability of lecturers and other factors, it is not possible to offer
each course in each year; lecture courses given in previous years may be
available as reading or seminar courses (with only limited help from
lecturers) if there is sufficient demand.

Q10. Prerequisites, PYDC entry, RU ready sheets. Can the department do more
to help you choose courses and get ready for them? What about set preliminary
reading or example sheets on the prequisites?

Q11. Have you tried List C or M.Sc. courses and found them discouraging?
Would preliminary reading or other measures might have improved the
situation?

Q12. Are you aware that reading courses can be set up under MA372 and MA472
to meet the requirements of individual students?

Q13. What reading courses would you like to see set up?

-----------
Sebastien answered:

I am suggesting that we would have an entrance examination
to the MMath. with all the compulsory material examined.
This exam shoudl be open for people outside warwick.
I think the same will happen if we do this, what happened
when we raised the admission levels to enter warwick as a
first year. Some students from other univerisities
would after two or three years start to take this exam and join
our 3nd and 4th year.
(One reason I suggest this, is that students here only 
remember courses 1 week after the exam. One examination
with all topics covered would require quite a different
level of maturity.)