Mémoire
[MAT2999]
[] 26 credits
This course is not taught in 2009-2010
Teacher(s):
Language: French
Level: Second
Main themes
The thesis to be submitted for the fulfillment of the requirements for the master 120 in mathematics should be a personal and original piece of work written by the student on the basis of the recommendations and advice of their thesis advisor. Originality can be achieved in a variety of ways, for instance
- detailed discussion of results that are briefly mentioned in the existing scientific literature;
- synthesis of various documents dealing with complementary aspects of a given topic;
- application of known methods to a new concrete problem;
- original survey of some topic from mathematics or mathematical education;
- new results derived from personal research work.
Special attention will be paid to the wording of the thesis, since the qulity of the wording will carry significant weight in the global evaluation. The student work load of the thesis is valued at 26 credits. In the case of theses submitted jointly by several students, the respective contribution of each author to the research and the wording should be clearly identified.
For the volume of the thesis, an order of magnitude of 45 pages seems to be suitable on the average.
The thesis advisor can be an academic or permanent scientific member of the department of mathematics, or anyone in charge of a course from the bachelor or master curriculum. The council of the department may allow other individuals to serve as advisors.
From the beginning of the fall academic term, the student takes the initiative to meet potential advisors to seek approval of a thesis project. The thesis advisor should supervise the student's work. To this end, regular meetings are recommended and can be demanded by each party; an average of two meetings per month seems to be a suitable frequency. The thesis advisor who is unavailable for several weeks must take all necessary measures so that their absence does not impede the progress of the theses they supervise.
Five copies of the thesis should be delivered to the department office on the last working day before the examinations session. Each advisor proposes to the chairman of the examinations committee the names of four potential examiners for each of the theses they supervise. The examiners hold a doctoral degree and are faculty members of the UCL, or assimilated to faculty members for a period including the examinations session when the thesis is examined. The chairman of the examinations committee designates two examiners and post the list of examiners ad valvas at the beginning of the spring term.
Work for the thesis comprises a public oral presentation, at a date to be set jointly by the student, the advisor, and the examiners or, barring a joint decision, by the chairman of the examinations committee. The presentation can be held off the examinations session, before or after the final wording of the thesis.
Before the meeting of the examinations committee, the advisor and two examiners jointly communicate a grade that reflects their evaluation of the thesis. This grade is transcripted in the examinations records. It takes into account the value of the content as well as the quality of the wording.