Undergraduate Research F.A.Q.

This is an collection of Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for the UC Davis Math Dept.

• Can Math 199 or 194 count towards the requirements for a degree in Mathematics?
• How do I find potential research supervisors?
• How do I select a research project?
• What is expected in a thesis?
• When should I start research towards my thesis?

A total of 3 units of credit for Math 199 and 194 can be counted toward the upper division (depth) requirements for a degree in Mathematics. No other units in the Mathematics 190 series of courses will count towards the upper division mathematics requirement.

Note that you must get permission from your mentor before registering for Math 199 and 194. Your faculty mentor will be in charge of assigning the grades for these courses.

Finding an appropriate faculty member willing to mentor you is not always easy, but the research experience will make it well worth the effort. Here is some advice that should help you to find a faculty mentor:

• Make personal contact with the instructors with whom you are taking classes. Show them that you're genuinely interested in math and that you "know how to think". Even if you don't end up doing research with them, they can serve as an excellent source for a reference letter and they should be able to help you find an appropriate research mentor. Graduate student instructors and TAs are particularly good in this respect, because they are generally very approachable and can provide a direct link to faculty members.

• Look through the Math Department's webpage and webpage of the Graduate Group in Applied Mathematics (GGAM) to see if any of the faculty member's research sounds particularly interesting to you. If you find someone whose research area interests you, contact them and try to set up a meeting to discuss the possibility of doing research with them. Prior to meeting with them, read up on their research. It's likely that you will have difficulty understanding their research deeply, but you will be sure to impress them by asking knowledgeable questions about the work that they do.

• Start looking for potential mentors as early as possible. A faculty member may not have an opening in their research program or a potential mentor may want you to take a specific course before you start doing research with them. It is generally a good idea to arrange a research position at least one quarter before of when you want to begin the project.

• Participating in the VIGRE summer REU program is an excellent way to get your foot in the door. Applications for the summer REU program are usually due in March. Note that it is not necessary to have a mentor to apply to the summer REU program.

• Work hard in your classes to maintain a high GPA. It is easier to convince faculty members to be your mentor if you have a high GPA.

• If you have trouble finding a mentor, you can contact the Department's Undergraduate Research Chair. The Undergraduate Research Chair maintains a list of faculty who are willing to supervise undergraduate research projects.

Faculty members will suggest problems and direct students to relevant scientific and mathematical literature. Students can also suggest problems that they would like to work on. Together the student and the faculty mentor will decide on an appropriate research project.

The thesis is intended to contain original research and should contain results of sufficient quality to be considered publishable. That is, if rewritten in article format, at least parts of the thesis should be considered publishable in an undergraduate research journal or full scientific journal. With the approval of the supervisor, a student unable to obtain new results may write an expository thesis on the research topic. However, such a project will not typically be used to obtain a recommendation for graduation with high and highest honors from the college.

Work on the thesis should be started no later than the beginning of the student's next-to-last quarter. However, ideally students should look into participating in the REU summer research program the summer before the academic year that they plan to write a thesis. Applications for the summer REU program are usually due in March.