All MAS students are given opportunities to undergo a period of Final Year Project or Industrial Internship as part of their undergraduate experience.

Final Year Project

1. The normal minimum prerequisite for Final Year Project admission is a CGPA of at least 3.5.
2. To find a supervisor for your Final Year Project, see the Final Year Project Proposal List.
3. The Final Year Project constitutes 8 AUs, and is compulsory for a student who wishes to qualify for the award of First Class Honours.
4. The Final Year Project will be conducted under the supervision of a faculty member during Year 3 and/or Year 4. An external co-supervisor is allowed if the topic that the student chooses is of interdisciplinary nature. However, for a Math student, a MAS faculty member must act as the main supervisor; while for a Math & Econ student, a faculty from either MAS or Division of Economics can be the main supervisor.
5. The student needs to submit a Final Year Project proposal together with the course registration form (click here to download the form) for the approval by the Division, 6 weeks before the commencement of the Final Year Project.
6. The student needs to give two presentations: one progress presentation during the mid-term of the project, and one final presentation at the end of the project. The student is to submit a progress report during the mid-term of the project and a thesis at the end of the project.
7. Assessment of project work will be done by two examiners: the supervisor and a faculty member of the Division.
8. Timelines

	Due dates	Remarks	Weightage
Submission of Final Year Project Proposal  to the Division	6 weeks before the semester starts	Consult the supervisor before submitting the proposal.
Progress Presentation	Week 4 of the semester (20 minutes)	A progress report is to be submitted too.
Final Presentation	Week 11 of the semester (30 minutes)		20%
Oral examination/Interview	Within 1 working day, after the final presentation, to be arranged by examiner, supervisor, student.	To be assessed by both supervisor and examiner: ask students some number of (say 5-10) questions to check student's understanding, mastery of the work done	30%
Thesis	Week 12 of the semester		50%

 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

General FAQs

Q:  Can I do both Final Year Project and Industrial Internship?

A:  No. You can only choose one of them.

Q: Can I choose not to do the Final Year Project and Industrial Internship?

A: Yes, you can. But you will have to make up 8 AUs through other courses (either from MAS Prescribe Electives, or GER Core/Elective, or Unrestricted Electives).

Q: How do I choose between Final Year Project and Industrial Internship? Which is better for me?

A:  It depends on each student’s needs. Final Year Project is more research-oriented and students who want to continue their studies towards a Master and/or PhD degree are strongly encouraged to take up Final Year Project. Students who want to have more industrial experience would probably prefer to take up Industrial Internship.

 

 

FAQs on Final Year Project

 

Q: I am doing BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Economics. Can my Final Year Project supervisor be from the Division of Economics?

A: Yes. Your supervisor and/or associate supervisor can be from MAS and/or Econ .

Q: Will I be automatically granted First Class Honours if I do the Final Year Project?

A:  No, you will need to satisfy all the requirements for First Class Honours, including the required grade for the Final Year Project. The requirements for First Class Honours can be found online at GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA) SYSTEM IN NTU

Q: When do I submit my Final Year Project proposal?  How do I prepare the Final Year Project proposal?

A:  After you have come to an agreement with your supervisor on the research topic, you will need to submit the Final Year Project proposal together with the course registration form for approval by the Division one month before the project starts. The proposal should be no more than 2 pages. The proposal should briefly set the proposed project in the context of existing work and describe the fundamental problem to be investigated. This may include content such as research plan, methods, limitations and expected outcomes.

Click here to download the MAS491 course registration form.

Q: How do I prepare for the Final Year Project presentations?

A: There are two presentations required: the progress presentation and the final presentation.

1. Progress Presentation: This presentation will be accompanied by a progress report of no more than 10 pages, including a complete literature review. Its aim is to ensure that you are making good progress and to allow others to contribute ideas and suggestions to your Final Year Project.
2. Final Presentation: This presentation will summarise what you have achieved in your project work. It will be accompanied by a final version of your thesis. It will be typically scheduled for 30 minutes. You should therefore allow 25 minutes for the main part, leaving 5 minutes for introduction and questions. In particular, it should include (when appropriate)

• the general nature of your project;
• its relevance and why you chose it;
• your specific goals;
• the relevant highlights from your literature review;
• your choice of methods, techniques and equipment;
• your main results, outline of the proofs and/or the experiments you conducted;
• your insights and conclusions;
• some ideas for extending your work.

Q: How do I write the Final Year Project thesis?

A: Here are some basic requirements for the thesis write-up:

• The thesis should be printed on A4 paper, single-sided, with a clear font such as Times Roman 12 point. A good size for margins is 2.5 cm top and bottom, 2 cm on the right and at least 2.5 cm on the left (maybe more, depending on the binding process). You are strongly encouraged to use LaTeX to write the thesis.
• The title page should contain the project title, your name, the purpose of the project (“it is submitted as part of the honours requirements”), the submission date (month and year), and the Division (“Division of Mathematical Sciences, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University”). The next page should contain an abstract.
• A page may be included for acknowledgements after the abstract page.
• The table of contents follows. It should list the chapters, sections and sub-sections (if any), each with its page number. Do not subdivide any further.
• Separate lists of figures, tables and code segments may also be included at this point.
• Chapters constitute the main body of the thesis. In all, they should occupy about 30 - 50 pages (single-spaced). Writing more than 50 pages will typically not be looked on favourably by your examiners.
• A list of references, and possibly an annotated bibliography, should follow the main body. References should use the commonly used styles (author and year).
• Appendices containing relevant but secondary material (e.g., program listings) may be added. This helps to keep the main part more focused.

Q:  What are the marking criteria for Final Year Project?

A:  The Final Year Project will be marked according to the following criteria with percentages showing the proportion of the marks:

• 50%: Final written report
• 20%: Oral presentations
• 30%: Interview