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

Honours Project

- The normal minimum prerequisite for Honours Project admission is a CGPA of at least 3.5.
- The Honours Project constitutes 8 AUs, and is compulsory for a student who wishes to qualify for the award of First Class Honours.
- Honours 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.
- The student needs to submit a Honours 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 Honours Project.
- 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.
- Assessment of project work will be done by two examiners: the supervisor and a faculty member of the Division.
- Timelines

Industrial Internship

• Industrial Internship is open to all MAS students.
• - The 12-week Industrial Internship constitutes 8 AUs.
  - Industrial Internship is to be conducted during the vacation after Year 3 Semester 2.
  - Career & Attachment Office (CAO) will source for the placement of the student for his/her Industrial Internship. Alternatively, the student is allowed to source for his/her own placement and submit the program to the Division via CAO
• - Assessment is undertaken by the Industrial Internship organization supervisor and an NTU tutor.

• - 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 final project report at the end of the Industrial Internship. Students may be required to carry out some post-internship activities within 4 weeks of completion of their Industrial Internship.
  -The student may be attached to industrial organizations / research centres / educational institutes locally or overseas.

• -Timelines
   

Frequently Asked Questions

General FAQs

Q:  Can I do both Honours Project and Industrial Internship?

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

Q: Can I choose not to do the Honours 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 Honours Project and Industrial Internship? Which is better for me?

A:  It depends on each student’s needs. Honours 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 Honours Project. Students who want to have more industrial experience would probably prefer to take up Industrial Internship.

FAQs on Honours Project

Q: How can I find the supervisor of my Honours Project?

A:  Consult the faculty staff, and find a research topic of common interest between you and him/her for your Honours Project. To know more about the faculty staff and their research, visit the faculty homepages from MAS website. MAS staffs’ research profiles are also available at:

http://www.spms.ntu.edu.sg/MAS/Research/FacultyResearchProfile.html

Q: I am doing BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Economics. Can my Honours 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 Honours Project?

A:  No, you will need to satisfy all the requirements for First Class Honours, including the required grade for the Honours Project. The requirements for First Class Honours can be found online at:

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/studentlink/ro/exammatter/gpa_system.pdf

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

A:  After you have come to an agreement with your supervisor on the research topic, you will need to submit the Honours 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 Honours Project presentations?

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

• - 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 Honours Project.
• 
  - 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 Honours 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 Honours Project?

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

• - 40%: Final written report
• - 30%: Oral presentations
• - 30%: Interview

FAQs on Industrial Internship

Q: When do I submit my application for Industrial Internship placement? And when will I know the result of the application?

A: Career & Attachment Office (CAO) will inform students by email when the potential companies and placements are open for application.  If you choose to source your own placement, it must be done at least four months before the start of your Industrial Internship program. Results should be available two months after application. For example, applications and placement information should be available from CAO around January 2008 for the Industrial Internship of the period May – July, 2008.

Q: How can I do my own placement sourcing?

A: Information on sourcing own placement scheme is available from CAO at:

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/CAO/opa_sso_links/IA/

Q: Do I need to find the organization supervisor or NTU tutor for my Industrial Internship?

A: No. The organization supervisor and NTU tutor will be assigned to you via the organization and the Division/CAO

Q: How do I prepare the Industrial Internship application?

A: Formal application form will be available when the placements are released by CAO. Instructions for preparing the Industrial Internship application will be made available at the same time.

Q: How do I prepare the Industrial Internship progress report?

A: The main purpose of this report is to describe the aim of the project and how far you are towards achieving that aim. The report should outline the objectives of the proposed project, and give a detailed plan. It is expected that by the time the report is submitted, you will have a clear idea of the work done and the work ahead of you. You are expected to have made some progress towards your goal. This document also provides an opportunity for you to receive advice and suggestions from your organization supervisor and NTU tutor. It is hoped that potential difficulties may be thus identified and avoided. The progress report should be no more than 10 pages.

Q: How do I prepare for the Industrial Internship presentation?

A: This presentation will describe what you have achieved in your project. It will be accompanied by a final report on your Industrial Internship. It should include (when appropriate):

• - the general nature of your project;
• - its relevance and why you chose it;
• - your specific goals;
• - your main tasks and/or the experiments you conducted;
• - your insights and conclusions.

Q: How do I write the Industrial Internship final report?

A: Here are some basic requirements for the Industrial Internship final report.

• - The report should be printed on A4 paper, single-sided, with a clear font such as Times Roman 12 point.
• - 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), the Division (“Division of mathematical Sciences, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University”), and the name of the organization with which you have carried out your Industrial Internship.
• - A page may be included for acknowledgements after the title page.
• The table of contents follows. It should list the chapters, sections and subsections (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 report. In all, they should occupy about 20 - 40 pages (single-spaced). Writing more than 40 pages will typically not be looked on favourably by your examiners.
• - 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 Industrial Internship?

A:  Industrial Internship is only graded P/F. Industrial Internship will be marked by both the organization supervisor and the NTU tutor according to the percentages showing below:

• - 30%: Final written report
• - 20%: Oral presentations
• - 50%: Assessment by host organization