Honors in Mathematics

The Mathematics Department offers accomplished students the opportunity to pursue sustained research culminating in an Honors Thesis. Honors Standing is acknowledged at graduation.

To qualify:

1. Students, in consultation with mentoring faculty, are invited to participate.

2. Students must have a 3.7 average in mathematics and a cumulative average of 3.0.

3. Students must have completed Math 324 and a program of 300- level electives that serves as adequate preparation for research. The Department Honors Committee reviews the candidate's transcripts to assess whether a candidate qualifies.

The procedure:

1. The student enrolls in MATH 393, Honors Thesis in Mathematics, for two semesters. The first semester, dedicated to research, bibliography, and planning, may be from 1 to 3 credits. (The choice depends on previous preparation.) The second semester, for 3 credits, is dedicated to completion of research and writing of the Honors Thesis.

2. By the end of April, students submit the thesis in tentatively complete form to the Honors Committee. Two faculty readers, other than the students mentor, assess the work and submit comments to the student.

3. The student must present a talk on his or her research in a formal setting to an audience of peers and faculty. Venues include colloquia sponsored by the math clubs, MAA sectional meetings, and the Geneseo Undergraduate Research Symposium.

4. The thesis, in its final form, must be submitted by the end of final's week for approval and final grading by the reading faculty and mentor.

5. A copy of the student's thesis, in final form, is kept on file in the math department office.

Some recent thesis titles:

1. Galois Theory a la Galois

2. Problems in Knot Theory

3. The Validity of Projective Theorems in Hyperbolic and Elliptic Planes.