Doing a PhD in mathematics at the ANU

What is doing a PhD in mathematics at the ANU all about? This page is intended to give you a flavour of life as a PhD student.

The structure of the PhD course

At the ANU the examinable component of a PhD in mathematics consists solely of research, which is presented in the form of a substantial thesis, usually after 3-4 years for full-time students, or about double this for part-timers.

Every PhD student has a supervisory panel, which consists of at least three staff members, as well as a primary supervisor. The role of the supervisor and the panel is to help you find a suitable research project, direct you to relevant background mathematics, and provide a formal `sounding board' for you while you pursue your research.

The length of a PhD course is nominally three years, and most PhD scholarships reflect this by running out after this time.

There are not many formal landmarks to mark the progression of the PhD course. Students are required to submit annual reports of their progress to the University's central administration, and after 18 months each student must present a mid-term review. This normally takes the form of a seminar presentation of the research area, followed by a discussion with the supervisory panel. This a convenient time to meet with the entire panel and discuss the progress of your research project.

Daily life as a PhD student

How you spend your time as a PhD student will change rather dramatically over the course of the three years. Initially you will probably identify the broad area of mathematics that you are interested in, and spend quite a while `getting up to speed' with that subject, by attending courses and reading textbooks or research papers. Guidance from your supervisor will help make this process as efficient as possible.

After 3-6 months or so you will begin to formulate a research project to pursue for the remainder of the course. Probably it will take another few months of reading in more detail about the specific area of mathematics concerned before you are ready to embark on genuine research.

The bulk of the time spent at a PhD is taken up by researching your chosen problem. The intention is that you make a `substantial and original contribution' to the subject. This sounds daunting at first, but in practice your supervisor and panel will help you find an area where this is a practical proposition.

During this time you will be free to attend any courses offered that interest you, and to generally pursue any ideas which seem valuable. As well as formal courses, every week there are MSI seminars.

To help keep in line during this time, most students arrange a regular meeting with their primary supervisor, where progress can be discussed and any difficulties sorted out before they become too great.

Apart from your supervisor and panel, there are many members of staff with a wide range of expertise, as well as a vigorous visitors program. This means that there are many opportunities to discuss mathematics with people from many disciplines.

There is no formal teaching requirement for PhD candidates. However, it is often possible for students to obtain part-time work as tutors for Department of Mathematics undergraduate courses. This can provide valuable teaching experience, and provides extra money to ease the burden of living on a PhD scholarship. It also offers a welcome change of pace from life as a research student.

Sometime in the third year of your studies you will start writing up the results of your research into a thesis. This process usually takes longer than you expect. Six months is not an unreasonable amount of time to dedicate to writing up. Once this is done, the thesis is submitted and the process is in the hands of the examiners!

The ANU has adopted a set of guidelines outlining what students can reasonably expect of their supervisors, advisors, departments and institutes, and conversely what is expected of students during their course.