Department of Mathematics

Research Placement Projects

Pay rate

You will be paid £437.50 per week. In order to get paid you must make sure that you notify the Course Coordinator in Mathematics (in the School Office) that you have started work.

Number of paid weeks
  • Year 1 (4 weeks)
  • Year 2 (8 weeks)
  • Year 3 (8 weeks)

 

Selecting your Project

Matches between supervisors and Y1 students are made by the convenor. 

  • Y1: You will receive an email during or just after the Spring term with a list of projects from which you will be asked to give us a ranked list of your top preferences.
  • Y2 & Y3: If your Y1/Y2 supervisor agrees, you can carry on working with them for the next summer. If you wish to change supervisors, then it is up to you to find a new supervisor and then to inform your former supervisor and the convener.
Transferring into RP

If you get 70% in Y1, then it is possible to transfer to the RP degree but you need to declare your intention to do so and secure a supervisor for a Y1 summer placement.

  • Y1 students who obtain an average of ≥70% can register an interest in transferring to RP but will take part in a later supervisor matching process, after the Y1 exam board. Please email mathsoffice@sussex.ac.uk.

The course change will go through if your Y1 grade is ≥70% at the first attempt and if you have secured a supervisor willing to offer you a project. The transfer will normally occur in mid July, following recommendation from the Progression and Award Board (PAB). If you were previously on the BSc degree, you will first need to transfer to MMath in order to then transfer to the RP.

Note that if you are taking "sits" in August/September, then your grade will not be known until later: in that case the board will make a recommendation as to whether you should carry out the Y1 summer placement or not.  

In exceptional circumstances you may be allowed to transfer to the RP before the progression PAB meets in June/July, however, these are considered on an individual basis and should be discussed with the Senior Tutor. 

Staying on RP (grades)
  • Year 1 (70%)
  • Year 2 (70%)
  • Year 3 (70%)

These are genuine minima and relate to "first attempt" grades. There is no wriggle room - we expect RP students to score significantly higher than these boundaries.

 

Staying on RP (project)

You need to show research potential and work to high standards to stay on the degree.

Your supervisor will not be expecting you to write journal papers but they will want you to demonstrate that you have the capacity for independent research. They will also expect you to work the required number of hours (at the expected times of day) and for you to perform all duties asked of you, to the best of your ability.

The RP is a full time commitment: it is not acceptable to hold down another part time job whilst carrying out your placement.

Staying on RP (assessment)

At the end of the summer you will be assessed by a written report. You may agree with your supervisor on additionally preparing a poster or something else.

Will I be paid if my grades slip?

Yes, you will usually still be paid for the following summer.

If you are registered on RP, the department recognizes that it would be very hard to line up a similarly rewarding (and CV enhancing) summer job at short notice. We have, therefore, made it a policy to support students who fail to progress but who score 60% or above: they will be paid at the same rate and for the same number of weeks as if they had progressed. The same high standards are expected of these students. A student getting 59.9% or less will not be paid by the department. Your supervisor might still be willing to let you work in their group on a voluntary basis but they are not obliged to do so.

If you are a Y1 student hoping to transfer into RP, the department will not pay you to do a placement if you do not meet the 70% criterion. Your supervisor might still be willing to let you work in their group on a voluntary basis but they are not obliged to do so.

What are my summer research options if I don't make it onto RP (or drop off it)
The University offers a number of JRA bursaries for undergraduate students to participate in original research during the summer vacation: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-research/junior-research-associates 

Find out more about our Mathematics (research placement) MMath course.