School of Mathematical Sciences UG Student Handbook 2024/25

The Key Staff deal with most student queries in general. We will also allocate a member of academic staff as your Advisor and there is a programme director for each degree programme.

For straightforward administrative enquiries, you should normally ask in the Maths School Office first. For general academic advice, you should normally ask your Advisor first, who may refer you to the appropriate programme director or the Student Support Officer. Their roles are described below.

HOW DO I KNOW WHO MY ADVISOR IS?

MySIS should show your current Advisor, but if you cannot find who your current Advisor is then please contact the Maths School Office. To contact your Advisor please see Contact Information.

ADVISOR'S ROLE

Your Advisor's role is to give you information and advice during your studies; in particular to discuss your academic progress throughout your time at Queen Mary. You should get to know your Advisor, since normally you should ask your Advisor to act as a referee for job applications, etc. If possible, you will keep the same Advisor throughout your time at Queen Mary. Your Advisor is able to help you with any mathematical problems and able to help you with Essential Mathematical Skills.

It is normally best to contact your Advisor by email initially and then arrange a meeting if necessary. It is important that you discuss with your Advisor any academic, financial, medical or other problems as soon as they arise. Your Advisor can then refer you to the appropriate person within Queen Mary to deal with your problem, which you may also need to report to the Student Support Officer; see below.

Students will be required to attend at least one meeting each Semester with their Advisor to discuss academic progress and personal development aims and goals (the first meeting will take place in Welcome Week). Students will be contacted by Advisors to arrange a mutually agreed date and time for the meeting to take place. Informal meetings can be arranged at any time during the academic year via email or student dropping by the Advisors office.

ADVISING CONTRACT

The aim of the Advisor-advisee relationship is to

• foster and develop in our students a sense of value for and ownership of their education;
• actively promote our students' involvement in the planning and achievement of their academic and career goals.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ADVISOR

1. Be available for advisees via email and for scheduled meetings according to School policy.
2. Help advisees to understand the academic and administrative processes of Queen Mary.
3. Help advisees to understand the expected standards of achievement and likelihood of success in certain areas of study.
4. Help advisees to decide on details of study programmes and give advice about modules.
5. Be involved in discussions with advisees and other School staff in the event of poor attendance or performance.
6. Refer advisees to other resources when appropriate, such as specialist careers or counselling advice.
7. Provide references for current and former advisees.
8. Read the Staff Intranet and this Student Handbook.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ADVISEE

1. Follow email etiquette.
2. Acquire information needed for selecting modules appropriate to your study programme.
3. Seek the academic and career information needed to meet your educational goals.
4. Become knowledgeable about relevant policies, procedures, and rules of Queen Mary.
5. Be prepared with accurate information and relevant materials, such as completed forms, when contacting your Advisor.
6. Read this Student Handbook.

The School of Mathematical Science's Learning Café

The School of Mathematical Science's Learning Café is restarting this week.  The Learning Café is an opportunity for you to ask questions about module content, get academic support, as well as a chance for everyone to socialise in a welcoming atmosphere.

It is a great opportunity to speak to staff and get academic support, advice regarding your modules and feedback.

The Learning Café runs in the School Social Hub, MB-B11 (in the basement level). There will some light refreshments.  Times and dates are posted below:

• Tuesday  -  11:00-14:00
• Thursdays  - 11:00-14:00

During these times, teaching staff will be attending the Café, and will be happy to chat about coursework, revision tips, lecture material, and academic life in general.

If you wish to discuss something with an individual member of staff, each module organiser should have their Learning Café hour posted on their module's QMplus page.  

SENIOR TUTOR ROLE

The Senior Tutor role allocates Advisors for students and oversees all aspects linked School of Mathematical Sciences enabling plan that relate specifically to overall student experience and/or success. They will be leading on initiatives to improve and to enhance both the student experience and student outcomes while acting as a key link between feedback regarding teaching, the student experience and the student voice. They oversee the academic aspects of advising and student welfare, in particular, engagement, attendance and performance in courseworks, tests and examinations while facilitating feedback from Course Reps and Lecturers. They liaise with Advisors and the Student Support Officer, as appropriate in regards to any non-academic aspects of advising (pastoral support) or student welfare.

STUDENT SUPPORT OFFICERS ROLE

In addition to the pastoral support provided by members of the Education Services Team, the Student Support Officer is here to help you with more complex pastoral issues.. The Student Support Officer can help with advice on the technical and bureaucratic aspects of student life, and can direct you to the appropriate Queen Mary support services, such as Advice and Counselling. The Student Support Officer provides professional support for all aspects of undergraduate and postgraduate administration and is a key member of the School's Professional Services Team, responsible for providing expert pastoral care and support to all students within the School of Mathematical Sciences as well being the link between students, the school and central college support services.

This involves:

• Create and run a variety of support mechanisms to support students throughout their student journey.
• Help students get the most out of life as a student and fulfil their full potential.
• Be the first point of contact for all students and signpost students to relevant support services and mechanisms.
• Offer advice on matters which may be impeding a student’s ability to study.
• To make the student experience the best it can possibly be.
• Manage and monitor the School’s engagement policy and offer support mechanisms to get students re-engaged with their programme of study.
• Manage the School’s extenuating circumstances policy (circumstances that are outside a student’s control which may have a negative impact on a student’s ability).
• Leading on the School’s student feedback procedures for assuring academic standards and enhancing the student learning experience.

Further information on how the School supports students can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlIb9f-h2b4

WRITING SUPPORT

Learning Development works in a number of ways with students at any level, undergraduate or postgraduate, from any subject discipline, to develop the skills and practices they need to become more effective in their academic work. Areas covered include writing for academic purposes, effective reading, presentation skills, time-management, critical thinking and avoiding plagiarism.

Writing & Study Guidance is offered by Learning Development Advisers in the form of one-to-one tutorials, workshops, drop-ins, retreats and downloadable resources. We also offer a programme of PhD writing development events. In addition, tutorials on writing are offered by the Royal Literary Fund (RLF) Fellows, who are hosted by Learning Development.

Writing & Study Guidance and RLF tutorials are based in the Library on the Mile End Campus.  For more information on the range of services we offer, and to book a tutorial or workshop, check www.learningdevelopment.qmul.ac.uk. 

During your time at Queen Mary, our Learning Development team will provide you with a range of activities and resources to help you.

Writing & Study Guidance Staff are available for one-to-one tutorials in several aspects of study including writing for academic purposes, reading effectively, time-management, critical thinking, avoiding plagiarism and presentation skills. Besides tutorials, they also run drop-ins, retreats and various group workshops. Their aim is to help students at any level from any subject discipline, undergraduate or postgraduate, to become more effective in their academic work.

Royal Literary Fund Fellows are also available for one-to-one tutorials in writing with students from any discipline - their aim is to help the student develop clear, lively, accurate writing that conveys meaning with the minimum of fuss.

Writing & Study Guidance and RLF tutorials are based in the Library on the Mile End Campus. 

We offer some general guidance on mathematical writing.

The Language Centre provides a range of programmes in academic English and study skills, including in-sessional programmes for students currently studying at Queen Mary, pre-sessional programmes, foundation programmes and pre-masters graduate diplomas to prepare students for their undergraduate and post-graduate studies, courses in modern foreign languages, and courses for specific purposes

PROGRAMME DIRECTORS' ROLES

Each degree programme has a director, who decides which modules students must study within that programme. Normally, your degree title will be the title of your programme and the programme director decides what conditions you must satisfy to obtain that degree title. For full details of current Mathematical Sciences degree programmes see Study Programmes.

Programmes	Director
G101        BSc Mathematics with Professional Placement G10Y        BSc Mathematics with Year Abroad GGX2       BSc Mathematics with Foundation G1NY       BSc Pure Mathematics with Year Abroad GG31       BSc Mathematics and Statistics GG32       BSc Mathematics and Statistics with Professional Placement GG3Y       BSc Mathematics and Statistics with Year Abroad	Dr Roldolfo Russo
GL11       BSc Mathematics, Statistics and Financial Economics GL12       BSc Mathematics, Statistics and Financial Economics with Professional Placement GL1Y       BSc Mathematics, Statistics and Financial Economics with Year Abroad G1N4      BSc Mathematics with Finance and Accounting G1N6      BSc Mathematics with Finance and Accounting with Professional Placement G14Y       BSc Mathematics with Finance and Accounting with Year Abroad GN12      BSc Mathematics with Management G1NN     BSc Mathematics with Management with Professional Placement G13N      BSc Mathematics with Management with Year Abroad	Professor Alexander Gnedin
G102       MSci Mathematics G12Y       MSci Mathematics with Year Abroad G1G3      MSci Mathematics with Statistics GG1Y      MSci Mathematics with Statistics with Year Abroad	Dr Roldolfo Russo
GN1H     MSci Financial Mathematics GN2H     MSci Financial Mathematics with Professional Placement GNHY     MSci Financial Mathematics with Year Abroad	Dr Pedro Vergal
N323      BSc Mathematics with Actuarial Science N32P      BSc Mathematics with Actuarial Science with Professional Placement N32Y      BSc Mathematics with Actuarial Science with Year Abroad	Dr Chris Sutton and Dr Melania Nica

For joint programmes, there is also a contact in the secondary School, and Mathematical Sciences programme directors act as contacts for students on joint programmes for which Mathematical Sciences is the secondary School as shown below:

School and Programme(s)	Contact
School of Economics and Finance contact for GL11	econ-admin <econ-admin@qmul.ac.uk
School of Business and Management contact for G1N1, GN13, G1N4, G1N3/G1N5, GN12	sbm-ugjoint@qmul.ac.uk
School of Mathematical Sciences contact for GG41	eecs-ecs@qmul.ac.uk

ROLES OF THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION and DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION

The Director of Education oversees all taught programmes and takes primary strategic responsibility for programme development and resource allocation. The Deputy Director of Education takes primary operational responsibility for undergraduate programmes including student information and quality assurance.   

GETTING HELP

If you have administrative or technical questions relating to a specific module then you should approach the module organiser, either at the end of a lecture or in the module organiser's office hours; see Contact Information. Many undergraduate modules, especially in the first year, have tutorials, exercise or computing classes, where you have an opportunity to ask questions of the teaching assistants (who may range from graduate students to senior academic staff). Some module organisers may also provide additional support for students who are finding the module difficult – ask about this if necessary.

PASS (PEER ASSISTED STUDY SUPPORT)

• PASS offers help with all first-year undergraduate maths modules to smooth your transition from school or work to university study.
• It consists of friendly drop-in study sessions run by student mentors who have successfully completed the first year.
• You can also pop in and talk about anything related to university life (e.g. where something is on campus).

Student mentors are volunteers who are keen to share their knowledge and experience to help you succeed. We train them to run effective PASS sessions. A student mentor explains:

PASS sessions are more like discussion groups than exercise classes. The mentors encourage you to have discussions amongst yourselves before asking for help.

For further details contact Shyla Jadav (s.jadav@se23.qmul.ac.uk) our Student Organiser, see the PASS posters around the Mathematical Sciences Building or visit https://www.qmul.ac.uk/library/academic-skills/pass/