1. Disclaimer and Alternative Formats

Disclaimer

Nothing in this handbook overrides the Academic Regulations, which always take precedence. The Academic Regulations provide detailed information on progression, award and classification requirements.

We will endeavour to keep the information in this handbook correct but it may occasionally lag behind reality. In the unlikely event of substantial amendments to the material during an academic year, the School of Mathematical Sciences (hereafter referred to as "SMS") will inform you of any changes. You should always refer to the latest version. Queen Mary cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy or reliability of information given in third party publications or websites referred to in this handbook.

If you have any difficulty accessing this Handbook, please visit the Maths Office (room CB309 on the third floor of the Queens' Building) or telephone 020 7882 5468.

2. Welcome to the School of Mathematical Sciences

3. Contact Information

4. Missions, Aims and Objectives

Queen Mary's Mission Statement

As detailed in its Strategic Aims, Queen Mary seeks "to teach its students to the very highest academic standards, drawing in creative and innovative ways on its research."

The QMUL Charter contains a list of expectations for both staff and students to help create a community which is mutually supportive and works to further knowledge creation and dissemination.

The aims of Taught Mathematics

• To ensure that when you graduate you have the mathematical skills most likely to be useful to you and your employers. In particular these include: fluency and accuracy in elementary calculation; ability to reason clearly, critically and with rigour, both orally and in writing, within a mathematical context; and, within the areas that you study, a sense of how and where your mathematical knowledge can be applied.
• To help you build up more general skills and sound habits. These include the ability to plan your work, to work independently and in groups, to explain your work to others, and to use computers and the internet effectively and responsibly
• To deliver a set of taught modules in mathematics that forms a coherent whole at the appropriate levels for each year of a university degree. To challenge and encourage all students within a friendly, stimulating and responsive environment.
• To exploit our research strength by designing modules that will be interesting and useful for the students but also reflect recent developments in the subject; and at the same time to build on those modules and procedures that we have found successful in the past.
• To deliver sound assessments of your work in order to keep you informed of your progress during your studies and in order to reflect your overall achievements in your class of degree.

The Objectives of Taught Mathematics

1. All graduates will be able to use deductive reasoning and manipulate precise concepts, definitions and notation, to postgraduate standard.
2. All graduates will be able to approach a mathematically posed problem with confidence and technical dexterity, to postgraduate standard.
3. All graduates in programmes that involve analysis of data will have acquired skills in data handling, quantitative statistical analysis, and the ability to synthesise results, to postgraduate standard.
4. All graduates in interdisciplinary programmes will have developed both basic knowledge and understanding of the companion discipline, and appropriate mathematical expertise, to postgraduate standard.
5. All graduates will possess appropriate computational skills, to postgraduate standard.
6. All graduates will demonstrate an ability to write technical reports, to postgraduate standard.

5. Key Dates

The academic year for an MSc student consists of a one-week induction and enrolment period, followed by two 12-week teaching semesters, a 6-week examination period, and 14 weeks in which to complete a project dissertation. During the induction and enrolment period, you should agree the elective modules in your programme for the year with your Programme Director.  Key dates for the academic year 2017–18 are as follows (please see also the Queen Mary calendar).

6. What must I do as a Student?

• Read this handbook carefully at the start of the year and refer to it later if you have a question about your course.
• Monitor email communications from SMS staff sent to your qmul.ac.uk email address.
• Check the School QMplus landing page and the student information notice boards in the Mathematical Sciences offices regularly.
• Visit your adviser (personal tutor) at the start of your course, and answer any email from your adviser promptly.
  
• Keep your adviser informed of your circumstances and any problems you may experience.
• Keep your full contact details up to date in MySIS.
• Submit all exercises required for each module by the stated deadline.
• Inform the module organiser if you withdraw from a module or start a module late.
• Ensure you are registered for the correct degree programme, which should be the one you were originally accepted for unless you have explicitly changed it.
• Ensure that you prearrange and respect appointments made with your adviser and lecturers; please see Contact Information.
• Respect Queen Mary policy on harassment, which states that all members of Queen Mary are entitled to work within an environment where they are treated with dignity and respect and where harassment of any kind is unacceptable.
• Don't smoke except in designated areas.

Updating Personal Details

It is important that Queen Mary has up-to-date personal details for all students. Please update your address and contact details online using MySIS, although a change of name must be done in person at the Student Enquiry Centre in room CB02 of the Queens' Building with accompanying identification. Please also ensure you notify the Maths Office so that we can update our departmental records.

Communication

Queen Mary will communicate with you in a variety of ways. We may send you some formal correspondence by letter, so it is important that you keep Queen Mary up to date (via MySIS) with your personal details and address. However, it is most common for the School of Mathematical Sciences and Queen Mary to contact you by email sent to your qmul.ac.uk email address. Queen Mary assigns you an email address when you first enrol and you must check this email account daily.

You can access your Queen Mary email account in various ways. You can use any web browser (on any device) or you can use the same email client you use for your private email on your computer, phone and/or tablet.

Email Etiquette

Email is often the best way to contact Queen Mary staff, but you must use your Queen Mary email account and include both your full name (as registered with Queen Mary) and your 9-digit student number. Use standard and correct English with correct capitalisation; do not use abbreviations or colloquialisms. Save "txtspk" for friends and family! Address staff by their title and surname: for example, Prof. Soicher, Dr. Walters, Mr. Ng. You can check staff titles on the School of Mathematical Sciences webpages, here. If you are replying to an email then please include a copy of that email.

If you follow the above requirements then you can reasonably expect an acknowledgement within about two working days and a full reply within about five working days during term time, but responses may take longer during vacations. If you do not follow the above requirements then we may ignore your email.

• How (not) to write an email to a member of staff - a pictorial guide

Requesting References

If you want an academic reference for a job or further study, you should normally ask your personal academic adviser. If you need a second reference, you should ask another member of academic staff who knows you and your work well, but they may refuse.

You should always ask a member of staff well in advance whether they are willing to act as a referee before naming them on an application form. If you ask them by email then you must follow the email etiquette above. If you need letters of reference (rather than just names of referees), you should allow about two weeks for your referees to write them and referees may refuse to provide references with less than one week's notice.

Code of Conduct

All students are expected to adhere to the Queen Mary Code of Student Discipline. This covers general student behaviour. Please respect others by refraining from talking during lectures (except to members of staff) and in the library (except in designated areas). If you persistently talk during lectures or in quiet areas of the library then Queen Mary may take disciplinary action against you; we take a serious view of behaviour that prevents other people from working.

It is important that when using dedicated PGT resources situated within the School of Mathematical Sciences that you respect the environment.  Queens' W307 (the Maths PGT IT Lab)] is dedicated to PGT and final year MSci students, who can access the room via card-entry access doors.  Students must not let other students access these facilities at any time. 

Personal Information and Data Protection

During application and enrolment you will have provided personal information about yourself which is held in MySIS, such as relevant addresses and information about your background, and given Queen Mary consent to process this. It is important that you ensure this information is accurate and keep it up-to-date, even after you have graduated and left Queen Mary. Throughout your studies you may provide other personal information to us and you should be aware that your personal information also includes any assessed text you produce, i.e. coursework, exam scripts and dissertations. Tutors may occasionally use anonymised student answers (or portions from them) as part of the teaching process. We hope you will be willing to support your fellow students by allowing this, but you may opt out by contacting the School Office.

Use of Mobile Phones

Please do not use your mobile phone or allow your mobile phone to make any sound in lectures, classes, the library, computing laboratories or staff offices. If you do then a member of staff may ask you to leave. You must switch off your mobile phone in all tests and examinations. Allowing your mobile phone to ring during a test or an examination is a disciplinary offence that will normally lead to failure in the test or examination with a mark of zero, with more severe penalties for a second offence.

7. Key Information about the School of Mathematical Sciences

8. IT Services

9. Advice and Support

You will be allocated a personal academic adviser and there is a Programme Director for each degree programme; see below.

For straightforward administrative enquiries, you should normally ask in the Maths Office first. For general academic advice, you should normally ask your adviser / Programme Director (they may well be the same person) or the Student Support Officer. Their roles are described below.

How do I know who my adviser is?

The relevant Programme Director will generally be assigned as an academic adviser for postgraduate students; see Contact Information. MySIS will show who your current adviser is. If you cannot find who your current adviser is then please contact the Maths Office.

The Adviser's Role

Your adviser's role is to give you information and advice during your studies; in particular to discuss with you and approve any electives in your "module registration" – the list of modules you register for each year. You should get to know your adviser as normally you should ask them to act as a referee for job applications, etc. If possible, you will keep the same adviser throughout your time at Queen Mary. Teaching is not part of an adviser's role, although your adviser may be willing to help you with mathematical problems.

You should visit your adviser at the start of each semester to agree your programme of study for that semester, and you should visit your adviser at least once again during each semester to discuss your progress. It is also important that you discuss with your adviser any academic, financial, medical or other problems as soon as they arise. Your adviser 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 Programme Director (if not personal academic adviser) or the Student Support Officer; see below.

The Advising Contract

The Student Support Officer's Role

The Student Support Officer is there to help you with any difficulties that are not primarily academic, and to provide an additional layer of support between the Maths Office and the academic staff. The Student Support Officer is an expert on the technical and bureaucratic aspects of student life. In particular, the Student Support Officer will act as a back-up adviser when your personal adviser is not available, will help you report extenuating circumstances, will direct you to the appropriate Queen Mary support services such as Advice and Counselling (see below), and may be available when the Maths Office is closed. The Student Support Officer will also help us to monitor your attendance, exercise submission, and marks for in-term assessment, and may discuss these issues with you.

The Roles of the Director of Taught Programmes and Director of Postgraduate Studies

The Director of Taught Programmes is Dr. Mark Walters. His email is: m.walters@qmul.ac.uk.  He oversees all taught programmes and takes primary strategic responsibility for programme development and resource allocation. The Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes is Dr. Sebastian del Bano Rollin.  He takes primary operational responsibility for postgraduate programmes including student information and quality assurance. His email is: s.delbanorollin@qmul.ac.uk

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. Some module organisers may also provide additional support for students who are finding the module difficult – ask about this if necessary.

Writing Support

Mathematical Sciences students often have difficulty writing essays and other descriptive text. However, this is an essential skill that you will probably use much more than mathematics in your working life, so you need to improve it during your university course.

• 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.
• Learning Development works with students at any level from any subject discipline, undergraduate or postgraduate, to become more effective in their academic work. They can help with aspects of study including reading effectively, writing, exam technique, revision, note-taking, time-management, critical thinking, avoiding plagiarism, presentation skills and group work. Throughout the year they run one-to-one tutorials, drop-ins, retreats and various workshops. Learning Development also provides a range of study support including free and impartial guidance in maths and statistics with specialist tutors giving advice on how to understand the subject, develop an overview of the topic and tackle general problems. Writing & Study Guidance is offered by Learning Development Advisors in the form of one-to-one tutorials, workshops, drop-ins, retreats and downloadable resources. They 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 they offer, and to book a tutorial or workshop, check www.learningdevelopment.qmul.ac.uk.
  

My QMUL

my.qmul should be used  together with this handbook for general information on your time at Queen Mary. my.qmul contains a wide range of information, including:

• Academic and student support services
• The academic year
• Campus facilities
• Details of some key Academic Regulations
• How to? advice
• QM contact information
• Calendar
  • Graduation
  • Student administration, and enrolment advice
• QM policies
• Campus and QM information

Access my.qmul at: www.my.qmul.ac.uk

10. Students' Union Societies

11. Student Services

12. Student Representation and Feedback

Your views are important to the School of Mathematical Sciences and to Queen Mary. There are a variety of ways in which you can communicate your opinions to us. At an institutional level, there are student representatives on Council, Senate and various committees across Queen Mary.

Student-Staff Liaison Committee

The School of Mathematical Sciences postgraduate Student-Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC) normally meets twice a semester. It discusses matters of interest to postgraduates, including the curriculum, student welfare and facilities, and advises the Head of School. The Students' Union arranges elections for at least one student course representative from each MSc programme. Please raise any matters of concern with one of your student course representatives.

The School takes suggestions from the SSLC very seriously. The committee is chaired by Dr. Rosemary Harris and attended by the Head of School, Director of Taught Programmes, Programme Directors, Director of Postgraduate Studies and the Teaching and Student Support Manager. We provide details of the SSLC on QMplus, including minutes of past meetings. See also Student feedback.

Student Ambassadors

The School of Mathematical Sciences employs a number of students to act as guides and talk to prospective students who attend open days or post-offer visit days. There are similar opportunities within Queen Mary. Look out for emails and notices if you are interested, and see i² Keepin' it real - Maths student support.

Student Feedback Open Forums

During each semester, each MSc programme will be invited to attend a forum with the Student Support Officer. This is your chance as a cohort to give your individual and group feedback. The Student Support Officer is the only member of staff who attends and we encourage you to be as open and honest as possible whilst giving constructive feedback about your whole student experience. Both positive and negative feedback from these forums are anonymised and taken to the relevant staff committees within the School and Queen Mary in order to bring about any necessary changes to improve your experience.

Module Evaluation Questionnaires

Each semester, we will ask you to complete a standard one-page questionnaire for each of the Mathematical Sciences modules that you are taking. We use the results to try to identify any problems and rectify them.

Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey

The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES, which is found here) is conducted every year. It gives you, as a postgraduate taught student, an opportunity to give your opinions on what you liked about your time at QM, as well as those aspects that you feel could have been improved. Please do consider completing the survey; your feedback really is invaluable and will help us make a difference for future generations of QM students.

How can I provide personal feedback?

You are welcome to make suggestions for improvement to members of staff, such as your module organisers or adviser, and we will try to pursue any serious suggestions that may lead to improvements in our procedures. More information can be found here.

13. Appeals and Complaints

14. Module Selection and Registration

You can find the module options for your programme on the School of Mathematical Sciences webpages.

The MSc Maths module options are found here.

The MSc Network Science module options are found here.

The MSc Mathematical Finance module options are found here.

The MSc Financial Computing module options are found here.

To register for your modules you will log-in to MySIS (your personal area of SIS where you pre-enrol and the portal to your student record) with your Queen Mary  IT log-in, and make preliminary choices from a list using the descriptions to tell you what the modules are about. Any core or compulsory modules will be pre-selected and you cannot change these.

Once you are happy with your choices, you will send them to the School for approval by your academic adviser.

You can send comments to them with the selection if you wish. All of your selections must be confirmed and approved by the specified deadline. The final outcome of your choices will be confirmed to you by email. Module registration has to be completed by the specified deadline (normally mid-October / within the first two weeks of teaching). Please note, new students register for modules in September whereas continuing students will register for modules in May (before they return to university in the September).

Some modules have a limited number of places, and priority is given to students who are required to take them for their programmes. Therefore, it is important that you choose your electives and complete module registration as soon as possible.

During  the  first  two  weeks  of  each semester, students on certain programmes of study  are able to modify their choice of modules by undoing their choices in MySIS. You can find out how to change your modules on the Student Enquiry Centre website.

What if I have Failed Modules?

You may attempt each examination at most twice but you cannot resit any examination you have already passed. Once you have passed enough credits you will normally graduate, after which you cannot resit any modules.

The following regulations normally apply to resit examinations:

• You must resit each examination at the first opportunity.
• We currently allow you two attempts at any one module, including one resit.
• When there is a significant change in either style or content of the examination paper from one year to the next, resit candidates will be set a special resit paper that is comparable to the original one; they cannot take the current year's paper.
• You must make any request to waive any of these regulations by writing to the examination board chair by
  • 18 January for examinations the following May, or
  • 13 July for examinations the following August.

15. Time Management and QMplus

Time Management

Ideally, you should make up your own study timetable, including lectures, and specify when you are going to read the lecture notes and do the exercises each week. Studying at university is a full-time job; the standard expectation of time spent by students studying for a taught degree is 1200 hours per year. That is equivalent to 150 hours for each 15-credit module. In addition, the MSc dissertation / project is worth 60 credits [the equivalent of 4 x 15 credit modules] and requires considerable investment of time, from semester 2, until submission at the start of September.

QMplus

For some of your modules the lecturer may choose to give you information regarding teaching, assessment and learning materials via the Queen Mary virtual learning environment QMplus (sometimes referred to as 'QM+'). Please note that the log in details needed for your QMplus account are the same as for your MySIS account. For training in how to use QMplus, please see here.

16. Exercises, Assessments, Examinations, Results and Learning

Exercises

• “correct” or write comments on some exercises to provide you with feedback to help you learn

Assessment

Your modules may be assessed in a variety of ways. The majority of the postgraduate taught modules are assessed by written  examination. Others have more than one element of assessment which will count towards your final module mark. For these modules you may be required to sit a mid-term test or submit one  or multiple courseworks during the semester in which the module is taught, as well as sitting a final examination. The main examination period takes place each year between late April and early June. The lecturer will make the method/s, weighting/s and deadline/s of the module assessment/s for their module clear through the module page on QMplus.

Please note that late submissions for the MSc project  will be penalised as follows: for each day that the submission is late, 5 marks will be taken off the 100 marks available for that work.  Any submissions made later than 120 hours after the deadline will be given an automatic 'zero' mark [0%].

If you do not achieve a passing mark for any of the taught modules, you are entitled, on one occasion, to resit the examinations/ resubmit the coursework which you have failed. The resits will take place during the late summer resit period, in August of the same calendar year. For precise details about the nature of resit assessments, please contact the relevant lecturer. Students who have resits should note that their module marks are capped at 50% - MSc Mathematics students (only) do not have this 50% cap on any resits.

Examination Timetable

Your individual examination timetable will be available in MySIS towards the end of Semester B. Please check it and report any errors to Registry immediately. In particular, check your resit and first sit entries, if appropriate.

Results

Please note that results provided by any SEB are provisional (only), this is because they must be formally approved by the DEB in order to become official. MySIS will indicate whether the results are provisional or confirmed. Queen Mary will release your official results via MySIS following the DEB. If you wish to appeal a result you must follow the Queen Mary appeals process, information regarding this can be found here. 

Late Summer Examinations

We will offer you late summer resits of any exams you fail and late summer first sits if there were extenuating circumstances justifying your absence from previous examinations. We will enter you automatically for late summer exams for which you are eligible. You can withdraw but if you are absent then it counts as a fail. Late summer examinations normally take place during the first two weeks of August. The timetable will be available in MySIS by around mid-July.

Your results will be made accessible via MySIS.

Please note that academic staff members are available to help you with your modules during term time, but not generally during vacation periods, and certainly not without you first making an appointment. There is no formal revision period for late summer exams.

Examination Offences

Queen Mary takes your assessment very seriously. This means that we must strictly obey the rules governing assessments and so must you. If calculators are allowed then the examination rubric will state this clearly, so be sure to read the rubric. It is an examination offence to use a calculator in an examination in which calculators are not allowed. It is also an examination offence to take any notes into the examination room even if you do not look at them (unless the exam is open-book), to look at another student's work, to disrupt the examination in any way or to fail to do what an invigilator asks you to do. These rules apply also to class tests.

Learning Development

Queen Mary offers a free and confidential Learning Development service available to any QM student. Based in the Mile End Library, this includes:

• Bookable one-to-one tutorials to discuss your approaches to study, a written assignment, a spoken presentation or a knotty area of grammar.
• Bookable one-to-one tutorials with one of our Royal Literary Fund Fellows to talk about your writing.
• Advice on Maths, Statistics and Science on a drop-in basis in the first floor study centre.
• Brief consultations on writing and study skills, such as  researching an assignment, referencing or using your time effectively on a drop-in basis in the ground floor Help Zone.
• Retreats and protected reading and writing spaces to help you focus, manage your time, develop better practices for reading and writing.
• Access to QM study skills books collection located on the ground floor.

To find out more details go to: www.learningdevelopment.qmul.ac.uk.

17. Student Engagement Policy

The School of Mathematical Sciences uses the following markers of student engagement to ensure that you are well supported and given every opportunity to progress with your studies and to achieve to your full potential whilst here.

Markers of student engagement

1. Attendance

   You are expected to attend any and all scheduled taught sessions including lectures, practical classes, group work, workshops, tutorials, computer lab sessions, problem-solving classes, exercise classes, project meetings, and other events associated with the modules for which you are registered as part of your programme of study. If you are absent from Queen Mary for more than a day then please always let your academic adviser know (preferably by email) at the earliest opportunity. Attendance is important; failing to attend usually leads to failure in assessment, and persistent absence may result in de-registration (see the section entitled, 'De-registration' below). Reading lecture notes is not a satisfactory substitute for attending lectures. We will collect evidence of attendance using the card readers just inside the doors of larger teaching rooms, or from (paper) registers. It is your responsibility to touch your Queen Mary student identification card to a card reader or sign the register.

2. Coursework submission

   You are expected to submit any reports, exercises, essays, and other pieces of coursework associated with each module for which you are registered as part of your programme of study, by the individually advertised deadlines and methods of submission.

3. Participation in formative assessments

   You may be expected to participate in a range of activities (with or without the allocation of marks) that help to inform teaching and learning during the learning process. Examples of such activities are any subject-related quizzes and exercises linked to module materials on QMPlus.

4. Marks from summative assessments

   You are expected to participate in a range of activities assessing the outcomes of a learning process. Marks allocated from such summative assessments, e.g. coursework, and examinations, contribute to your overall module grade and degree classification.

5. Other student engagement activities

   You may be expected to participate in a range of formal or informal activities that signify continued engagement with your programme of study. Examples of such activities are scheduled meetings with your academic adviser and group work.

Action following identification of students who may require support

1. Actions taken by the School of Mathematical Sciences are designed to support students to engage or re-engage with their study programme. The underpinning principles are that the School, once it has admitted a student to a programme of study, has a duty of care to that student, whilst in turn the student has a responsibility to engage with the available support. In such cases, support will be designed by the School around the needs of the individual student.
2. If you are identified as approaching or falling below the minimum requirements of engagement set by the School an email will be sent to your Queen Mary email account alerting you to this and outlining the support mechanisms available to you to deal with the issues that may be contributing to this. Please be aware that if you do not reply to our email within seven days, we will put a record of your poor engagement in your file. This information may be passed on to your funding body or used in any references from the School.
3. Once you are identified as in need of support in order to re-engage with your studies, you will be invited to a meeting with the Student Support Officer to discuss any issues that might be affecting your studies, and for the provision of encouragement and advice (with possible referral to Queen Mary support services if necessary). The first port of call is the Student Support Officer, who in turn may liaise with your academic adviser or Programme Director. In exceptional circumstances, a senior member of the School team, such as the Head of School, may be involved in this process.
4. The School of Mathematical Sciences will always try to help you if you are experiencing problems, but we cannot do so if we are not kept informed of them. If there are factors making engagement with your study programme difficult, it is essential that you discuss these with your academic adviser and your Programme Director or other appropriate person in the school at an early stage. This will give us the opportunity to intervene and provide the necessary support.

Reporting Absence

If you wish to be absent for more than a day then you must have a good reason and you should seek the permission of your Programme Director in advance.

If  something  serious  (such as illness) prevents you from attending an assessment (such as an exam or test) or submitting assessed work (which counts towards your overall module mark) you should report this to us using the appropriate form. See "Extenuating Circumstances" for details.

If you are absent for more than 5 days you must provide supporting documentary evidence such as a letter from your GP.

De-registration

You must attend a minimum of 50% of your tutorial classes or computing lab sessions for each of your modules in order to remain registered on each of your modules. In cases of persistent absence, we may de-register you from a module. De-registration withdraws you from the module. You may not attend any further lectures or classes, submit any further exercises, or sit the examination. You are not permitted to replace this module.

The module will appear on your transcript with a mark of '0' (Fail) and you may not register to resit that module later. Once we have de-registered you from a module, you may not register for additional modules during that or subsequent years.

If we de-register you from more than 30 credits (normally two modules) during an academic year, we will normally terminate your enrolment at Queen Mary.

If you fail to attend a sufficient number of tutorial classes or computing lab sessions for any particular module without good reason the Student Support Officer, PGT Programmes officer or your Programme Director will send a notice to your Queen Mary email address. If you fail to respond and adequately explain why you failed to attend, or you continue to be absent or fail to submit exercises, we will de-register you from the module. Registry will send you a letter informing you of this and we will place a copy in your file. This information may be used in any references from the School.

18. Progression and Graduation

Borderline Policy

Examination boards may use a borderline policy when making recommendations for degree classifications. The following criteria are used, according to the Assessment Handbook 2017-18, section 6.81:

1. Students with College marks within one per cent of a borderline (except at the pass/fail border) shall be determined to fall within the "zone of consideration".
2. Students with College marks within 1.5 per cent of a borderline and with significant extenuating circumstances not taken into account elsewhere may be determined to fall within the zone of consideration. However, if this approach is taken then the extenuating circumstances may not also be used as a reason to raise the classification itself.
3. All students falling within a zone of consideration shall be considered as possible cases for application of the borderline policy.
4. Students falling within the zone of consideration and with at least half of their credits with marks at the level of the upper classification (or higher), shall be raised to the higher classification. The credits at the higher level may include the dissertation or project, but this is not a requirement. Where a student studies on a part-time basis, all modules shall be used in the borderline policy.
5. Students falling within the one per cent zone of consideration and not meeting the requirements of point 4, but with significant extenuating circumstances not taken into account elsewhere, shall be raised to the higher classification provided the examination board is confident that – without the effect of the extenuating circumstances – the student would have achieved the higher classification.

For information on eligibility for awards, academic requirements for awards,  and classification of awards, please see the Academic Regulations 2017-18, ss.5.72-5.79 [inclusive].  Please read the QMUL Code of Practice for Assessment and Feedback here: http://www.arcs.qmul.ac.uk/media/arcs/policyzone/Code-of-Practice-on-Assessment-and-Feedback_amended-2016.01.18.pdf.  See here for information on graduation: http://www.qmul.ac.uk/graduation/.

Please note that there are some special regulations for the MSc Mathematics programme, the principal difference being that resits are not capped at 50%.  Please see ss. 6.35-6.38 [inclusive].

19. Absences and Extenuating Circumstances

Extenuating Circumstances

If you believe that your ability to attend or submit a particular item of assessment has been negatively impacted by circumstances outside your control that cast doubt on the likely validity of the assessment as a measure of your achievement, you may wish to submit a claim for extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances include illness, death of a close relative, etc. Extenuating circumstances do not include computer problems, misreading your exam timetable, planned holidays or local transport delays.

If you do not feel you are well enough to attend any invigilated examinations then you should not attend and instead submit a claim for extenuating circumstances. You should note that the Academic Regulations state that if you attend an examination then you will be deemed to have declared yourself well enough to sit it and as a result any extenuating circumstances claim will not be considered.

Extenuating circumstance claim forms are available from the Maths Office (Queens' Building CB307) and the Student Enquiry Centre (Queens' Building, Ground Floor). If you believe that you have a case for consideration, you should complete this form and supply supporting documentation (for example medical certification, death certificate, police report and crime number, or other written evidence from a person in authority), and submit the paperwork to the Maths Office by the specified deadline. You will be given a receipt for the claim form you have submitted, which you must keep safe for the duration of your studies. Please note that although accompanying documentation can be submitted late, claims without any evidence cannot be considered. It is in your best interest to provide evidence and supporting documentation that is as comprehensive as possible. All cases of extenuating circumstances are kept confidential until they are considered by a small subcommittee of the examination board. All proceedings of the subcommittee are strictly confidential, and will not normally be discussed at the full examination board meeting. It is your own responsibility to submit any claims for extenuating circumstances, not that of your adviser. Please ensure that if you do have what you believe is a valid case, you complete the submission process in accordance with the School guidelines and deadlines.

We do not distribute supporting evidence to staff who are not on the extenuating circumstances board, but we may disclose it in confidence to relevant Queen Mary officials. Maths Office staff will process the form itself. Copies will go to your adviser, any relevant module organisers and your file, and will be available to any staff writing a reference for you.

It is not possible to make a retrospective claim for extenuating circumstances, specifically once you know your results. Therefore claims submitted after the deadline will not be considered by the examination board.

• Please refer to the full guidance notes on Extenuating Circumstances from the Advice and Counselling service here.

Missed In-term Assessments

If you report that an extenuating circumstance prevented you from submitting exercises and/or attending a test (you must provide evidence) and we accept your reason for the absence, then we will excuse you.  We show an excused mark as '0NA'.  We normally ignore any excused marks when computing your overall average mark.  Please note that this puts more weight on your other assessed work.

A module leader may instead wish to organise a replacement assessment exercise, which you would be expected to attend, and the result of which would form part of your overall mark.

If you miss exercises and/or tests for modules taught by other Schools then you should speak to the module organiser directly and, if you are studying on a joint programme (e.g. Mathematical Finance), follow the rules of the School concerned.

Missed Examinations

Do not delay! If you report that an extenuating circumstance prevented you from attending an examination and we accept your reason then we will allow you to sit the examination later without any penalty. We normally require documentary evidence such as a medical certificate or letter (a prescription is not acceptable) from Queen Mary Medical Centre, a GP, a hospital or the police. Please note that a medical certificate or letter from the Health Centre or your GP must clearly state that you were unfit to sit examinations during a specified period.

An examination sat later than normal because of extenuating circumstances is called a "first sit". You normally take such (EC-claim-related) first sits in August. If you pass enough credits to graduate then we will take account of any examinations missed because of extenuating circumstance when classifying your degree.

Please note that if you attend an examination but later tell us that you were ill during the examination we cannot normally grant you a first sit. If you feel ill before an examination then it may be best not to attend the examination but instead to seek medical advice and submit a medical certificate.

General Disruption of Studies

If extenuating circumstances either disrupt your studies for a substantial period or have a substantial direct effect on your examination performance (but do not necessarily cause you to miss any assessments) then you should discuss your case with the Student Support Officer before completing a form. If you wish the department to take account of your extenuating circumstances when determining your degree classification then you should support your form with documentary evidence such as a letter from the Queen Mary Medical Centre, a GP, a hospital or the police. The Examination Board will not consider extenuating circumstances without supporting documentary evidence.

Retaking the Year

If you expect that you might not meet the hurdle to progress, but have extenuating circumstances, you may be able to retake the year. In order to be considered for a retake, you must request this before the end of the examination period, i.e. before you know any of your examination results. You must demonstrate that significant extenuating circumstances have been present for much of the academic year, which, for example, have led to your missing large parts of Semester A or B. Normally, extenuating circumstances covering only parts of the revision period or the examination period are insufficient.

• For further information please see the full guidance notes on Extenuating Circumstances from the Advice and Counselling service.

You should provide the Student Support Officer with a one-page summary detailing your case. Summarise briefly any extenuating circumstances affecting the current year and, where appropriate, refer to extenuating circumstances forms you submitted earlier. For recent occurrences that have not been covered by previously submitted extenuating circumstances forms, you should also submit a new extenuating circumstances form. The Senior Tutor or Student Support Officer will be able to advise you on whether a request to retake the year might be successful. If you want to go ahead with a retake request, you need to complete a Queen Mary Retake of Academic Year form, which is available from either the Maths Office (CB309) or the Student Enquiry Centre (Queens' CB02) in the Queens' Building. Please hand in all completed forms to the Maths Office.

Interruption of Studies or Withdrawal

If you decide to withdraw from Queen Mary, either temporarily or permanently, you should firstly discuss the matter with your academic adviser and Programme Director. If you decide to proceed, you must complete an "Interruption of study" or "Withdrawal from Queen Mary" form, which documents are available from the Maths Office, or Student Enquiry Centre. You should then take the form to your academic advisor or Programme Director for their signature, who will want to discuss it with you before agreeing to sign it.

If you wish to interrupt, i.e. withdraw temporarily, then you must do so by the end of the second semester. Interruption of studies is normally for one complete year but, in exceptional circumstances, the period may be up to two years. If you interrupt your studies then you lose the automatic right to enter examinations for modules that you took before you interrupted, and we may not allow you to enter for any examination in which you would be the only candidate.

20. Change of Study Programme

Your degree programme is initially the same as the course for which Queen Mary accepted you. Some details of your current study programme are encoded in MySIS and limit the options available to you. Provided you meet all the programme requirements, including those not encoded in MySIS, you can choose your elective modules freely, subject to the approval of your adviser. We may allow you to change your degree programme, but all such changes require careful consideration and formal approval. You must follow the procedures below and complete a Queen Mary Change of Programme of Study form, which is available from the Student Enquiry Centre, room CB02 in the Queens' Building, and on the web. If this form is not completed and returned to the Maths Office then you will not have formally requested to change your degree programme.

How do I change to a different Mathematical Sciences degree programme?

1. Discuss the proposed change with your academic adviser or Programme Director, then complete a Change of Programme of Study form and obtain your academic adviser's signature (at the bottom of the front of the form; there is no designated area for this signature).
2. Take the completed form to the director of the proposed new programme. If the Programme Director accepts the change, please leave the form with the Programme Director, who will also sign the bottom of the front of the form (next to that of your academic adviser's signature) and then forward it to the School Office / direct to Registry to complete the processing.

How do I change to a degree programme run by another School?

1. Visit the School that runs the degree programme you want to transfer to and discuss it with them. If they agree to the change then complete a Change of Programme of Study form.
2. Take the completed form to your Programme Director for approval of your release from the School of Mathematical Sciences and inform your academic adviser.
3. Take the completed form to the other School and follow their procedure for approving a change of study programme. They may require you to return the form to Registry yourself.

21. Computing and Library Faciities

22. Submission of MSc Project Dissertations

Submission of MSc Project Reports

Each project module organiser will tell you how to submit your MSc dissertation, but you should submit an electronic copy to QMplus, together with further files containing copies of any source code (e.g. C++ files, Maple worksheets, Mathematica notebooks, etc.) that you have written. This will be used for plagiarism detection, for which we currently use Turnitin; see the next chapter.

Project reports must have a title page showing clearly the module code and title, the title of your report, and your full name and student number. A project report should look like any well produced document. Content is more important than presentation, but presentation is also important. In particular, you may lose marks for poor spelling and grammar; most modern word processing or text editing applications provide a spelling checker, which you would be well advised to use.

For more specific guidance on organisation of and style in your written work, please consult the individual QMplus pages of the project modules.

Correct referencing of other people's work that you have used in your report is essential and will help avoid accusations of plagiarism. Please see the next chapter of this handbook.

23. Referencing, Plagiarism and Turnitin

Referencing

Different publications use different referencing styles; you should choose one and use it consistently. What is most important is to provide enough information that the reader can find the document you are referencing. You must always include the author and document title, and you must include the publication date of a printed document and the date when you last accessed an online document. See the next chapter for more specific guidance on referencing.

Plagiarism

"Queen Mary defines plagiarism as presenting someone else's work as one's own irrespective of intention. Close paraphrasing, copying from the work of another person, including another student, using the ideas of another person without proper acknowledgement or repeating work you have previously submitted without properly referencing yourself (known as 'self plagiarism') also constitute plagiarism." – Regulations on Assessment Offences (2017/18, para. 2.109)

Plagiarism is a serious offence and all students suspected of plagiarism will be subject to an investigation. If found guilty, penalties can range from failure of the module to suspension or permanent withdrawal from Queen Mary.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it by appropriate referencing of sources. The recommendations below can help you avoid plagiarism.

• Be sure to record your sources when taking notes and cite these if you use ideas or, especially, quotations from the original source. Be particularly careful if you are cutting and pasting information between two documents and ensure that references are not lost in the process.
• Be sensible in referencing ideas – commonly held views that are generally accepted do not always require acknowledgement to particular sources. However, it is best to err on the side of caution to avoid plagiarism.
• Be particularly careful with quotations and paraphrasing.
• Be aware that technology is now available at Queen Mary and elsewhere that can automatically detect plagiarism.
• Ensure that all works used are cited appropriately in the text of your work and fully credited in your reference list or bibliography.
• See the next chapter for guidance on referencing.
• If in doubt, ask for further guidance from your project supervisor, module organiser or academic adviser.

Turnitin

Turnitin is a web-based plagiarism detection system used by most universities in the UK. This section describes how Turnitin is used within the School of Mathematical Sciences and the data it creates about your work.

How Turnitin works

1. A Turnitin assignment is set up by a member of staff on QMplus. You then access this assignment online and upload your work before the due date. Turnitin will analyse the submitted work to identify text matches with other sources and will compare the work against:
   • the current and archived versions of QMplus.
   • previously submitted work.
   • books and journals.
2. For each piece of submitted work Turnitin provides two things:
   • a similarity index, which indicates the percentage of the submitted paper that Turnitin has identified as matching other sources.
   • an originality report, which shows each of these matches in more detail, including the source(s) that Turnitin has found.

How Turnitin is used within the School of Mathematical Sciences

1. Turnitin is used on all project modules and various assignments that contribute towards your final grade. Turnitin will not normally be used on the following:
   • short assignments (under 500 words).
   • contributions to online discussions.
   • exercises submitted on paper.
   • exams.
2. For those assignments where Turnitin is used, all submissions to that assignment will be submitted to Turnitin.
3. How we use the information provided by Turnitin:
   • Only academic staff will make a judgement on whether plagiarism has occurred in a piece of work. An academic may be guided by the originality report but Turnitin itself does not make the judgement.
   • We do not use a threshold percentage to identify whether plagiarism has occurred and may review any originality report in detail.
   • Turnitin will highlight matching text such as references, quotations, common phrases and data tables within work that has no plagiarism issues at all. Those interpreting Turnitin reports will discount such matches and so initial percentages are often irrelevant.
   • Where it is suspected that plagiarism has occurred in a piece of work, the originality report may be submitted to the Head of School and possibly to an Assessment Offences Panel for further investigation.

You may have a chance to view your Turnitin report before you submit the final version of your assignment; for guidance please see the E-Learning Unit Turnitin page.

24. Recommended Referencing Style

This guidance is about how to reference published work such as books and research articles in documents such as project reports. You should follow the recommendation below unless you have a good reason not to (such as being given different instructions by your module organiser). There is no single referencing style used preferentially within the mathematical sciences literature.

Queen Mary Library will only offer support for the two referencing styles recommended below, so if you wish to seek advice from the library then you must conform to one these styles. Both styles are used below as illustrations, although you must use only one referencing style consistently throughout any one document.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the version of either the Harvard (author, date) or Vancouver (numerical citation) referencing style as applied by the guide to referencing, Cite Them Right (Pears and Shields, 10th edition, 2016), is adopted throughout the Faculty of Science and Engineering at QMUL.

Harvard referencing style

Originating at Harvard University within the discipline of biology during the late 19th Century, Harvard referencing is widely accepted in a broad range of scientific publications. The Harvard system’s author, date method helps to ensure a reader familiar with a particular field is likely to recognize a citation without having to check in the references section. This characteristic is particularly helpful within scientific disciplines whose works are commonly known by their date of publication.

Vancouver referencing style

The Vancouver referencing system is a numeric citation system used in biomedical, health and science publications. It was first defined in 1978 at the conference of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) in Vancouver, Canada, hence its name. It is also known as the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. It is used extensively in the physical sciences.

Guidance

Cite Them Right (Pears and Shields, 10th edition, 2016) is currently available from QMUL Library in print format. It offers a standard and up-to-date source for constructing citations and references in the Harvard and Vancouver referencing styles. It also provides guidance on referencing and citation more generally, including how to avoid plagiarism. The library currently highlights and recommends the guidance provided by Cite Them Right in their Find it! Use it! Reference it! introductory information literacy skills module on QMplus.

We advise you to use Cite Them Right Online, which contains clear guidance on the Harvard and Vancouver referencing styles.

• You can choose a source to reference from a drop-down menu or by using the search facility.
• Cite Them Right Online shows you how to create the reference in the style you need.
• There are examples to copy, and a 'You try' box so you can build your reference on screen.
• You can check these against a correct example.
• You can then export the prepared reference straight into your coursework.

You can find more information about Cite Them Right Online on QMplus.

Acknowledgement

This document is based closely on one written by

Martin Beeson Library Teaching and Learning Support Manager Student Services

Sally Mitchell Head of Learning Development Student Services

References

Harvard-style reference

Pears, R. and Shields, G. J. (2013) Cite them right: The essential referencing guide. 9th ed.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Vancouver-style reference

1. Pears R, Shields GJ. Cite them right: The essential referencing guide. 9th ed. Basingstoke:
   Palgrave Macmillan; 2013.

25. Careers and Personal Development

QM Careers and Enterprise Centre

Throughout your studies, you will have access to a wide range of events and support offered by the QM Careers and Enterprise Centre.

Examples of events and activities happening throughout the year are given below. You will benefit from content and insights targeted to meet your needs as a postgraduate student, with regular input from experienced industry professionals.

• CV workshops.
• Winning Interview workshops.
• LinkedIn workshops.
• Individual careers support is available year-round to help with career decisions, making great applications, mock interviews and any other career-related topics. To book an appointment contact Careers on 020 7882 8553.

Resources relating to the above and more can be found on the Queen Mary Careers and Enterprise Centre website at www.careers.qmul.ac.uk

The main ways you should try to keep informed of what’s going on are:

• Check Facebook – www.facebook.com/qmcareers
  
• Follow Careers on Twitter: https://twitter.com/qmcareers
• Find out about other events organised by QM Careers: www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/events/
  

Internships and work experience

The Queen Mary Careers and Enterprise Centre Team are here to support and encourage you with gaining internships and work experience. Look at this link for opportunities  co-ordinated by Careers: https://qmjobsblog.wordpress.com/category/qrecruit/.

International students

These two resources are among those that are useful for international postgraduate students.

• https://www.facebook.com/qmcareersinternationalstudents
• www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk/international/ for advice on extending your stay in the UK and Tier 1 (Post Study Work)

Exemptions and Professional Bodies

There are various professional examinations in accounting and actuarial science for which some of our programmes or modules may provide exemptions. Details can be found under the title 'Professional exemptions and accreditation' here.

We also have close relationships with the two major UK professional societies for mathematics, The London Mathematical Society and The Institute for Mathematics and its Applications. Many of our staff are members of one or both societies.

The London Mathematical Society was founded in 1865 and has a national and international membership of around 2,300 professional mathematicians. For further information please visit: www.lms.ac.uk/. The Institute for Mathematics and its Applications was founded in 1964 and awards the Chartered Mathematician, Chartered Scientist and Chartered Mathematics Teacher designations, visit their website to find out more: www.ima.org.uk

Both of the above societies support mathematics in many ways, such as producing journals, organising conferences, engaging with government and promoting public engagement.

26. Safety and Emergency Procedures

You should familiarise yourself with emergency procedures for all areas in which you work, noting the location of emergency exits, assembly points and equipment. In case of a fire, immediately leave the building by the nearest exit point. Do not use the lifts. Fire action notices are displayed in corridors and by fire escapes.

If required to evacuate the Mathematical Sciences School offices in Queens' building, use the exit accessible from the stairwell nearest to you. You should then congregate outside the Library / Bancroft Building until allowed to return.

In an emergency, dial 3333 from any internal phone and clearly state the nature and location of the problem, your name, and the number you are calling from (if known). If no internal phone is available, call 999 and follow the normal procedure. We all have a duty of care towards fellow students and staff. You should ensure that corridors and doorways are not obstructed and that fire fighting equipment is not removed from its station.

• For minor accidents, you can obtain first aid assistance by dialling 3333 from an internal phone or 020 7882 3333 from any other phone.
• For general enquiries, you can contact Queen Mary Security by dialling 5000 from an internal phone or 020 7882 5000 from any other phone.