Information for prospective students


Students who are interested in working with me as their supervisor at any level are encouraged to read all of this page.

Students already at UQ

If you are at UQ already, email me to arrange a time to meet in person. If I do not already know you, please make sure to introduce yourself in your email.

Students not already at UQ

For most of you, meeting in person is not practical (but see this event if you are a prospective PhD student based in Australia or New Zealand). Please email me with
  • why you want to work with me,
  • a copy of your CV,
  • a copy of your academic transcript,
  • a copy of any mathematical writing you have done (e.g. an honours or masters thesis, or a paper).
    After initial contact via email we can arrange a convenient time to talk via skype or similar about your plans.

    About me

    I specialise in an area of mathematics called representation theory. For me this is a branch of algebra that touches combinatorics, number theory or geometry and topology, depending on the day of the week.

    I can supervise students in a variety of topics that inevitably narrows when we reach the doctoral level and original research is requried. This means that at the undergraduate level, I can supervise projects in large areas of pure mathematics while for PhD students I would require that they work relatively near to my own research expertise.

    The various options

    Summer project/SCIE3250

    These are short projects which are either intensive over a summer break or the equivalent of one course load during a semester. We would pick a topic that you are interested in that you do not get exposed to in an undergraduate curriculum and do a reading project on it.

    Honours

    The honours thesis is a significant component of getting an honours degree at UQ. Mathematically the choice of an honours topic is similar to that for a summer project or SCIE3250. The major difference is the opportunity to spend more time and effort to pursue the subject matter in greater depth.

    Masters

    There is no masters by coursework in pure maths at UQ, only masters by research with few people enrolled. This option is often taken by local students awaiting results of PhD applications elsewhere.

    PhD

    A PhD is a long term (three and a half years officially) commitment. In order to obtain a PhD, one must make an original contribution to the research literature. My role in this is to guide you through this process, turning you into someone who can perform research independently. It is more necessary here that you work closer to my research interests so that I am aware of what is and is not a suitable PhD problem.

    Domestic students are usually funded by an APA. International students have scholarships available that they can apply for. It is your responsibility to understand the application process, both for PhD admissions and for funding. Help is available for this.