About the Directed Reading Program
General information
The Directed Reading Program is an initiative to pair undergraduate students with graduate student and junior faculty mentors to undertake independent study projects of various sizes and scopes. Each DRP project is for the duration of one academic quarter, which is roughly ten weeks. Undergraduates can apply for DRP positions and those who are selected will be paired with mentors according to their mathematical interests and availability.
Projects must initially be approved by the DRP committee of graduate students and faculty. Many are based around the self-paced reading of a particular book or article with substantial guidance by the mentor. Past project titles can be viewed here. However, most frequently, the project is arrived upon by discussion of common interests of the mentor and mentee, rather than being limited to this menu.
Requirements
The DRP student is required to have an hour-long weekly meeting with his or her mentor to discuss progress towards the goal of the project. Approximately four hours of independent work by the student is expected between meetings. At the beginning of next quarter, the group of DRP participants meets, and each DRP student gives a 10-15 minute presentation on the quarter's work. Depending on the number of participants, there may be more than one such meeting.
Benefits of program (for students)
Students participating in the Directed Reading Program:
- Learn to work independently through studying a topic of their choice, well-suited to their interests.
- Develop relationships with graduate student mentors and receive a good deal of personal attention focused on their mathematical studies.
- Gain valuable experience in mathematical communication by giving a presentation on their work to an audience of their peers.