General Information
Mathematics and statistics are living subjects with new processes, techniques and theories constantly being devised, tested and explored. The extensive use of the computer in a wide range of academic areas has led to an increasing demand for mathematical and statistical analysis in many fields previously unconcerned with mathematics. This means that mathematicians and statisticians are being asked to develop new tools and techniques to deal with problems in areas from business management to biology, as well as considering new insights being opened up in the more traditional areas of physical science and engineering. All this activity leads not only to new applications of mathematics and statistics, but also to new theoretical work on the structure of the mathematics involved.
At the University of Canterbury there are a number of active research groups working on problems in pure mathematics, applied mathematics (including biomathematics and computational mathematics) and statistics. Possible research areas in the Department may be found on the Thesis Proposals page on this site, or may be discussed with Dr Chris Price.
There are two research degrees available:
Master's degree (in Science or Arts)
A master's degree will take 2 years of full time study beyond a basic Bachelor's degree, or only 1 year of study beyond a Bachelor’s degree with Honours. The first year of a 2 year degree consists of course work at 400-level, but may include a small research project worth two papers. The second year (and also the one year masters) consists solely of a thesis.
Doctor of Philosophy
Having graduated with a good honours or master’s degree, you may enrol for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. You will work under the supervision of an academic staff member with whom you have a shared research interest. This usually involves three years full time study. You must then present a thesis embodying the results of this research for examination.
Guidelines and regulations relating to thesis students are available from Student Administration.