Admission requirements
None
Description
This weekly colloquium is recommended for all first-year Master’s students and consists of a two-hour meeting each week. During this course you will become acquainted with your fellow Leiden Master’s students, with the mathematical environment in Leiden and with the options that await you after completing the programme. You will practise giving a short mathematical talk and writing a CV for a job application.
Of the two hours of the colloquium, one hour will usually be dedicated to a talk or presentation by an invited speaker, and the other hour to short presentations by students. The focus in the first semester will be on giving an introduction to the programme and an overview of possible directions for study within mathematics; in the second semester some time will be dedicated to further study and career options within academia and outside, including sessions with former students and with the career service.
Course objectives
By the end of this course, students will:
have an understanding of the structure of the Master’s programme in Mathematics and be able to use this to complete a study plan;
have an overview of the different subject areas represented within the Mathematics Institute, with a view to choosing a thesis topic;
know about possible future career directions after completing a Master’s degree, both within and outside academia, and have the skills to find out about and apply for such positions;
be able to plan and give a mathematical presentation.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
Weekly meeting consisting of lecture and discussion
Assessment method
The grade for this colloquium is a simple pass/fail. To pass, students must:
participate actively in at least 18 of the sessions during the year;
complete their study plan for each semester and submit it to their study advisor;
give a short presentation on a mathematical topic and respond to feedback;
write a CV (for an imaginary job application inside or outside academia) and revise it in response to feedback.
Reading list
none
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Dr. Martin Bright
Remarks
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.