Research project and presentation guide

General Overview

  • The research project is equivalent to two graduate courses.
  • The research project is normally presented and submitted by the end of the research term.
  • All degree requirements must be completed by the end of a student's final term.
  • Students and their research supervisor are responsible for finding a second reader for the research paper.
  • The research supervisor and the second reader sign a Milestone form to indicate successful completion of the research project and presentation.
  • It is to be understood by students that their research paper may be made electronically available to the public.

Deadlines
  • Students must submit their research paper (electronic copy), as well as a filled and signed Milestone form, to the Graduate Program Coordinator at least a week before the end of term (i.e. April 23 for winter, August 24 for spring, and December 21 for fall).
  • Students must apply for graduation in Quest before the convocation deadline (April 30 for spring convocation; August 31 for fall convocation).
  • Research project presentations will take place around the middle of the last month of the semester.

Research Paper Guidelines

The research paper is written under the guidance of one or more research supervisors, and may or may not contain original research.

Paper components Component content
Front matter Includes a title page, an author’s declaration, statement of contributions (if needed), an abstract, acknowledgements, dedication (optional), and table of contents. These are numbered by Roman numerals, except for the title page.
Body text The body text is usually 25 to 40 pages in length. This is the part of the document that fully describes the project (e.g. what was done, how it relates to other works in the field, results, and discussion). The sections are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. and either footnotes or endnotes are used to cite referenced work.
Back matter Contains a letter of copyright permission (if needed), references or bibliography, and the appendices, glossary, and/or index (if desired).

For more information on the parts of the research paper, and formatting requirements, use the guidelines from Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs’ Graduate Thesis webpage. Note, however, that the research paper is not a thesis, so thesis-specific guidelines on this webpage do not necessarily apply to the research paper construction. It is recommended to use the University of Waterloo’s LaTeX thesis template, available from LaTeX template.

Your CM Master's Research Paper will not be posted to UWSpace, as it is not a thesis, but it will be posted on Computational Mathematics’ Past Research Projects webpage.

Research Paper Presentation
  • Computational Mathematics Master’s students will present their work in oral presentations of approximately 20 minutes’ duration.
  • Aim to speak for 15 minutes to allow for 5 minutes of questions.
  • These presentations are not formally evaluated, but a best speaker prize is normally awarded.