Passionate students who have had at least one year of university level math courses are encouraged to apply. The principal criteria for selection will be enthusiasm and compatibility with the interests of the mentors. You can find more information about the program below.
Please fill out the application form here. The deadline for applications is Friday, September 5th.
A directed reading program is an extracurricular program organized by members of the math department (frequently graduate students) for the purpose of fostering mentorship and a sense of community between the graduate students and undergraduates. More specifically, a DRP pairs undergraduate math students with graduate students so that they can work on a topic of mutual interest. Typically, the undergraduates work through a book or a paper and meet roughly once a week with their mentors to discuss their progress and ask questions.
To provide a fun and stress-free environment for undergraduates to learn math in the style of a reading course with a professor.
To give undergraduates the ability to explore topics they might not see in the standard curriculum.
To expose undergraduates to mathematics outside of a classroom setting.
To give a less intimidating avenue for students to learn topics that might have seemed out of reach.
To give undergraduates experience in learning independently and presenting mathematics.
Undergraduates are expected to work for approximately 4 hours a week : 3 hours of independent reading and 1 hour in a meeting with their mentor.
Undergraduate participants should meet with their mentor roughly once a week to discuss their progress.
At the end of the semester, the students are expected to give a brief "flash talk" to the other students and mentors. This could be a short exposition of an interesting result, or a broad overview of the subject of their project.
If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact one of the DRP organizers.
Zachary Couvillion - zjc28@cornell.edu
Juliet Aygun - ja742@cornell.edu