391 Research Projects

Overview

This course takes the form of a small research project, which involves at least 150 hours lab/field work. There is a possibility of making a longer project out of it: the Department will provide additional scholarships to such students [see below].
This course may be taken either in Semester 1, Semester 2 or in the Summer Term.
As a summer course it is popular since we provide financial incentives:

A fees scholarship (to cover the cost of fees for local students) is available to all students accepted into the course. (Non-NZ resident students would need to pay the balance; though particular supervisors may have other funds - see fourth bullet point below.)
This scholarship does not cover student assoc, health fees etc. It is only for tuition fees (NZ resident rate).
A departmental scholarship is available to students upon writing a letter of application to the HOD. Sucessful students do the course as part of a 300 hour research project, for the second 150 hours, of $1,000 (not taxable; this is a scholarship, rather than a wage and is paid at the end of the course). The due date for cash scholarship applications is 1 DECEMBER. (Applications may be considered after this date; but payment would be delayed until well into the New Year.)
Any further support is the responsibility of the supervisor (perhaps from external research grants, for the first 150 hours, or beyond 300 hours), or the student can sometimes win support elsewhere (e.g. UC university-wide Summer Scholarship).

The minimum prerequisite is 44 points of PHYS200 level papers and MATH109; however, the crucial entry requirement is acceptance by an academic staff member who will supervise a project, and approval of the HOD. The projects are generally aimed at those who have completed 3rd year, the range of projects is such that a few projects may be suitable for students at the end of 2nd year; or of 4th year (as PHYS493).
Not every project is suitable for every student - some may require students with a background in electronics (say), while others may require a high level of computation or of mathematical knowledge. Acceptance to a project is on a case by case basis, depending on which courses a particular student has completed, and their grades. Thus entry into 391 is not a "right" in the way that entry to lecture courses is if you satisfy a minimum prerequisite.

The crucial thing is to find a supervisor who will agree to supervise a project. Available projects are listed on this website.
The offering of projects listed on the web may sometimes be out out-of-date. Students should therefore show some initiative and approach staff members about possible projects: If a project you would like is not available look at the list of past projects to see what types of projects have been done recently in the department.
You might also browse the web pages of academic staff members to find out about their research interests, as not all staff have supervised PHYS391 projects yet.

Assessment will be 80% on a written report, and 20% on an oral presentation. Report guidelines are on the web.
In the Summer Term, projects may be commenced at any date following the end of year exams and end of January. Project reports must be completed by the Friday before the beginning of the 1st Semester. (The oral assessment will be a couple of weeks later.)
The PHYS/ASTR 391 course may be used as credit for your points total, but does not count to the 56 points required for a subject major, nor as part of the 84 points of papers for entry to Honours 4th year.