Semester project SMA

There are several types of semester projects. They are described in the course descriptions: in Bachelor (12 ECTS), in Master Math et Ing Math (10 ECTS), or in CSE (8 ECTS).

Deadline for the written report of semester project (= submission of your report to the teacher)

• Friday of the first week after the end of classes for spring project (=7th June, 2024)

• Friday of the second week after the end of classes for autumn project (=5th January, 2024)

How to find a semester/master project:

• Students in math and applied math: find an EPFL Professor in Mathematics (from the SMA).
  Students in CSE: find an EPFL Professor in Mathematics (from the SMA) or affiliated to the CSE master.
  The Professor (or MER or Bernoulli instructor) will supervise the project. Any teacher giving a course in our math study plan can be the supervisor of a semester projet.
• Register on ISA by the Friday of the second week of the semester.
• Sign the inscription form and ask your supervisor to sign it as well.
• Send back the signed form (pdf) by email to valerie.kormann@epfl.ch (BSc Math and MSc Math), martina.keddouh@epfl.ch (MSc Ing Math) or sara.frulloni@epfl.ch (MSc CSE) to obtain the SMA approval.

Templates for a semester/master project:

The SMA gives you one template to help you create your project (semester or master project, version March 2023) in LaTeX. You can either use it or create your own. The template gives you an indication as to what the SMA and professors are expecting. 

Writing a mathematics project

Below is a document with general comments about writing mathematics. 

SMA project: writing mathematics

How is a semester project organized?

In general, it requires about one to one and a half days of work per week during the semester. It is an opportunity to do a little research work within a chair and it is also a calling card for your future projects. It is therefore important to work hard, without neglecting your other courses.

Clarify the project with the professor from the beginning. Here are some points to keep in mind and possibly discuss with your supervisor:

• The project takes about 1 to 1.5 days per week.
• The work is supervised on a regular basis by a doctoral student or a post-doc from the chair.
• The follow-up is regular. In general, count on a half-hour interview per week.
• At the end of the project, a written report must be submitted in LaTeX (see also the dedicated website). Turning in an intermediate report - even if it is incomplete - will facilitate your task and that of the supervisor.
• The professor often asks for an oral presentation. This is an important part of your project and may count towards the final grade.

More detailson Moodle, projet de Mathématiques, MATH-397 or on the webpage Projects ‒ STAT ‐ EPFL

Official deadlines:

• Registration: as for semester courses
• Submission of project to teachers
• Submission of grades to the SAC by the teacher

Steps:

• You are not allowed to start the project if you have not passed the second year block.
• You must start looking for your project towards the end of the previous semester or during the break between the two semesters.
• Some professors have a website dedicated to offering projects, others prefer to respond on a case-by-case basis.
• Professors do not always have enough staff to provide supervision, so sometimes they cannot offer you a project.
• The project can be done in the fall or spring semester. It depends on you and the availability of the professor.

If you have any other questions or would like more information about this site, please feel free to write to the section deputy.