Skip to main content
USQ Logo
Course specification
The current and official versions of the course specifications are available on the web at http://www.usq.edu.au/course/specification/current.
Please consult the web for updates that may occur during the year.

MAT8180 Mathematics/Statistics Complementary Studies A

Semester 1, 2018 On-campus Toowoomba
Short Description: Maths/Stats Comple'y Studies A
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences
School or Department : School of Agric, Comp and Environ Sciences
Student contribution band : Band 2
ASCED code : 010199 - Mathematical Sciences not else
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner: Harry Butler

Other requisites

Enrolment in this course is only available to students in Honours and some Postgraduate programs and such enrolment requires a supervisor and the permission of the examiner and the appropriate Program Coordinator. Depending on the topic chosen, some students may need to have successfully completed prerequisite courses.

Rationale

This course provides flexibility in honours and postgraduate programs to cater for the widely varying interests and chosen specialisations of students. Mathematicians need to be proficient in a wide range of mathematical concepts and techniques. Many of these are either only touched on or omitted from undergraduate programs. An opportunity to broaden the students' knowledge-base with more advanced concepts and techniques is provided in this course.

Synopsis

This course provides the opportunity for a student to pursue an area of study that will complement the other studies in the student's program. Typically the course will consist of specialized investigations extending knowledge and skills in a certain area. The studies could involve, for example, directed readings, extension of the project (where appropriate), or some other approved activity which would complement the student's studies in the program.

Objectives

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

  1. demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills in the complementary study area.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. The complementary study area chosen will be approved after the student consults with the supervisor, examiner and the appropriate Program Coordinator. Students may be directed to a certain complementary study, or they may be asked to nominate an appropriate study. It is the student's responsibility to contact a staff member willing to supervise their study. One of the following topics can be chosen. The content of the course may vary from student to student. The weighting of the sub-topics within this unit depends on the topic chosen and will be discussed with the supervisor.
  • Operations Research: This course extends upon the methods and theory introduced in Operations Research 1 MAT1200 and Operations Research 2 MAT3201. Topics may include Advanced topics in Linear Programming, Nonlinear Programming, Simulation in Arena, Game Theory and Decision making under uncertainty.
  • Partial Differential Equations: PDEs are widely used as models of physical, biological and chemical processes as well as to simulate financial markets. This course covers basic PDEs such as heat and wave equations, describes their properties, gives general solving methods and contains brief introduction to non-linear PDEs (note this course is not compatible with MAT3105)
  • Mathematics Education: This course is designed for students interested in expanding their knowledge in one or more areas of mathematics education. Topics could include: the role of language in learning and understanding mathematics; issues in adult, academic and everyday numeracy; fundamental constructs in mathematics education; history and philosophy of mathematics.
  • Environmental Modelling by Artificial Intelligence (Machine Learning): This course is designed for students interested in learning new skills relevant to pattern recognition, applied data sciences, environmental or atmospheric simulation. Topics may include predictive modelling problems in drought, flood, renewable energy and other atmospheric and climate change areas. Some programming knowledge in MATLAB is assumed.
 100.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from USQ's Online Bookshop (unless otherwise stated). (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/bookweb/?year=2018&sem=01&subject1=MAT8180)

Please contact us for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

  • Texts to be advised by the student's supervisor.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Assessments 20.00
Private Study 90.00
Project Work 40.00
Supervisor Consultation 15.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
ASSIGNMENT 1 40 40 07 Jun 2018
ASSIGNMENT 2 (PROJECT) 60 60 07 Jun 2018

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    It is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily: To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks or a grade of at least C.

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure http://policy.usq.edu.au/documents.php?id=14749PL (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the weighted aggregate of the marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no examination in this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    As there are no examinations in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.

  8. University Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at http://policy.usq.edu.au.