By the end of the Winter quarter of the second year*, each student must produce a carefully written mathematical document. This could be in any area, not just a presumed area of specialization, with any faculty member, not just a potential advisor. Such a document can be an expository paper coming from deep study of material in a reading course with a faculty member, a write-up of a project done under the supervision of a faculty member, or an existing research paper that the student has done could also count, if a faculty member agrees. In general, this is flexible, but the resulting document must be substantial.
- We expect that a writing project will take on average about two quarters. It should be an iterative process with multiple drafts and plenty of intermediate feedback.
- While working on their project, the student should form a committee of two faculty members from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Washington --- the primary advisor for this project and another faculty member.
- When the project is completed, this committee will write a short report and recommendation to the Graduate Program Committee on whether the student should pass. The final decision will be made by the Graduate Program Committee.
- We expect that writing projects will be on average about 10 pages long. Shorter is fine, but the document needs to demonstrate the student's ability to write in depth about mathematics. In particular, there should be plenty of evidence that the student can write accurate and understandable substantial mathematical proofs. A document with no substantial proofs will not be accepted for this milestone.
- In addition to the document, faculty advisors may request a 1-page summary/reflection of lessons learned and skills gained from this experience.
A sample timeline (it can vary for different people)
- During the first year: make a list of areas that interest you; spend time researching faculty webpages; narrow your list to 2-3 faculty members.
- Summer after the first year: Sign up for a reading course (or two), pick the topic of your writing milestone project and dive into reading and writing. Form your committee.
Autumn 2nd year: Finish writing, get feedback, iterate on multiple drafts. Submit your finished project once you and your committee members are satisfied.
To make a submission, please click on the button below. Make sure your committee members are satisfied with your work and are ready to submit their reports. Once you make the submission, the system will automatically send requests to your committee members asking for the reports.
Writing milestone samples (restricted access)
While many of the writing milestone samples are much longer than 10 pages, such a length is not expected from future writing projects.
* for students who entered in 2023 or 2024 the deadlines are different, consult the "Milestones" page.
** under special circumstances a student may request a modification of this requirement, which will be considered by the Graduate Program Coordinator in consultation with Graduate Program Committee