Would It Be Appropriate to Ask a Professor for a Summer Assignment?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the appropriateness of asking a professor for a summer assignment in mathematics. Participants explore the feasibility and implications of such a request, considering the lack of formal research programs at the university.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses interest in asking a professor for a summer assignment to stay engaged with math topics, questioning whether this request would be burdensome for the professor.
  • Another participant suggests that reaching out to the professor is a good idea and mentions the possibility of remote communication.
  • Concerns are raised about the perceived greediness of the request, especially in the absence of official research programs.
  • Some participants argue that the lack of research programs does not preclude the possibility of doing extra-credit research or assignments.
  • One participant reflects on the challenges of researching in mathematics and shares their own plans to self-study over the summer.
  • Clarification is made that the request is not for a formal research topic but rather for a challenging assignment that could lead to deeper understanding.
  • A suggestion is made to consider future courses as an alternative to summer assignments.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that asking the professor is a reasonable approach, but there are differing opinions on the difficulty of conducting research in mathematics and the nature of the assignments that could be requested.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about what constitutes undergraduate research in mathematics and the potential challenges involved in such endeavors.

sutupidmath
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Asking a prof for an assignment!

Hi, since the end of the semester is approaching,and i am planning on going home for the summer, so no summer classes, i was planning to work something on my own, like in some math topics. However, I was wondering whether it would be a better idea to ask one of my favorite math proffesors to give me some kind of a big assignment in math so i could work on it during the summer. Just so you know, i am not doing this to show of or anything like that, but just to keep myslef busy during the summer. But what i would like to know is would it be too much of a load for a prof. to give her students' assignments like this? I mean, since this is not some kind of research program, would it be too much of a load for her if i asked her to give me such an assignment? Or would that sound right, at first place?

Thnx in advance!
 
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Well, the deal is that the university wher i am does not have research programs in math for undergrads. But, yeah, that's defenitely what i'll do. I'll see what she says. But i was just wondering whether my request would be too greedy since there are no official research programs here.
 
No, definitely wouldn't be greedy. Just because there are no research programs doesn't mean you can't still do extra-credit research.

The stuff I'm working on isn't ground-breaking nor is it something they need soon, but it has to be done sooner or later. So, even if I crash and burn it won't be too bad. Hopefully something can be found for you that is like that, so you can work on in without worrying or them worrying.

But, it still comes down to you asking. :smile:
 
Poop-Loops said:
No, definitely wouldn't be greedy. Just because there are no research programs doesn't mean you can't still do extra-credit research.

The stuff I'm working on isn't ground-breaking nor is it something they need soon, but it has to be done sooner or later. So, even if I crash and burn it won't be too bad. Hopefully something can be found for you that is like that, so you can work on in without worrying or them worrying.

But, it still comes down to you asking. :smile:

Well, thanks, i am going to ask her tomorrow! I hope there will be something for me!
 
I think researching in math would be quite hard. But that's just me. I'm just planning (actually more like hoping to)to read up on some topics myself over the summer too. I often get led astray. =(

But I think talking to your prof about it should be a good idea. :P
 
Gallileo said:
I think researching in math would be quite hard.

Well, yeah i agree, but i am not intending to ask her to give me some kind of research topic, just something that would be kind of hard to come up with conclusions about. Because i really have no idea what could an undergrad research in math...
 
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