Hi,
My son is in the final year of a MMath with his thesis due in two weeks. He came home for the weekend has had a total meltdown.
It seems there will be no way for him to get anywhere near completing the work he has to do and doesn't properly understand the subject matter.
I realise the situation is of his own making but I am looking for advice on how to dig him out of the hole he's dug for himself.
So far we have told him to organise a meeting on Monday morning with his supervisor but if that doesn't go well I want to know what his options may be. would any of the following be possible/feasible.
Cashing in his points for a BSc
Postponing the thesis
Postponing and changing the subject of the thesis
Re-taking the entire 4th year and choosing a different subject for his thesis.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, sorry to hear about your son. Postgraduate degrees can be really challenging and get the best of many people.

I hope the supervisor has provided some options and hopefully he will be able to get an extension. He probably won't be able to change the subject of his thesis at this stage.

From your post I assume he doing a four year undergraduate degree? It may be possible for him to leave with a BSc then - the supervisor or admin dept will be able to advise you of this.

Hope it works out.

hi Old_Git
would it be possible for you to call up the university, and ask to speak to a Student Advisor? Sometimes our kids need that extra help and maybe a phone call could help in getting him back on track.

love satchi

I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. As Satchi said, I think the best thing is for him to speak to the university and this needs to be done as soon as possible, given that he seems quite near the end. Only the uni will be able to give you the range of options. Remember universities want their students to succeed because it reflects on them and with an open dialogue things can normally be sorted out. it's when there's a communication breakdown that things go really wrong.

Good luck to both you and your son with the situation.

Two weeks is enough time to pull something out the bag, but it's not going to be easy.

He needs to remember that it is the thesis that is marked, not the "thing" that is created. I guess this is easiest with an example, which I will take from my own field of Computer Science. In a development project, we mark the write up of the development activities, we do not mark the code itself or the software artefact that is created. That is very likely to be similar in a MMath setting.

The write up is crucial, he still has time to do a reasonable write up. It is perfectly possible (and often typical) that an undergrad thesis will include a write up of unfinished work and still get a good mark. To do this he will need to discuss the limitations of his work carefully - what caused the problems? Is it that the problem being addressed was more complicated than it seemed? If so, that is a contribution worth writing about in itself.

Yes, the thesis is an important part of his degree, but it's not pass/fail. If he hasn't started writing yet, he needs to stop whatever else he is doing and write, write, write.

He needs to take a look at the mark scheme and write whatever he can about the sections that receive marks. For example, there will be marks for reviewing relevant literature and probably for analysing the problem. He needs to talk about what strategies/methods he used to analyse the problem description and set the direction for the work he planned to do.

In practical terms, if he hasn't started writing the first step should be to write an outline plan of the report. What chapters and subheadings will there be? Add bullet points to describe what is going to go in each section, this can be sent to the supervisor for a quick review and they can identify any areas where extra material is needed.

I am a project supervisor of undergrads, and this is not an unusual situation to be in. It is manageable, but he needs to take ownership and just write.

I think it's very unlikely he would fail his degree outright for this, unless of course he didn't submit anything. Transferring to a BSc is highly unlikely to be an option, I'm afraid.

He might be able to get an extension if there are mitigating circumstances that have caused issues during the thesis period. He might even be able to take leave of absence for the rest of the year and be allowed to retake the whole year with a different project. But for that to happen there would need to be serious mitigating circumstances. Not just - "I didn't work on it til the last minute" it would need to be a serious illness or similar.

Basically, calm down, don't panic, he's got time. It may not seem like it, but he does. It might not end up with the 1st class degree he wants, but I'm willing to bet he's done more than he thinks. He just needs to put it together into a thesis.

Now, if he really has done nothing then there are bigger issues which might imply mitigating circumstances is the way to proceed. But, for me, this can still be done.

Trust me, I've been there a) as a student and b) as a supervisor.

Thanks for your advice and encouragement. The programme specification for my son's course states it could be possible for him to be awarded a BSc if he fails to achieve the criteria for the MMath but this is at the discretion of the Programme Board and he would end up with a 2:2 at best.
Following the meeting with his supervisor he has become more positive and better understands the challenge he faces.
He has now locked himself in his room with limited access to technology and the internet (distractions), a years supply of Red Bull and a hotline to Just Eat.
The clock is running......

That's great. I'm glad he is feeling better about it all. Good luck!