Learning to do research with an MSc
A master’s degree is a nice transition to more research-focussed roles. Mark shares his tips on making the most out of your MSc based on his experience studying Computational Applied Mathematics.
By Mark Alvarez
There are many different reasons you might want to pursue a master’s degree. For me, one of the main motivations for completing the Computational Applied Mathematics MSc was to prepare myself for an academic research career, so I made sure to throw myself into all of the research-related aspects of the programme. While my experience is specific to the CAM MSc, I hope that it can still be of interest to anyone pursuing an MSc in the School of Mathematics with an interest in research.
What did I do during my MSc to prepare for a research career?
A key skill for a researcher is to be able to write well. As a mathematician you will be trying to create new ideas or develop new insights, so it is crucial that you can explain complex concepts clearly and precisely to an audience. In the 2024-25 academic year I had a number of opportunities to develop my reading and writing skills, primarily through individual and group research projects in Research Skills for CAM (RSCAM) and Industrial Mathematics. While these courses were only on offer for CAM, there are similar courses for other MSc programmes.
During each of the projects I made a real effort to focus on the big picture – to think not just about the details of the problem at hand, but also why the problem is interesting or difficult in the first place, which new questions I could ask, and how I could come up with examples or experiments to most effectively communicate my findings. Writing mathematics in a longer, narrative form was something that I did not get to practice much in my undergraduate mathematics degree so I appreciated this opportunity during the MSc.
On top of writing papers or books, researchers also frequently present their findings orally at seminars and conferences. These events are particularly exciting because they allow researchers to present brand-new research in a more informal manner than in a paper, allowing for discussions of initial results, conjectures, and intuition. During the MSc I was fortunate enough to be able to attend seminars in Edinburgh presented by some of the world’s leading researchers on a range of topics. The Applied and Computational Maths seminar is the most directly relevant to the CAM MSc but I also went to some seminars in operational research, theoretical physics, and abstract algebra. I did not understand much, but I realised that that is part of the fun. As a lecturer recently told me, “Being confused is the natural state of curious people”.
I also got the chance to present mathematics myself, again in RSCAM and Industrial Maths. I found it very useful to practice presenting in different contexts, including a poster presentation and seminar-style presentations. I focussed on understanding my audience, thinking about what they would already know and how much I could explain to them in the time given. I also made sure that my visual aids – the poster or the slides – contained the minimum that was needed to get the point across and nothing more, in order to keep the audience’s focus on the main ideas and not on irrelevant details. I have learned a lot from this and I am sure this experience will help me improve in the future.
What next?
Let’s say that you’re enjoying the research aspects of your MSc and you want to pursue an academic research career: the usual next step is a PhD. So what is a PhD, and how do you go about applying for one?
So you want to be a mathematician? | School of Mathematics blog
