Directed Reading Program
General Information:
The Directed Reading Program (DRP) is a program in the math department that pairs interested undergraduates and graduates students for independent study projects. Selected undergraduates will work with graduate students to read a particular math book or paper over the semester.
Why should you do this program?
- Gain one-on-one mentoring from a current graduate student.
- Get to know other students and mentors at DRP social events.
- Learn some cool math outside the standard curriculum.
- Learn background material for future reading course or research project.
- Develop a topic for junior paper or senior thesis.
The Fall 2025 program is underway! The DRP symposium is at noon on Thursday, December 4, in Science Center room 309.
Spring 2026 Program Dates:
Application Deadline: Friday, January 30th by 11:59pm
We will start pairing undergraduates and graduate students immediately following the application deadline. Please note that, depending upon the proposed DRP topic and the availability of mentors, there may be some undergraduate applicants who we are unable to accommodate this semester. If this happens, we encourage you to apply again next semester.
Students who applied by the deadline should receive an email with further details by the following Wednesday, and plan to have their first meeting in the next week. We will hold a DRP welcome event in early February, to be scheduled later. We will be in touch in mid-February to check if you and your mentor have found a mutually agreeable project.
The date of our end-of-semester symposium will be determined: Undergraduates will have the option to give a short (15 minute) presentation on their project.
Final reports will be due by the end of the semester.
If you have any questions, then email us at mathdrp@g.harvard.edu.