Mathematics

  • 91% for Overall Satisfaction in the National Student Survey (2011) 1
  • Single and multidiscipline degree programmes  
  • Optional summer industrial placement that contributes towards your degree
  • £3 million invested in new academic and student facilities

Mathematics plays an important role in many aspects of modern life. Every time you listen to a CD, you are benefiting from the way that the mathematics of error-correcting codes enables sound to be recorded reliably in digital form. When you watch a TV weather forecast, you are looking at the result of sophisticated mathematical modelling of the Earth’s atmosphere. Even artists have found inspiration in the beautiful and intricate fractal patterns, such as the Mandelbrot set, that emerge from surprisingly simple mathematical equations.

Mathematics provides the techniques and language to handle problems from a wide variety of disciplines. It has always been essential for engineering and the physical sciences and is becoming increasingly important in the life sciences and social sciences. Yet mathematics is not only studied because of its applications; it has a fascination and beauty of its own, characterised by precision and logical rigour.

Mathematics forms a rewarding, challenging and varied subject of study at university. It encompasses:

  • Mathematical methods: the tools used throughout mathematics and in many other disciplines;
  • Pure mathematics: the study of mathematical objects such as numbers, sets and functions, leading to precise statements and rigorous proofs of their general properties;
  • Applied mathematics: modelling and analysing phenomena ranging from the generation of the Sun's magnetic field to the formation of the spots on a leopard. Optimisation methods can also be used to solve commercial business problems;
  • Probability and statistics: investigating randomness and change, including pattern recognition and data modelling, with applications to fields as diverse as climate change, insurance and risk assessment.

Numbers

Exeter

Entrants: 151
Applicants: 913

The teaching on my degree has been excellent, just how I expected. The lectures are interesting and focused, and the lecturers are always happy to answer questions in class, or during their office hours. Some lecturers use group discussions for certain topics which involve everyone and make for more interactive learning, and we have group presentations and coursework which all take the pressure off at exam time!

The ‘with Finance’ part of my degree means that I don’t do exactly half and half like most other universities offered, Instead I choose my modules more flexibly and this means my degree is tailored to what I want.

Our department is very supportive and there is lots of extra help which I wasn’t aware of before I got here; there are weekly ‘maths surgeries’ where postgrads are available to help you, a buddy scheme where first years can meet with a mentor if they wish, and tutors who go out of their way to offer help. There is also a learning resources centre which is a great place to work by yourself, or there are group rooms which you and your friends can book to do work together as well as plenty of computers available.
Hannah Rowles, 3rd year Mathematics with Finance

1 Percentage of students who agreed they were satisfied