An overview of the department

The Mathematics Institute was founded in 1965 by Professor Sir Christopher Zeeman, since when it has gone on to become one of the leading research and teaching departments in the country.

The Institute has over 60 permanent academic staff plus about 20 research fellows and junior and temporary staff. A distinguishing feature of the department is the number of Professors and Readers - among the highest proportion of any UK mathematics department. Academic staff are all active research mathematicians and many are international leaders in their field. There is a lively, informal research atmosphere and the Institute hosts many conferences and workshops involving visiting mathematicians from all over the world. This strong and lively research culture informs and stimulates exciting teaching.

The Institute's research has received excellent scores in all the national research assessment exercises conducted over the last 20 years. In the last such exercise, called RAE2008, Pure Mathematics was rated second in the UK (after Imperial), and Applied Mathematics came equal first (with Oxford and Cambridge) for the proportion of its research rated internationally leading (the top category, also called "4-star").

A summary of the research activities of the department follows.

The undergraduate Mathematics programme at Warwick is distinguished for its ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE and FLEXIBILITY and CHOICE. The course is demanding, challenging and exciting. The large size of the department means that it can offer a rich and varied diet of mathematics modules. Many options from other departments are also available.

A summary of the research interests in Statistics, including many of the staff in Mathematics can be found at http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/statistics/research/paw.

Aims of the BSc and MMath courses

All our courses aim to

• attract well-qualified students;
• provide an intellectually stimulating environment;
• help students develop key intellectual skills;
• provide a challenging education, with flexibility and breadth, in mathematics and its applications;
• produce high quality graduates who are well prepared for the next step of their professional lives, whether this involves further research training or moving directly into a career.

The MMath course aims additionally to

• enable students to study mathematics in greater depth and/or breadth;

The joint BSc courses aim additionally to

• allow students to add a coherent body of specialist knowledge in another discipline to their core mathematical knowledge.

An outline of the course

The 3 year BA/BSc degree course

The bachelor degree course lasts three years, leading to a BA or BSc for which honours may be awarded. Flexibility is the keynote of the mathematics courses. While you remain in the Mathematics Department, you will study a central core of mathematics. To this core you add optional modules in mathematics, other science subjects or in any of the arts or social science subjects taught at Warwick. Within limits, proportions may be varied to suit individual tastes. The Mathematics Department tries to make as many options as possible available to students; as the University has grown, so has the choice, and we intend this to continue. Joint degree courses with a number of other subjects are available. It is also possible to spend a year abroad or in industry on the so-called Intercalated Year course.

Roughly speaking, the core consists of several basic modules in modern pure mathematics, some differential equations including their use in modelling a variety of simplified real-life problems and calculus in two and three dimensions. The core comprises approximately 75% of the first year and 45-65% of the second year. More detail on the proportions of core and optional modules allowed in each year can be found in the Regulations section.

The Department caters (among others) for students in the following categories:

1. Those whose main interest is pure mathematics.
2. Those who intend to specialise in applied mathematics.
3. Those who want to combine some pure or applied mathematics courses (perhaps as little as 50%) with a selection from a wide area of studies, not necessarily related to mathematics.

If, as you read this, you don't know which category you will fit in, don't worry. You will have plenty of time to decide. We hope to provide you with enough guidance while at Warwick so that you can understand the system and apply it to your own purposes.

There is also a pass degree, designed for students for whom the honours load turns out to be too heavy. All students start Year 1 on the honours course. Depending on examination results, some may be transferred to the pass degree. Students on the pass degree may be allowed back to the honours degree (or may be awarded an honours degree at the end of the course) if they do well enough in the examinations.

The 4 year MMath degree course

The Master of Mathematics (MMath) course is a 4-year degree course that was set up following an initiative of the London Mathematical Society. The rationale for the 4-year degree is that there is a national need for more graduates in mathematics with a qualification higher than that provided by a 3-year degree, and comparable with the 4- or 5-year first degree courses common in Europe.

The first two years of the degree are in common with those of the BA/BSc course although more mathematics is required in Year 2. The MMath course replaces Year 3 of the BA/BSc with two years of more substantial and specialised mathematics.

You may enrol in the MMath course through UCAS. In addition, students on the BA/BSc course may apply to transfer to the MMath any time during their first two years. (Your L.E.A. is legally obliged to accept course transfers up to the end of your third term at university, although in practice they will still accept them later.) If you are at all interested in transferring to the MMath course, you are strongly encouraged to apply before starting Year 2. Transfer from the MMath to the 3 year BA/BSc course is straightforward before the end of Year 2, and is permitted during Year 3, Term 1.

To remain on the MMath course after Year 2, a student must average good II.1 marks from the best 90 CATS from Core and List A modules in the 2nd Year examinations. Analysis of marks from previous years has shown that MMath students who obtain less than 65% in year one rarely achieve this target in year two. In addition they make life difficult for themselves in trying to meet the MMath target since they have a larger load of math modules. MMath students who achieve less than 65% in year one are strongly encouraged to switch to the three year bachelors degree. However students on the bachelor degree who achieve this target at the end of Year 2 are invited to transfer to the MMath if they have studied the appropriate modules in Year 2. (However, your L.E.A. is not obliged to accept the transfer at this late stage.)

MMath students with adequate language skills may be allowed to replace the third year of the MMath degree by an equivalent year of study at a European university (see information on MMath with Study in Europe).

An MMath student whose Year 3 mark is under 55%, or whose best 90 CATS of MA3 or MA4 modules is less than 55%, can be required to graduate with a BSc by the Exam Board. Such marks suggest that they would almost certainly find Year 4 too hard.

Since funding for UK students to take a non-vocational MSc was phased out, the MMath has become the standard route to follow for students interested in studying for a PhD degree.

There are also a number of Joint Degrees within the Mathematics Department as well as courses run by other departments which have a large overlap with ours. Transfer between courses is possible with the agreement of the departments concerned and neccessary prerequisites having been taken.