Are all maths degrees the same?

Chris Brignell, Deputy Director

It’s sports day season in schools and the Olympics are just around the corner. I remember my PE teacher telling me that Athletics is the best sport because there is a discipline for everyone. Maybe you are the tall, lean type with good stamina who can take on the long-distance races, or someone with powerful, ‘fast twitch’ muscles who can sprint, or someone who can use their weight to propel the hammer. It was just a case, my PE teacher claimed, of finding the right discipline. Sadly, my sporting track record (excuse the pun) suggests otherwise. 

 

But is it true for maths degrees? Is there the perfect mathematics course for every mathematically minded student? Only 5% of A level maths students go on to take a mathematics degree, so are many leaving the subject because they can’t find the right course? Maybe they believe the misconception that all maths degrees are the same. In 2023 I was part of QAA’s advisory group re-writing the subject benchmark statement for degrees in mathematics, statistics and operations research. We had to define what a mathematical sciences degree looks like in terms of curriculum, teaching and assessment. The task was difficult, because each of the 20 panel members had different experiences of learning and teaching mathematics at their institutions. 

In terms of curriculum, the only common elements across all mathematical sciences degrees were vectors, calculus and either probability or statistics. And, even then, there were differences between institutions about the required depth or breadth of knowledge within these topics. Aside from these core elements, mathematical sciences degrees branch in all directions from abstract pure mathematics (apparently Lie algebras are not the mathematics of untruths) to artificial intelligence; from mathematical biology to multivariate statistics; from classical dynamics to computing. 

In terms of teaching, some institutions mainly use traditional lectures while others use A level style teaching. Cohort sizes vary from over 300 to less than 30. For some you’ll need A level Mathematics, Further Mathematics and an entrance test to get accepted, while for others a grade C in A level Mathematics is sufficient. Add in a foundation year and a grade E might be enough.   

Do you want to add in a year in industry or a year studying abroad? How much computing or group work do you want? A degree focussed on the applications of maths and a route into industry, or a more academic-style degree and a route into mathematics research? A Bachelor’s degree or an undergraduate Master’s? Exams or coursework? Full-time or part-time? In-person or online? A pre-defined curriculum or flexible module choices? It turns out that choosing a maths degree requires making more choices than ordering a footlong in Subway. And that’s before we even get to university factors such as location, accommodation options, sports facilities, etc. 

I recently did a quick audit of mathematical sciences degrees advertised on UCAS for 2024 entry. In total I found 865 different programmes using 389 different UCAS course codes across 72 institutions. Out of these programmes, over 260 were undergraduate Master’s, 86 included a foundation year, over 200 included a year in industry and 98 included an international study year.   

In terms of joint honours, may I interest you in studying mathematics alongside Art History (St Andrews), Chinese Studies (Lancaster), Film & Television Studies (Aberystwyth) or Ocean & Climate Science (Liverpool)? Or alongside the more usual mathematical bedfellows such as Computer Science, Data Science, Economics, Engineering, Finance or Physics? Or, it seems, any other subject between Accountancy and Zoology?  (Actually, there is no Maths and Zoology but at least four institutions offer Maths and Biology).   

I’ve worked in university maths departments for over 20 years, and regular conversations with colleagues in other universities means I have a good understanding of maths education in UK universities. However, now consider a 17-year-old college student, perhaps the first in their family to go to university (or at least the first to study maths), trying to find their perfect mathematics course. What information do we, the mathematical sciences community, give them to help them make their choice? How do we articulate the difference between a Mathematics degree and, say, Mathematical Computation (UCL) or Mathematical Studies (Royal Holloway)? 

At the Observatory for Mathematical Education, we are about to map the undergraduate offer for mathematical sciences degrees (including joint honours) based on documentary analysis of materials available to those students considering mathematics degrees. The aim is to develop a typology of courses that includes important dimensions such as curriculum, choice, assessment, teaching methods and support. If you’d like to join us in this endeavour, then we are currently recruiting. 

Author information

Chris is the Deputy Director of the Observatory and an Associate Professor of Statistics in the School of Mathematical Sciences.  

Observatory for Mathematical Education team

Observatory for Mathematical Education on LinkedIn.