Course overview

This course will meet the educational requirements for Chartered Mathematician status, when it is followed by training and experience that satisfies the competencies specified by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).

This is a flexible degree with a strong mathematical core progressing to more in-depth studies or a broader degree according to your interests.

Our BSc (Hons) Mathematics course aims to develop your theoretical understanding and practical, analytical and computing skills as a base for developing applied mathematical solutions. The course will teach you advanced problem-solving skills, which you will be able to apply in many different ways in a wide choice of potential careers.

Mathematicians are warmly welcomed in industry, business and commerce for their analytical ability and systematic, logical approach to unravelling complex issues. Our friendly and supportive staff will show you how fascinating, yet practical, maths can be.

Whilst studying mathematics at the University of Portsmouth you will:

• Study both a continuation of A Level mathematics, together with completely new approaches to the subject.
• Have access to ultra-modern computing facilities and advanced teaching and learning resources.
• Use specialist mathematical and statistical computing packages, for which you will receive full training.
• Develop advanced problem-solving skills.
• Explore ideas within a supportive environment.
• Acquire the skills needed for a successful career in industry, business and commerce.
• Have an opportunity to assist in a local school as a final-year option.

The flexibility of our course means that during the first year you will have the option to change between mathematics degrees. All these degrees have an optional sandwich year that involves working for a paid employer in the UK or overseas.

You will need a head for numbers and we expect you to have achieved an A level pass in Mathematics or to have worked to a similar level. If you have some other type of mathematical background you are welcome to apply and will be considered on your individual merits. Above all you need to be able to think logically, systematically and creatively, and have motivation and enthusiasm.

Portsmouth has a long and distinguished record of running very successful degree courses in mathematical subjects. This course aims to provide you with a first class theoretical base as well as the skills for mathematical problem-solving and knowledge of economics, accounting and finance. The University's academic staff maintain close relationships with the world of work, both locally and further afield. This contact ensures that the courses on offer always reflect the current and future needs of commerce and industry.

Career focused

The entrance criteria of this degree have been designed to comply with the requirements of major mathematics graduate programmes. Competent students can have the opportunity to apply their skills to real-life practical problems as part of the department’s partnership scheme with charities, local and global organisations. Please view the 'Career prospects' section for further details.

To find out more about placement opportunities in the Faculty of Technology, please visit our Placements Office pages.

Course content

The course has a good mixture of mathematics and its varying applications. The mathematical content is carefully designed to underpin the more practical elements of the course, which is strong in statistics, operational research and modelling. Maximum use is made of relevant IT, mathematical and statistical computer packages.

The first year of the course contains a broad mixture of mathematics, statistics and computing. Calculus and algebra are developed further in the second year, alongside optional units in applied mathematics, numerical methods, operational research, statistics, finance and cosmology. The final year contains a unit on partial differential equations and a project, as well as a wide choice of optional units in pure and applied mathematical topics. The spectrum of option choices stretches from History and Philosophy of Mathematics, through Abstract Algebra, Financial Derivative Pricing, and Statistics Methods in Health Research and Social Science to Astrophysics, Quantum Mechanics and Relativity.

Teaching and assessment

You will be taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars, tutorials, laboratory and project work. Lecture classes can be large and you will have about 12 hours of this type of contact every week. A further two to three hours will be spent in small group seminars and tutorials, where you can get individual help in those areas in which you would like to know more or are perhaps experiencing some difficulty. Some lecture materials will also be provided via the internet so you can work at your own pace from any location.

Assessment is geared towards the subject matter in a way that encourages a deeper understanding and allows you to develop your skills. It takes many forms and includes examinations, coursework, multiple-choice tests, presentations and mini projects. In the final year, all students undertake a major piece of supervised independent work on a topic connected with mathematics.

Career prospects

Placement opportunities

In the Faculty of Technology we feel that students should be given as many opportunities as possible to gain meaningful work experience and build employability skills throughout their studies to make them more attractive to future employers.

Working with other University services, the Faculty’s Student Placement and Employability Centre (SPEC) ensure students have access to a range of volunteering and work experience opportunities, including year-long industrial placements, and provide support for the different types of application processes.

Examples of roles our students have taken up as placement roles include:

• Transport Planner at Transport for London
• Planning Assistant at Coty

Types of placement roles that could be relevant to this course include:

• Transport Planner
• Revenue Assistant
• Planning Assistant

To find out more about how you can gain work experience whilst studying BSc (Hons) Mathematics, please visit our Placements Office pages.

Graduate roles

A mathematics degree is very well respected in many areas of employment. Although many students find employment in traditional areas such as statistics, finance and mathematical modelling, former students have pursued careers in such diverse areas as the police, the armed services, marketing and retail management.

A number of students are also choosing to stay for a further year to complete a PGCE and to then help alleviate the well-publicised shortage of specialist mathematics teachers. Successful completion of the course could also lead to postgraduate studies, which often focus on particular applications of mathematics or statistics and can enhance employment prospects even further.

Facilities and features

You will have easy access to modern computing laboratories equipped with a wide range of powerful hardware and software, including multimedia applications. All students will receive instruction in the use of the computer algebra package MAPLE and the numerical methods and matrix algebra package MATLAB. Statistical computing will use MINITAB.

Depending on your choice of pathway you will also use C++, MICRO SAINT SHARP, EVOLVER and MPL. You will certainly use the standard IT packages for word processing and spreadsheets, and almost all students now make use of PowerPoint for presentations. In addition, all students have full access to email and the web. Apart from this, the Department's main asset is the academic staff who are always at hand.

You will also have use of our library, which houses over 600,000 volumes in printed format and gives you access to thousands of ejournals and ebooks, as well as a full range of student services that can help you with finance, accommodation, careers and recruitment, and study in general.

Maths Café

The Maths Café is a daily drop-in facility, where ANY student of the University can receive help on any maths or statistics problem they encounter in their studies. We operate in a friendly, informal location which we hope will encourage students to visit us. Handouts on key topics are available to take away. Students can be shown how to use computer aided learning packages, which can be accessed from any computer attached to the University's computer network.

Entry requirements

View all the entry requirements for BSc (Hons) Mathematics for the academic year 2013/14 (opens in new window).