Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2024). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas. This one-year master's course provides training in the application of mathematics to a wide range of problems in science and technology. Emphasis is placed on the formulation of problems, on the analytical and numerical techniques for a solution and the computation of useful results. Course structure The course consists of both taught courses and a dissertation. To complete the course, you must complete 12 units. You will accumulate four units in core courses, two units in special topics, two units in case studies and four units in the dissertation. In addition, you will attend classes in mathematical modelling, practical numerical analysis and additional skills during Michaelmas term. Core courses (accumulating four units) There are four core courses which you must complete (one unit each), which each usually consist of 24 lectures, classes and a written examination. The core courses are: Mathematical Methods I Mathematical Methods II Numerical Solutions of Partial Differential Equations and Numerical Linear Algebra Numerical Linear Algebra and Continuous Optimisation. Special topics (accumulating two units) You must choose one special topic in the area of modelling and one in computation (one unit each). There are around 25 special topic courses to choose from, spread over the first and second academic terms, each usually consisting of 16 lectures and a mini project. Topics covered usually include mathematical biology, fluid mechanics, perturbation methods, the mathematics of data, numerical optimisation and scientific computing. Case studies (accumulating two units) You must undertake one case study in mathematical modelling and one in scientific computing (one unit each). These courses take place in Hilary term and normally consist of group work, an oral presentation (for mathematical modelling only) and a written report. Dissertation (four units) You will write a dissertation of around 40 to 50 pages. This is normally produced in the third term (Trinity term) and over the long vacation. Since there is another MSc focussed on mathematical finance specifically, the MSc in Mathematical and Computational Finance, you are not permitted to undertake a dissertation in this field. For the full description, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas