Course summary

Put your statistics knowledge into practice in the real world, and build up skills and experience that you can apply to a career in research. Find the patterns in huge datasets, draw conclusions and apply those creative solutions to real industry problems. A Mathematics and Statistics with Placement Year MMath from Sheffield is where you put your statistics knowledge into practice in the real world – building experience for a career in research, major corporations or in data science. From the essentials, you’ll build advanced techniques, develop programming skills using Python and R, and learn to present your work as a professional mathematician using LaTeX. In your second year we’ll show you how to apply your statistics knowledge to increasingly complex problems, through statistical modelling and computer simulations. Your third year will be your placement year. This is where you get a taste of applied statistics in a finance role, or in the civil service. You’ll have plenty of support from your tutors all the way through, and you may come back with the offer of a job when you graduate. By your fourth year, you’ll have the skills, knowledge and experience to go in lots of different directions – and a choice of optional modules to support whichever path you choose. We’ll train you in how to design experiments and collect data, how statistics are used in clinical trials of new drugs and how data can predict the likely outcome of an event. There are also lots of opportunities – including the final year project and summer research placements – where you can work with our mathematicians to tackle a complex research question. With this degree as your first step, a job in the finance, technology or big data economy will soon follow. Why study this course?

• Leading maths research - 96% of our research is rated as world-leading or internationally excellent, according to the Research Excellence Framework 2021.

• Real-world problem solving - research unanswered questions, from the most abstract research in areas like algebraic geometry and number theory, to the calculations behind animal movements and black holes.

• Everyone is welcome - there’s a place at Sheffield for everyone who enjoys mathematics. Find a warm welcome at our active student society (SUMS), regular maths challenges and a dedicated LGBT+ student group for maths students.

• Industry placement experience - spend a whole year in industry, gaining first-hand experience in applying mathematics and statistics in a real business situation.

• Independent research project - complete your own maths research project in your final year. You’ll choose a topic in an area of mathematics that interests you, and work closely with one of our staff who is an expert in the field.