Brunel University's Department of Mathematical Sciences offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in mathematics. Students can study subjects like mathematics, financial mathematics, and mathematics with computer science. The department has a strong research base and offers student support. Brunel University is located in Uxbridge near London and has excellent sports facilities and opportunities for international students.

1. Mathematical Sciences at Brunel
University
Dr Rhiannon Hall
Lecturer in the Department of Mathematical
Sciences
School of Information Systems, Computing and
Mathematics

2. Slide 2
Brunel: The Greatest Briton?

3. Slide 3
Brunel University: Background
 A University since 1966.
 Departments of Law, Management, Sports
Science, English, Politics, ... not just science and
engineering.
 Before 1992, all students did sandwich courses.
 About 14,000 students, all now here at Uxbridge.

4. Slide 4
Department of Mathematical Sciences

5. What we have to offer
1. Campus university in excellent location with wide
variety of student activities.
2. Good range of courses with strong research base.
3. Financial help / scholarships.
4. Strong student support in a student-centred
department and university.
5. Professional placement available for all
undergraduate degree courses.
Slide 5

6. Slide 6
Location
Brunel University is:
 45 minutes by tube from central London.
 A few minutes drive from M40, M25, M4.
 A local bus ride from Heathrow Airport.
 40 miles from Oxford.
 Close to the Chiltern Hills, the Thames …

7. Slide 7
Uxbridge Campus
 Safe self-contained site.
 All teaching is here.
 £250M development completed.
 £13M indoor and outdoor sports arenas.
 4549 student rooms, most with en-suite facilities.
 One-stop-shop for student services.
 Library building doubled in size.
 Complete refit to the refectory building.

8. Slide 8
Brunel Sports Facilities
“Brunel is awesome. The
university has really done
great for us. They really show
us a lot of love."
“Big up to Brunel”

9. Brunel Sport
Maths Open Day Slide 9
André Wright, a (now
graduated) maths
student won the
“performance of the
championship” award at
the British University
Indoor Championships
for winning the 200m.

10. Slide 10
Vibrant International Culture
 More than 2000 overseas students.
 Brunel students come from 110 countries.
 Rich and diverse culture.
 Extra curricula activities: clubs, societies, arts
centre.

11. 2. Courses
 Six different Maths undergraduate courses.
 Information Systems, Computing and
Mathematics with an Integrated Foundation
Year.
 Postgraduate courses (MSc and PhD).
Slide 11

12. Foundation Year
 A pre-degree year for those who are not fully
qualified to start on a degree course.
 Not a “foundation degree”, but part of an integrated
course.
 Leads into degree courses in Mathematics, Business
Computing, Computer Science and Computer
Systems Engineering.
Slide 12

13. Foundation Year
 Progression to BSc is automatic for passing students.
 The content is the maths and computing needed to
start on those degree courses.
 The fees for the Foundation year: £3,500, followed
by £9,000 per annum for the three years of BSc.
Slide 13

14. Mathematics Degrees
 Mathematics (BSc and MMath)
Slide 14
 Financial Mathematics (BSc and MMath)
 Mathematics with Computer Science
 Mathematics & Statistics with Management

15. Mathematics Degrees
 Building from where you are.
 Broad-based courses with a common core,
giving some flexibility.
 Key concepts and techniques (algebra, analysis
/ calculus, discrete maths, statistics, etc) and a
range of applications.
Slide 15

16. From School To University
 Moving from how to why.
 Develop and apply a toolbox of ideas to a variety
of problems.
 Solve complex problems requiring many steps and
careful planning.
 Think and work independently.
 Experiment and innovate.
 Communicate your results.
Slide 16

17. Level One
At level 1:
 Modules are designed carefully to build on
previous knowledge.
 Core Maths is initially entirely taught in small
groups (15-20) to ease the transition to
university.
 Small group projects throughout the year.
Slide 17

18. Level 1 Group Projects
 Real world applications of maths
 Eg. Fractals, modelling ice melting, modelling
population growth, webpage ranking, statistics
 Employability
 Eg. Group work, MS Excel skills, experience
managing and working through projects
 Regular meetings with personal tutor

19. Level Two
 New applicable mathematics:
 Multi-variable calculus.
 Predictive linear models in statistics.
 More abstract mathematics like group theory.
 Some specialist topics in joint courses:
 Marketing / accounting.
 Risk modelling.
 Software development.
Slide 19

20. Level 2 Careers & Employability Days
 Training Day (October)
Eg. CV writing, job application forms, cover letters, etc.
 Assessment Day (November)
Eg. Mock interviews and role play, psychometric tests, networking
skills, etc.
Careers Day (February)
A variety of alumni & employers give talks, advice, Q&A sessions on
career options.
Slide 20

21. Final Year Project
 One third of the final year (22% of final degree mark).
 Wide choice of topics.
 Often based on current research.
 Individual weekly supervision.
 70 page dissertation and presentation.
 MMath students also do this at level 3.
Slide 21

22. Mathematics Degrees
 Coding and encryption
 Option pricing
 Operational research
 Stochastic models, eg.
 Financial data
 People surfing the internet
Slide 22

23. MMath Degrees
 Integrated Master’s degree over 4 years (or 5 with
placement).
 Available for Mathematics and Financial
Mathematics.
 Can be entered at level 1, or by transfer at the end of
level 2.
 The first two years are the same as the BSc; the final
two years take you beyond this to Master’s level.
Slide 23

24. Maths Open Day Slide 24
 A full year of work between years 2 and 3 of your academic
studies
 Valuable work experience, and help provided in the curriculum
to find a placement
 Better chance of finding a graduate job & taste of your chosen
career path and gain new skills
 Improve your final year results
 Earn money while on placement
 Sandwich course graduates earn more than their non-placement
peers
Sandwich Degrees (Work Placement)

25. Recent work placement destinations
 Accenture
 AVCO systems
 British Airways
 Centrica
 British Telecom
 General Electric
 Teach First
 Xerox
 GlaxoSmithKline
 Goldman Sachs
 IBM
 Intel
 NetApp
 KPMG
 Orange
 Nissan
 O2
 Bank of England
Maths Open Day Slide 25

26. A few recent graduate job titles
 Biostatistician
 Statistical Programmer
 Junior Financial Analyst
 Maintenance Revenue
Administrator
 Treasury Analyst
 Business Analyst
 Operational Research
 Accounts Assistant
 Operations Assistant
 Actuary
 Data Analyst
 Others worked in:
 Risk Management
 Portfolio and Fund
Management
Maths Open Day Slide 26

27. Research
 Key factor in the reputation of the School and
Department
 Research areas include
 Numerical analysis
 Operational research
 Mathematical physics
 Stochastic modelling and financial risk
 Applied analysis and mathematical biology
 Statistics
 Combinatorics
Slide 27

28. Research excellence
In the most recent (2008) Research Assessment
Exercise:
 87% of our research is of international significance.
 16% of our research is world-leading.
 Top 3 in London area.
Research underpins our course planning, and
particularly the Final Year Project.
Slide 28

29. 3. Financial support (2013)
 Over 700 new scholarships for 2013.
 1 in 5 will receive financial support from Brunel.
http://www.brunel.ac.uk/courses/ug/fees/brunel-support-2013
 Several types of scholarships:
 Academic Excellence.
 National Scholarship Programme.
 Local Boroughs.
 For students who make Brunel their firm choice.
Slide 29

30. 3. Mathematics Scholarships
 Up to 10 scholarships each year.
 For students with AAB at A-level (including A in
Maths or Further Maths).
 £1000 each year (except placement year).
 Continuation depends on high standard of work.
 For students who make Brunel their firm choice.
Maths UCAS Day Slide 30Slide 30

31. 4. Student Support
 Departmental Personal Tutor System
 Academic Skills Service (ASK)
 Blackboard (VLE)
 Accommodation Office
 Work Placement and Careers Service
 Student Union Information Centre
 Disability and Dyslexia Office
 Counselling Service / Medical Centre
 Chaplaincy
Maths UCAS Day Slide 31

32. What our students say…
Katharina Schwaiger graduated from Brunel
University with a BSc in Financial
Mathematics. She went on to do a PhD,
also at Brunel University.
“The Mathematics department and in
particular its lecturers have been very
helpful and easy to approach throughout my
experience at Brunel University.”
Slide 32
After her PhD, she worked as a financial
engineer at QuIC Financial Technologies, who
provide the world’s leading financial
organisations with enterprise solutions for risk
management, pricing and financial analytics.

33. Entry Requirements BSc Courses
 A-Level: ABB, including Grade A in Mathematics.
 IBDP: 33 points, including 6 in Higher Level Mathematics.
 Advanced Diploma: Progression Diploma Grade A in
Engineering; IT; or Business, Administration & Finance.
Plus A-Level Mathematics at grade A for Additional and
Specialist Learning.
 Access: Entry usually via the Information Systems,
Computing and Mathematics with an Integrated
Foundation Year.
All must also have 5 GCSEs at grade C or
higher, including English and Maths.

34. Entry Requirements MMath Courses
 A-Level: AAA, including Grade A in Mathematics.
 IBDP: 37 points, including 6 in Higher Level Mathematics.
 Irish Leaving Certificate: AAAAB, including grade A in
Mathematics.
 Scottish Advanced Highers: AAA, including grade A in
Mathematics.
 Advanced Diploma or BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma: Should
apply for BSc, then if grades are high enough, transfer to the
MMath at the end of Year 2.
 Access: Entry usually via the Information Systems, Computing and
Mathematics with an Integrated Foundation Year.
All must also have 5 GCSEs at grade C or
higher, including English and Maths.

35. Entry Requirements Foundation Year
 A-Level: CDD, preferably including Maths or Physics.
 IBDP or certificates with a total of 26 points.
 Advanced Diploma: Progression Diploma grade D in one of
Construction and the Built Environment; Engineering; Society,
Health and Development; IT; Environment and Land-Based
Studies; Manufacturing and Product Design; Business,
Administration and Finance; Public Services; or Retail Business.
Plus and A-Level at grade C for Additional and Specialist Learning.
 BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma: MMM in a related subject.
 Access: Pass.
 Non-Standard Qualifications: Apply on a case by case basis.
All must also have 5 GCSEs at grade C or
higher, including English and Maths.

36. And …
Maths UCAS Day Slide 36