Mathematics

Mathematics is often described in terms of its beauty or its difficulty, but what it really is, at the deepest level, is a language for describing patterns and relationships with absolute precision. This precision is what makes it so powerful: the same mathematical structures appear in the behaviour of financial markets, the spread of diseases, the design of computer algorithms and the curvature of spacetime. A mathematics degree develops your ability to think with this kind of rigour, to construct proofs, to work with abstraction and to apply formal methods to problems that initially resist solution.

At the University of Leicester, the three-year full-time degree covers the full breadth of the subject, from pure mathematics including analysis, algebra and topology, to applied mathematics in areas such as mechanics, mathematical physics and mathematical modelling. You will also develop strong computational and statistical skills that are increasingly central to how mathematics is practised professionally. The degree includes a sandwich year, a year abroad and a work placement, giving you substantial opportunities to develop professional experience and international perspectives.

Mathematics is one of the most internationally mobile disciplines, and the year abroad element reflects that character.

Leicester's mathematics department has a research culture that enriches the teaching, and the degree is designed to give you genuine depth as well as breadth across the subject.

Mathematics graduates are among the most sought-after in the labour market, valued across finance, technology, data science, engineering, research, education and the civil service. Actuarial science, investment banking, software engineering, mathematical research and teaching are among the most common paths. Postgraduate study in mathematics, statistics, data science or a field that depends heavily on mathematics is a natural continuation for those who want to develop specialist expertise.