Program Overview

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Undertaking our MSD Pure Mathematics gives you the opportunity to investigate such areas as algebraic geometry, group theory, semigroup theory, combinatorics and differential equations. We have staff with expertise in each of these areas who are enthusiastic about supervising PhD students. If you're interested in studying with us, please get in touch with our Department to discuss other potential research areas. Our staff are strongly committed to research and teaching. They have published several well-regarded text books and are world leaders in their individual specialisms, with their papers appearing in learned journals such as: Journal of Algebra, Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra, Acta Arithmetica, Discrete Mathematics , and Journal of Group Theory. Our Department of Mathematical Sciences is genuinely innovative and student-focused. Our research groups are working on a broad range of collaborative areas tackling real-world issues. Here are a few examples:

• Our data scientists carefully consider how not to lie, and how not to get lied to with data. Interpreting data correctly is especially important because much of our data science research is applied directly or indirectly to social policies, including health, care and education.
• We do practical research with financial data (for example, assessing the risk of collapse of the UK’s banking system) as well as theoretical research in financial instruments such as insurance policies or asset portfolios.
• We also research how physical processes develop in time and space. Applications of this range from modelling epilepsy to modelling electronic cables.
• Our optimisation experts work out how to do the same job with less resource, or how to do more with the same resource.
• Our pure maths group are currently working on two new funded projects entitled “The Calabi problem for smooth Fano threefolds” and “Stability of Brunn-Minkowski inequalities and Minkowski type problems for nonlinear capacity”.
• We also do research into mathematical education and use exciting technologies such as electroencephalography or eye tracking to measure exactly what a learner is feeling. Our research aims to encourage the implementation of ‘the four Cs’ of modern education, which are critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

We also offer a PhD and an MPhil in this subject, and part-time research study is also available. Why we're great.

• Our Department of Mathematical Sciences has an internationally excellent reputation in areas such as algebraic geometry, group theory, semigroup theory, differential equations, optimisation, probability, applied statistics, bioinformatics and mathematical biology.
• Our department is ranked 31st for research power in the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
• You will be able to access mathematical software packages on the University’s High-Performance Computing cluster.

Our expert staff

The Department of Mathematical Sciences has an international reputation in all areas of mathematical sciences including: pure mathematics, statistics, operational research, applied mathematics, and actuarial science. The Department of Mathematical Sciences is based in the University’s state-of-the-art STEM Centre. Research students have a dedicated work space and PCs, with access to software such as MATLAB, Gap, SageMath, Python and R. We encourage MSD students to meet with their supervisor regularly. While undertaking your research within Mathematical Sciences, joint supervision across other Essex departments and schools is possible. Joint supervision allows you to have a supervisor based in our Department and another in a relevant Department or School (such as Life Sciences, or Computer Science and Electronic Engineering).

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Specialist facilities

The Department of Mathematical Sciences is based in the University’s state-of-the-art STEM Centre. Research students have a dedicated work space and PCs, with access to software such as MATLAB, LaTeX and R. All University of Essex research students have access to our innovative and unique scheme, Proficio . Postgraduate research students are automatically enrolled on Proficio, which provides a variety of training courses, and a fund of up to £1,000 per MSD student for attendance on these courses.

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Your future

Studying a research degree in mathematics gives you the opportunity to develop new skills and enhance your CV. Our graduates have joined organisations like the Met Office, the Ministry of Defence, and companies based in the City of London, others have remained in academia. There is a high demand for those with a numerate background in all sectors of the economy, so our graduates are sought after in the UK and abroad.