MSc (by Dissertation) Applied Mathematics

Program Overview

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Our MSD Applied Mathematics provides you with the opportunity to study areas such as dynamical systems, pattern formation, chaos theory, ordinary and partial differential equations, Hamiltonian systems, stability theory, computational neuroscience, complex systems, complex networks and nonlinear waves. We have staff with expertise in these areas who are willing to supervise PhD students, and you are invited to contact our department to discuss potential research areas and subjects. Our staff are strongly committed to research and teaching. They are world leaders in their individual specialisms, with their papers published in international journals such as Scientific Reports, PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS ONE, Chaos, Solitons and Fractals, Semiconductor Science and Technology, and Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, among others. 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.

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 staff are strongly committed to research and teaching. They have published several well-regarded text books and are world leaders in their individual specialisms.
• Our department is ranked 31st for research power in the Research Excellence Framework 2021.

Our expert staff

The Department of Mathematical Sciences has an international reputation in all areas of Mathematical Sciences including: statistics, operational research, applied mathematics, pure mathematics, and actuarial science. 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, Gap, SageMath, Python 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.

Program Outline

Course structure

A research degree gives you the chance to investigate an area or topic in real depth, and develop transferable research skills. During your time in the Department you have opportunities to take part in departmental research seminars, and attend some university modules. You will also meet with your supervisor, typically on a weekly basis. Within our Department, our MSD students are usually encouraged to take our taught module, Research Methods, so you are well equipped with the necessary skills to undertake effective research. You may also attend some other modules on an informal basis. Our full-time research students have a supervisory board to review their progress every six months (or annually if studying part-time). Typically, the board involves your supervisor and one other academic. The recommendations of this are considered by our Departmental Research Students’ Progress Board, which will make decisions on your registration status. We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, or in response to COVID-19, we’ll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

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Components

Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose. Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.

Status	What this means
Core	You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Core with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Compulsory	You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Compulsory with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Optional	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.

The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.

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Modules

Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits. In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available. Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code . For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:

HR	100	4	FY
The department or school the module will be taught by. In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History.	The module number.	The UK academic level of the module. A standard undergraduate course will comprise of level 4, 5 and 6 modules - increasing as you progress through the course. A standard postgraduate taught course will comprise of level 7 modules. A postgraduate research degree is a level 8 qualification.	The term the module will be taught in. AU : Autumn term SP : Spring term SU : Summer term FY : Full year AP : Autumn and Spring terms PS: Spring and Summer terms AS: Autumn and Summer terms

Year 1 This module is for PhD students who are completing the research portions of their theses. View Mathematics - Research on our Module Directory

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Assessment

An MSD is a one year research degree, which involves researching a particular area of interest and writing up your results in a coherent fashion. The resulting thesis should be no more than 30,000 words. Your MSD is awarded after your successful defence of your thesis in an oral examination (viva), in which you are interviewed about your research by two examiners, at least one of whom is from outside Essex.