Program Overview

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BSc (Hons) Mathematics with Foundation Year

Why study this course with LJMU?

• Opportunity to undertake a year's paid industrial placement
• Strong links with over 450 local and national organisations
• Very high academic and professional standing, with official commendation for excellent teaching and research standards
• £6 million investment in state-of-the-art teaching facilities
• Opens up career opportunities in data science, statistics, operations research, teaching, marketing analysis, management consultancy, accountancy and finance
• International Foundation Year course available offering direct progression onto this degree programme

About your course

BSc (Hons) Mathematics at Liverpool John Moores University will give you the mathematical and statistical knowledge to model, solve and analyse real-world problems using the same techniques adopted by major commercial institutions.

About the Foundation Year

The Foundation Year is ideal if you have the ability to study for a degree but don't have the qualifications to enter directly onto the Mathematics honours degree programme. Once you pass the Foundation Year you will progress directly onto the first year of the honours degree. If you are a full-time UK student, you will qualify for student financial support for the full duration of your course (subject to eligibility criteria).

About the BSc (Hons) Mathematics degree

From the outset, your focus will be on mathematics and statistics, although you are not expected to have any prior knowledge of statistics when you start the course. These studies will build a solid foundation in quantitative methods, combined with an understanding of how to develop software and use mathematical and statistical applications and then in the final year, you have a chance to specialise in areas like financial modelling, operational research, multivariate analysis and data mining.

This degree has a very high academic and professional standing and the School has been formally recognised for its high quality teaching, excellent resources and dedicated staff. The School also boasts state-of-the-art facilities at its Byrom Street campus, with over 150 high performance computers and industry-standard software.

We aim to improve your employability wherever possible on this course, which is why practical modules are introduced at every level. Most importantly, you can spend a sandwich year on a paid work placement to get a taste of what it's really like to work in industry.

The School's strong links with over 450 local and national organisations mean that all of its courses are designed and developed to suit the needs of employers today, as well as creating excellent work placements for students. Currently we have close ties with Corus, Unilever, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, IBM, Eutechnyx, Jagex, Spiral House, Heinz, Liverpool Direct, Pilkington, MBNA Bank, HM Treasury, Lloyds TSB, Merseyside Police, Thames Water Authority, AstraZeneca, Littlewoods, Vauxhall Motors and GlaxoSmithKline to name but a few.

Course modules

Foundation Year

• Algorithms and Computing (10 credits)
• Engineering and Technology Practice (20 credits)
• Foundation Mathematics for Engineering and Technology 1 (20 credits)
• Foundation Mathematics for Engineering and Technology 2 (20 credits)
• Programming (10 credits)
• Introductory Foundation Physics (20 credits)
• Additional Foundation Physics (20 credits)

Year 1

• Introduction to Modelling (20 credits)
• Data Exploration and Analysis (20 credits)
• Mathematical Methods (20 credits)
• Linear Algebra (20 credits)
• Mathematical Computer Programming (20 credits)
• Fundamentals of Mathematics (20 credits)

Year 2

• Further Mathematical Methods (20 credits)
• Statistical Modelling (20 credits)
• Numerical Methods (20 credits)
• Probability and Risk (20 credits)
• Personal and Professional Development (20 credits)
• Differential Equations (20 credits)

Year 3

• Project (40 credits)
• Statistics in the Workplace (20 credits)
• Advanced Calculus and Partial Differential Equations (20 credits)

Optional modules

• Operational Research (20 credits)
• Introduction to Data Science (20 credits)
• Multivariate Analysis and Time Series (20 credits)
• Mathematical Biology (20 credits)

Professional accreditation

This programme is accredited by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), a professional body of mathematicians.

This programme will meet the educational requirements of the Chartered Mathematician designation, awarded by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, when it is followed by subsequent training and experience in employment to obtain equivalent competences to those specified by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for taught master's degrees.

Your Learning Experience

Teaching Support Assessment

Excellent facilities and learning resources

We adopt an active blended learning approach, meaning you will experience a combination of face-to-face and online learning during your time at LJMU. This enables you to experience a rich and diverse learning experience and engage fully with your studies. Our approach ensures that you can easily access support from your personal tutor, either by meeting them on-campus or via a video call to suit your needs.

You will begin the course with a three-day induction and then spend approximately 15 hours per week in the classroom. Independent study is a fundamental element of the course and accounts for about 70% or around 35 hours of your weekly study time.

Teaching is mostly via lectures with informal lab sessions, online activities and small-group tutorials to reinforce ideas discussed in the lectures and to give you a chance to develop ideas with staff and other students.

Work-related Learning

A 12-month paid work placement in your third year gives you the ideal opportunity to get a taste of what it's really like to work in industry. Thanks to our extensive industrial links, we are able to place you with high-profile companies like Corus, Lloyds TSB and Unilever, where you will be able to put into practice skills learnt during your first two years and also gain new skills.

This experience will significantly enhance your CV and give you that competitive edge over other candidates when you first enter the graduate job market.

Dedicated personal tutor, plus study skills support

This is a supportive and friendly department. Should you choose to undertake a year's work placement, this support will continue as a supervisor will stay in close contact and visit you two or three times at your workplace.

Assessment varies depending on the modules you choose, but will usually include a combination of exams and coursework.

We recognise that all students perform differently depending on how they are assessed, which is why we use a combination of exam and coursework assessment methods for each module. Typically 40% of your mark comes from coursework and 60% from an exam, although some modules could be assessed entirely by coursework depending on the nature of the subject.

Career paths

Recent graduates have gone on to forge successful careers as Marketing Analysts, Trainee Management Accountants, Accounts Managers, Insurance Broker Consultants and other fields related to mathematics and statistics.

Tuition fees and funding

Home

• Full-time per year: £9,535
• Placement year: £1,905

International

• Full-time per year: £18,250
• Placement year: £3,830

Entry requirements

GCSEs and equivalents

• Grade 4 or grade C or above in English Language and Mathematics/Numeracy.

A levels

• CCD-CCC

BTECs

• Extended Diploma: MMM (96)

Access awards

• Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications
• Pass overall with a minimum of 88 points.

International Baccalaureate

• Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications

OCR Cambridge Technical

• Extended Diploma: MMM (96)

Irish awards

• Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications

T levels

• Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications.

You need to obtain the required UCAS points from a related subject area.

International requirements

• IELTS: 6.0 overall with no component below 5.5, taken within two years of the course start date.

How to apply

UCAS is the official application route for our full-time undergraduate courses. Further information on the UCAS application process can be found here.

We are looking for students who are keen to learn new skills and develop those they already possess. We want students with the ability to: be creative with ideas and concepts, moderate their creativity with logic, be enthusiastic and thirsty for knowledge, communicate effectively and confidently and understand and adapt to a wide range of issues connected with the subject.

It is also important that students are able to manage time and tasks effectively as an individual and as part of a team, use appropriate sources to find and organise information and select and critically evaluate information in order to analyse problems.

If you would like to develop these skills further, have a strong interest in this subject area and want to work effectively within it, then this is the course for you.

International applications will be considered in line with UK qualifications.