MATHEMATICS AT BRISTOL - University of Bristol

Contact Details and Credits
The Admissions Co-ordinator
Department of Mathematics
University of Bristol
Bristol BS8 1TW
● E-mail: admissions-maths@bris.ac.uk
● Telephone: +44 (0) 117 928 9854
● Fax: +44 (0) 117 928 7999
Compiled and edited by Juliet Aherne/Claire Lowe
Graphic Design and photography by Greg Jones
Graphic Design Office, Faculty of Engineering, Bristol University
Email: g.jones@bris.ac.uk or Tel: 0117 928 9189
Photographic credits
Photographs supplied by members of Bristol University Staff and students, Student Union (p.17),
Michael Hall, Centre for Video Production (p.17), Office de Tourisme de Bordeaux (p.13),
Dr. Andrew Burbanks (p.21), Prof. D.H. Peregrine (p.21), Michael Walter (p.17)
Printed by Portishead Press Tel: 0117 9555811 www.portisheadpress.co.uk
Disclaimer
The information in this document relates primarily to the session 2005/06. Amendments may be
made from time to time, without notice, in relation to individual Programmes. The University
reserves the right to withdraw or change programmes included in this document.
Prospective students should note that each academic year the Department of Mathematics
offers additional units and withdraws others.
During the 2005/06 academic session the Department of Mathematics will be carrying out a
detailed review of the units offered. It is possible that following this review changes to the units
offered will be made for the 06/07 academic session. These changes are in order to reflect the
changing needs, of students, the Department and the research interests of academics.
Introduction by the Head of Department
The choice of course and university is one of the most important decisions in one’s
life. This Prospectus will give you brief information about the School and the degree
programmes we offer. If we can be of further help, please do contact our
Admissions Co-ordinator, who will direct you to the member of our staff best
able to assist.
The School of Mathematics here at the University of Bristol is one of the leading
centres for the study of Mathematics and the Mathematical Sciences. In the last
national assessment of undergraduate teaching programmes, ours was recognised as
“Excellent” (with a mark of 23/24). The last national assessment of research (“RAE
2008”) ranked our Applied Mathematics Group third in the UK, our Statistics Group
joint fourth, and our Pure Mathematics Group joint fifth. Taking all Groups together
results in Bristol Mathematics being ranked fourth in the UK overall both in terms
of research “power” (a joint measure of size and quality) and in terms of research
quality.
The School of Mathematics views undergraduate teaching and the educational
experience of our students as being of primary importance. We offer small-group
teaching in the first year, as well as close personal tutoring, to ensure a maximally
smooth school-to-university transition. Our courses are designed to provide a solid
foundation in the basics of mathematics. They progress to include advanced study
of specialist subjects at the cutting edge of research, as well as options that are more
vocationally focused. The range is extremely broad: from topics at the foundations
of pure mathematics to chaos theory, environmental flows, financial mathematics,
and quantum computation, to name but a few.
We admit capable students and believe that we produce first-rate graduates whose
degrees provide them with the best possible springboard to their subsequent
careers. We are proud of the fact that many of them go on to enjoy extremely
successful careers, some in mathematics, others in areas of industry, commerce and
the professions. Our undergraduates have an excellent balance in terms of their
previous educational experiences; we are keen to ensure that this remains the case.
Professor G P Nason
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