With so many great things to look forward to about studying maths at York, I found it really hard to pick just a few. However, after some thought, here are the top three reasons why I am so glad I chose to do this degree at this university.
Module choices
The main thing that prompted me to come and study at York was the wide variety of module choices on offer.
Maths is far more than just pure, stats and applied. From Cryptography to Electromagnetism to Number Theory, I have never found myself short of new and exciting areas of maths to study. Now I’m in my third year, I have so many options. I can choose to further my understanding of my subject in any direction I want.
In my first year, pretty much everyone studied the same core modules. This helps make sure everyone gets the same grounding across all areas of maths. It also helped me to get to know my coursemates as we were all in the same lectures together.
For second year, most students then choose two out of the three ‘streams’ of maths: pure, stats and applied. We cover a few more core modules too.
In third year, I could pick all the modules I wanted to study myself. There were so many modules I could choose which covered every field of mathematics. This range of choice has really helped me to make the most of my maths degree at York.
Moodle
Moodle is one of the things I have come to use the most when studying my degree. You may have heard of Moodle before, or even used it at secondary school or college. At York it is a central online hub that everyone in the maths department uses.
Lecturers can use it to give students access to lecture notes or recordings, as well as problem sheets and assignments. I find the calendar section particularly useful as it lists deadlines for assignments in a clear and organised way.
There is also a discussion forum for each module so you can ask any questions and another student or the lecturer can help you find an answer. It’s a great place to talk about maths and really helps you feel part of the community.
Cake and Calculus
It can be quite scary asking questions in front of everyone in a lecture, so it’s nice to be able to discuss maths problems in an informal, friendly environment. Cake and Calculus allows you to do precisely that.
Run by the Maths Society and the Department of Mathematics, this usually takes place on a Wednesday afternoon. It’s a great place to go if you have any questions, need any help, or just want to do some maths with other maths students. Plus there’s usually free tea, coffee and cake!
So, these are just a few of the reasons why I have found studying Maths at York fun and rewarding. Hopefully by deciding to join this fantastic department, you’ll enjoy your time at university as much as I have!
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