Applied mathematics is a hugely varied subject. It covers both the application of known mathematical ideas to understand the world around us, as well as the development of novel mathematical techniques to model systems which we would like to understand. The Department includes applied mathematicians working in diverse areas, including cosmological models of the universe, applying the mathematics of differentiable manifolds to understand space-time, studying non-linear equations to understand waves and pattern formation, and the mathematics of ecology and chaotic systems. To be a good applied mathematician means having a solid grounding in pure mathematics, but the subject tends to focus less on the theory and more on the way that mathematics can be used to understand everything from ripples on the surface of a pond to ripples in the fabric of space-time.
The Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics offers a major in Applied Mathematics, consisting of the following courses:
Students who complete a degree with a major in Applied Mathematics with a sufficiently strong academic record may apply for entry to the Department’s Honours Program.