Aims and Outcomes

Aims

The aims of the SoMaS undergraduate degree programmes are:

  • to provide a mathematics and statistics degree programme with internal choice to accommodate the diversity of students’ interests and abilities, and to provide dual degrees to cater for those who wish to combine disciplines;

  • to provide an intellectual environment conducive to learning;

  • to prepare students for careers which use their mathematical/statistical training;

  • to provide teaching which is informed and inspired by the research and scholarship of the staff;

  • to provide students with assessments of their achievements over a range of mathematical and statistical skills, and to identify and support academic excellence.


In its single honours programmes, it aims:

  • to provide a degree programme in which students may choose either to specialise in one mathematical discipline (Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Probability & Statistics) or to choose a more balanced programme incorporating two or all three of these disciplines.

In its single honours programmes with Study in Europe, it aims:

  • to offer students the opportunity to study mathematics and statistics in another European country.

In its single honours MMath programmes, including the MMath with Study in Europe programme, it aims:

  • to prepare students for progression to a research degree in one of the three mathematical disciplines or for careers in which the use of mathematics is central.

Outcomes

The learning outcomes for the single honours degrees within SoMaS are that a graduate should:

    • have acquired a working knowledge of the methods of linear mathematics;

    • have acquired a working knowledge of the methods of advanced calculus;

    • have acquired a broad knowledge of at least two of Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Probability & Statistics;

    • have acquired a detailed knowledge of specialist mathematical or statistical topics;

    • be able to apply core concepts and principles in well–defined contexts;

    • show judgement in the selection and application of mathematical tools and techniques;

    • demonstrate skill in comprehending problems and abstracting the essentials of problems;

    • be able to formulate problems mathematically;

    • be able to obtain solutions to problems by appropriate methods;

    • have acquired skill in calculation and manipulation;

    • be able to understand logical arguments, identifying the assumptions and conclusions made;

    • be able to develop and evaluate logical arguments;

    • be able to present arguments and conclusions effectively and accurately;

    • demonstrate the ability to work with relatively little guidance;

    • have developed the skills to acquire further mathematical or statistical knowledge;

    • have developed the skills to model and analyse physical or practical problems;

    • appreciate the development of a general theory and its application to specific instances;

    • have experience of using computer packages.


In addition, those graduates whose programmes have included a substantial component of Pure Mathematics should:

    • understand the need for proof and logical precision;

    • have developed an understanding of various methods of proof.


In addition, MMath graduates should:

    • have enhanced and extended their specialist knowledge in at least one of the three disciplines: Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Probability & Statistics;

    • have enhanced and extended the necessary mathematical skills to consider careers as practising mathematicians or statisticians;

    • have shown the ability to complete an extended individual study of a mathematical or statistical topic and to present an account of that topic.


In addition, graduates from degrees with ‘Study in Europe’ will:

    • have acquired a working knowledge of their chosen language;

    • have experienced first–hand, through a substantial period of study of mathematics at a European University outside the UK, the life, language and culture of a different European country;

    • be able to converse with native speakers of their chosen language;

    • be able to interpret mathematical text written in their chosen language.


Learning outcomes for duals degrees with mathematics and/or statistics are broadly similar; full details are given in the Programme Specifications [http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/calendar/progspec] for these degrees.