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School of Mathematics and Statistics

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Research

General Information

Research in Mathematics and Statistics in St Andrews

The School of Mathematics & Statistics provides many opportunities for you to undertake postgraduate study and research. Students registering for a higher degree by research normally undertake a three- or four-year programme, in one of the research areas, Solar Theory, Wildlife Population Assessment, Algebra & Combinatorics and Mathematical Analysis, leading to the degree of PhD. However, a degree of MPhil by special coursework and research over a two-year period is also available. Research groups and individuals have many research collaborations with universities in other countries , and there may be opportunities to spend some time abroad while studying for a higher degree.

Several STFC, NERC and EPSRC studentships are available for suitably qualified students and cover tuition fees and maintenance. Further information is available from the Postgraduate Admissions Secretary in the School of Mathematics & Statistics.

There are more than 30 research students, most of whom are studying for the PhD degree. The School of Mathematics & Statistics has 34 full-time academic staff, 5 technical staff, a student population of around 280 full-time equivalents, more than 50 postgraduates and approximately 20 post-doctoral researchers. This size promotes a friendly atmosphere with a cross-flow of ideas while providing the depth and breadth necessary to pursue major scientific programmes at an international level. Around 100 publications are produced per year. While the three Divisions within the School (Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics) provide the natural environment for producing high-quality research, there are strong links between the different research groups.

  • The School typically accepts 10-12 research students each year.
  • In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise from 2008, the Applied Mathematics Division and the Statistics Division were both ranked first in Scotland, and the Applied Mathematics Division was ranked fourth amongst all UK applied mathematics departments with 25 per cent of the divisions work awarded the 4* 'world leading' grade.
  • St Andrews plays a key role in the Scottish Mathematical Sciences Training Centre (SMSTC) that provides a wide range of postgraduate lecture courses to all new postgraduate students. Further details are available at SMSTC's website at: www.smstc.ac.uk
  • First-rate facilities and environment for research.
  • Opportunities to work closely, and undertake project work, within a research group.
  • High quality teaching, rated 'Excellent' in the last Teaching Quality Assessment being one of only two Mathematics and Statistics Schools to receive the grade from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council.
  • Access to a wide range of advanced MMath courses across the entire spectrum of Mathematics and Statistics.
  • The School is well equipped, with personal computers, UNIX workstations, a parallel computer and an on-site library, and has attracted substantial amounts of external funding.

Surroundings

The School is housed in a modern building on the North Haugh site. The accommodation is comfortable and well-maintained, and all graduate students are guaranteed a desk in a shared office. A satellite branch of the University Library is located an adjacent building and is shared with the School of Physics and Astronomy: this contains most of the books and journals needed by students and researchers in the School. This same building contains a snack bar and social area.

Computing Facilities

Excellent computing facilities are available. Most personal computers in the School are networked to the University central service based on Sun workstations, and many other grant-supported UNIX workstations are reserved for individual research groups, including a 24 processor, parallel computer. Every research student has easy access to an appropriate computer.

The University's Student handbook is available at this link.

The Programme Specification for the MSc in Mathematics is available at this link
and for the MSc in Statistics is available here.


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