
Partner Universities
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is one of the world’s oldest universities and leading academic centres, and a self-governed community of scholars. Its reputation for outstanding academic achievement is known worldwide and reflects the intellectual achievement of its students, as well as the world-class original research carried out by the staff of the university and the colleges. The University of Cambridge’s mission is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
The Maths Department
The Faculty of Mathematics comprises two closely linked departments: the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) and the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS).
The University of Cambridge has been a world leader in mathematics for centuries and has taught and hosted some of the most influential mathematical minds in history, including Isaac Newton, Philippa Fawcett, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Mary Cartwright, Alan Turing, Stephen Hawking, and currently Sir Timothy Gowers.
As a faculty it is committed to providing an environment that nurtures and educates mathematicians at every stage of their academic career. It recruits some of the best students from the UK and across the world, and it provides undergraduate and postgraduate training of the highest international calibre.
It offers courses that provide deep fundamental understanding and broad exposure to the subject and its applications, enabling students to develop their problem-solving abilities and capacity for independent study. In doing so, it equips them for exciting careers in mathematical research, industry and the public sector.
Partnership with St John’s College
The Martingale Foundation, Faculty of Mathematics and St John’s College have partnered to ensure that students admitted via the Martingale Scholars Programme will typically have the option to be admitted as members of St John’s College and become part of a Martingale Scholars Cohort. If you would like more information on this partnership, please contact the Faculty directly.
The master’s courses being offered through Martingale
MASt in Mathematics or MMath in Mathematics
These courses, which are commonly referred to as Part III, are both nine-month taught master’s courses in mathematics. Part III provides excellent preparation for mathematical research and is also a valuable course in mathematics and its applications for students who want further training before taking posts in industry, research or teaching establishments.
Each year the faculty offers up to 80 lecture courses in Part III, covering an extensive range of pure mathematics, probability, statistics, applied mathematics and theoretical physics. These are designed to cover advanced parts of the subjects that are not normally covered in a bachelor’s course, but which are an indispensable preliminary to independent study and research. Students can choose various combinations of courses, although naturally they tend to select groups of cognate courses. Example classes and associated marking of example sheets are provided as complementary support to lectures.
MPhil in Mathematics
The MPhil is offered by the Faculty of Mathematics as a full-time period of research and introduces students to research skills and specialist knowledge. Its main aims are: (i) to give students with relevant experience at first-degree level the opportunity to carry out focused research in the discipline under supervision; and (ii) to give students the opportunity to acquire or develop skills and expertise relevant to their research interests.
This is a 12-month full-time programme and involves minimal formal teaching: students are integrated into the research culture of the Department of Pure Mathematics & Mathematical Statistics (DPMMS), or the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), as appropriate. They may attend the Departments’ programmes of research seminars and other postgraduate courses, but most research training is overseen by their research supervisor, and, where appropriate, within a research group. Opportunities to develop research and transferable skills also exist through attendance at training sessions organised at Department, School or University level as part of the wider postgraduate programme, and informally through mentoring by fellow students and members of staff.