Course overview

BA/MMath Mathematics (3/4 Years) BA/MMathPhil Mathematics & Philosophy (3/4 Years) BA/MMathCompSci Mathematics & Computer Science (3/4 Years) BA/MMath Mathematics & Statistics (3/4 Years)

Typical intake: 15

With around 45-50 undergraduates in the college reading Mathematics or a joint degree, Worcester is one of the largest Mathematics colleges and one whose students perform strongly in Finals examinations.

The College admits up to 15 undergraduates per year to read Mathematics and its associated joint degrees (listed above). Whilst there is no fixed quota among these subjects, there are typically 7-8 Mathematics, 1-2 Mathematics & Statistics, 1-2 Mathematics & Philosophy and 2-3 Mathematics & Computer Science undergraduates each year. The emphasis is very much on support, rather than competition, and the different degree groupings are treated as a unit, both educationally and at the regular subject social events.

The College’s Maths tutors are strongly committed to the distinctiveness of an Oxford education and all teaching within the first two years (with the exception of revision classes) is conducted in tutorials of 1, 2 or 3 students by college tutors. Almost all branches of mathematics are taught within the College; as options become specialized in the third and fourth years, teaching is done in university classes, but again the College’s tutors are able to offer support, advice and revision in a broad range of these subjects.

"The tutors are really friendly and great people to learn from, as well as being leading experts in their respective fields. The tutorial system is really helpful because it ensures you can clear up any queries or issues you have with a tutor who really knows their stuff!"
Gina, second-year mathematics student

Tutors

Ben Delo Fellow & Tutor in Mathematics & Vice-Provost

Dr Richard Earl

Dr Richard Earl

Ben Delo Fellow & Tutor in Mathematics & Vice-Provost

Academic Faculty, Mathematical Institute

Prevent Lead

Education

MA DPhil (Oxford)

I am the Ben Delo Fellow in Mathematics at Worcester College and a Departmental Lecturer in the Mathematical Institute. I grew up in West Yorkshire but have been entirely in Oxford since 1988 when I arrived as an undergraduate studying mathematics. In the College I have done various other roles: Tutor for Admissions, Tutor for Graduates, SCR Steward and Vice-Provost. In the Department I was the Outreach Officer and Admissions Coordinator for a decade and then the Director of Undergraduate Studies for a further decade. During 2022/23 I was Worcester’s choice to act as the University Assessor.

Headshot of David Steinsaltz

Loevner Fellow & Tutor in Statistics

Professor David Steinsaltz

Headshot of David Steinsaltz

Professor David Steinsaltz

Loevner Fellow & Tutor in Statistics

Associate Professor of Statistics

Education

MA (Oxford), MA (Yale), PhD (Harvard)

I moved to Oxford from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, where I was Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Before then I was a postdoc at UC Berkeley for six and a half years, in the Departments of Demography and Statistics, following stints at the Technical University of Delft and the Technical University of Berlin. I completed my PhD in probability theory in the Harvard University Department of Mathematics in 1996, working with Persi Diaconis.

Headshot of Endre Suli

Fellow & Tutor in Mathematics

Professor Endre Süli

Headshot of Endre Suli

Professor Endre Süli FRS

Fellow & Tutor in Mathematics

Professor of Numerical Analysis

Education

MA PhD (Belgrade), MA (Oxford)

Endre completed his doctorate in Mathematics at the University of Belgrade in 1985. He was appointed to an academic position at Oxford in the same year. He is now Professor of Numerical Analysis and a Fellow and Tutor in Mathematics. Endre is a Foreign Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), a Fellow of the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (EurASc), a Member of the Academia Europaea, and a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Headshot of Elizabeth Hayman

College Lecturer in Mathematics

Elizabeth Hayman

Headshot of Elizabeth Hayman

Elizabeth Hayman

College Lecturer in Mathematics

Education

MMath (Oxford)

Elizabeth is currently PhD student working in biomedical engineering, with a focus on using generative design and ML methods to optimise computational models. She graduated the Oxford MMath in 2021 and joined the Oxford CDT in Sustainable Approaches to Biomedical Sciences.

Senior Research Fellow

Dr Robin Knight

Dr Robin Knight

Senior Research Fellow

Affiliate Faculty, Mathematical Institute

Education

MA DPhil (Oxford)

I am a member of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, and am a Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College, Oxford.

College Lecturer in Chemistry & Mathematics

Dr Max Marcus

Dr Max Marcus

College Lecturer in Chemistry & Mathematics

Education

MSc DPhil (Oxford)

Max completed his MSc and DPhil at Oxford and was a Research Fellow at the University of Warwick before returning to Oxford as a Post-doc. He has been teaching maths and physical chemistry since his DPhil and is also a Post-doc at Princeton University (remotely) and teaches at other colleges.

Headshot of Jonathan Utterson

College Lecturer in Mathematics

Dr Jonathan Utterson

Headshot of Jonathan Utterson

Dr Jonathan Utterson

College Lecturer in Mathematics

Education

BA MMath (Cambridge), DPhil (Oxford)

I am a stipendiary lecturer of Mathematics here at Worcester. Though I specialised in mathematical physics, I undertook a DPhil in mathematical and computational biochemistry – it tuns out if you know enough maths, you get all of the sciences for free. I am mainly interested in statistical physics and molecular dynamics for research purposes but I enjoy teaching any and every course (especially those that don’t mind us swapping limits…).

Did you know… In the absence of extreme turbulence, one can show that the wake formed by moving objects in water have roughly the same central angle: from mallard to mega-yacht!

Applying

Candidates applying for Mathematics and joint degrees will take the Mathematics Admissions Test (MAT), to be sat in schools and colleges during October, ahead of interviews. (Full details are provided on the Mathematics Department’s website, www.maths.ox.ac.uk). Applicants are then shortlisted on the basis of this test, and information included on UCAS forms, and shortlisted applicants (approximately 30-40% of applicants) are invited for interviews online in mid-December. Shortlisted candidates will have two half-hour interviews with Worcester, as well as at least one other interview with a second college. Both interviews will be on unseen mathematical questions and the tutors are interested in seeing how you think about new problems, explain your thinking, take on board hints and can suggest approaches to the problems. Applicants in Mathematics and Philosophy will have a mathematics interview and a second interview with the Philosophy tutors. The standard conditional offers are: A-levels – A*A*A, with A*s in Mathematics, and Further Mathematics (if taken); IB – an overall score of 39 with 7,6,6 at HL including 7 in HL Maths; Advanced Highers – AAB/AA with A in Mathematics.

The Maths tutors encourage applicants to study whatever Mathematics is available to them at school or college including Further Mathematics, AEA and STEP papers, but recognise that many applicants do not have these opportunities. Such students may find the transition to university mathematics harder, perhaps for a term or so, but perform in examinations as well as any other group. There is a webpage on Bridging the Gap on the departmental website with much material to help with the transition to university. In particular the text Towards Higher Mathematics: A Companion by Richard Earl provides much extension material for students in their final year before university.

Those interested in Mathematics and Computer Science should also view the entry for Computer Science.

Much more about the mathematical degrees, application and the MAT is available on the department website. There you will also find the departmental prospectus Studying Mathematics at Oxford which contains useful guidance on university mathematics and preparation for both admissions and the courses themselves. The College’s Maths tutors are happy to answer any enquiries you have about Mathematics and its joint degrees at Worcester College. Any relevant email sent to admissions@worc.ox.ac.uk will be forwarded to them and dealt with as soon as possible.

Read more on the University website Mathematical Institute