Mathematics
Dr Rua Murray, Associate Professor in Mathematics and Statistics, was recognised as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s top tertiary teachers with an Ako Aotearoa national tertiary teaching excellence award in 2013. His research interests lie in pure and applied mathematics, with a focus on the behaviour of complex systems. He has taught thousands of students from foundation to graduate level.
Qualifications
Overview
Our modern society is underpinned by many mathematical results and insights. Mathematics is a living subject with new ideas, techniques, and theorems constantly being created, tested, and explored.
Mathematicians are at the forefront of breakthroughs in science, technology, and finance. Did you know:
- Money is kept secure when using internet banking protocols based on mathematical cryptography and prime numbers.
- Medical images such as MRI are reconstructed using mathematical tools that were first developed in the early 1800s.
- The mathematics of wavelet transformations helps us to understand seismic activity, which may one day assist us with the prediction of earthquakes.
- Mathematicians can find solutions to equations that govern the universe to help us understand physical phenomena, without the need for expensive experiments.
- Mathematical modelling can help with the protection of our native flora and fauna.
Mathematical thought is one of the greatest human achievements, and has been around for over 4,000 years. In all these millennia, mathematicians have been one step ahead and are already preparing for the technological advances of the coming generation.
- UC is known internationally for its involvement in Mathematics and Statistics education and research. Several members of staff have awards for their work in this area. Our research expertise underpins our undergraduate teaching.
- Every year the School of Mathematics and Statistics welcomes visiting scholars on the Erskine Fellowship Programme. Students benefit greatly from their teaching and the alternative perspectives they offer.
- The School is active in supporting and promoting undergraduate research through summer projects and honours dissertations, with some of our recent budding scholars heading to Oxford, Harvard, and Yale for postgraduate work.
- UC also has a thriving culture that encourages meeting up with like-minded students through clubs.
Entry into MATH 101 Methods of Mathematics is open to all students with entry to the University.
Entry into MATH 102 Mathematics 1A requires 14 credits at NCEA level 3 maths. The School of Mathematics and Statistics offers a choice of courses designed to cater for students with a range of backgrounds and interests. Detailed entry recommendations are available on the School's website.
Students who have performed very well in NCEA Level 3 statistics and/or calculus (or IB/Cambridge equivalent) may be eligible for direct entry into a 200-level Mathematics course.
UC also offers Headstart summer preparatory courses in January/February for students who have not studied mathematics or statistics for some time, or who lack confidence in their skills.
UC offers a major in Mathematics as part of the Bachelor of Science, and as a major and minor within the Bachelor of Arts. You can also study this subject as a minor within the Bachelor of Commerce.
100-level courses
Core courses
The core of the 100-level programme consists of linear algebra and calculus:
- MATH 102 Mathematics 1A (a prerequisite for MATH 103)
- MATH 103 Mathematics 1B
MATH 101 Methods of Mathematics is strongly advised for those who who have not passed a substantial amount of Year 13 mathematics before taking MATH 102.
Together, these courses will let you into almost any 200-level Mathematics course and are necessary for those wishing to major in Mathematics.
MATH 102 is also required or recommended for people intending to major in any of several subjects, including Economics, Statistics, Data Science, Financial Engineering, and Physics. Anyone planning to study Engineering will require the Engineering Mathematics courses EMTH 118 Engineering Mathematics 1A and EMTH 119 Engineering Mathematics 1B.
Other first-year courses
- MATH 120 Discrete Mathematics is a topic that underpins many areas of modern-day science eg, cryptology, coding theory, and computational biology. It is required for people intending to major in Data Science and Computer Science.
- MATH 130 Introduction to Logic & Computability is a course on logic and explores formal and informal reasoning, aspects of symbolic logic and patterns of inference, and is valuable in any undergraduate degree.
- MATH 170 Mathematical Modelling and Computation is intended for students who want to progress in applied mathematics. It is recommended that students who enrol in MATH 170 either have already been credited with, or are concurrently enrolled in, MATH 103.
200-level and beyond
UC offers a wide variety of courses at 200 and 300-level. These include courses in discrete mathematics, linear algebra, calculus, differential equations, mathematical modelling, and statistics.
If you are majoring in Mathematics, you need 45 points from selected MATH 200-level courses and at least 60 points from MATH 302–394. If you are unsure which courses best suit your needs, contact a Student Advisor.
It is good to include other subjects at 200-level. Popular choices include Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Management, Physics, and Statistics.
Perhaps the most important quality that a Mathematics graduate develops is the ability to reason logically and in depth. Mathematics is a creative, collaborative pursuit. The habits of thought developed by studying Mathematics are of permanent value.
Mathematics graduates are highly employable, working in computing, finance, commerce, insurance, scientific institutions (such as Crown Research Institutes), law, teaching, and many other fields.
Employment opportunities are particularly good for people who combine qualifications in Mathematics with qualifications in other disciplines such as the Physical Sciences, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, Management, and Economics.
Find out more about what you can do with a degree in Mathematics.
Contact us
School of Mathematics and Statistics
Phone +64 3 369 2233
Email enquiries@math.canterbury.ac.nz
Location
Erskine Building – see the School's website for up-to-date location details.
Postal address
College of Engineering | Te Rāngai Pūkaha
University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch 8140
New Zealand
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