Maths Masters - Bristol. How can I get a place with my module grades?

Hey everyone, my first post here so please be gentle. Any help at all you give me would be great!

I really want to start a Master's degree in Maths, starting in 2012 at Bristol University. However, I applied to the department and they said my grades in certain modules weren't quite high enough and they couldn't give me a place. This year I'll be starting a Maths PGCE at the very same University of Bristol, so I'm already moved and settled here. I hold a BSc in Maths from Swansea, in the mid-to-low 2:1 percentage overall. Can anyone give me advice for ANYTHING I can do between now and next year that can increase my chances of the department accepting me for a Master's course? Maybe there are some part-time maths courses I could take to increase my knowledge of the new material, or I could assist researchers in the department over the holidays, or maybe I could even do something to present my PGCE in a more relevant light? It seems strange to think I'm taking a postgraduate maths-related course at the very same university and it would count for nothing.

If anyone has any experience or knowledge of what academic admissions people look for, any advice here would be amazing. Thank you very much!

Reply 1

oxymoronic

19

Original post by GabrielH

Hey everyone, my first post here so please be gentle. Any help at all you give me would be great!

I really want to start a Master's degree in Maths, starting in 2012 at Bristol University. However, I applied to the department and they said my grades in certain modules weren't quite high enough and they couldn't give me a place. This year I'll be starting a Maths PGCE at the very same University of Bristol, so I'm already moved and settled here. I hold a BSc in Maths from Swansea, in the mid-to-low 2:1 percentage overall. Can anyone give me advice for ANYTHING I can do between now and next year that can increase my chances of the department accepting me for a Master's course? Maybe there are some part-time maths courses I could take to increase my knowledge of the new material, or I could assist researchers in the department over the holidays, or maybe I could even do something to present my PGCE in a more relevant light? It seems strange to think I'm taking a postgraduate maths-related course at the very same university and it would count for nothing.

If anyone has any experience or knowledge of what academic admissions people look for, any advice here would be amazing. Thank you very much!

Does your PGCE course award any Masters level credits? My PGCE awarded 60 credits, so a third of a full Masters course. If so, you might be able to trade them in to do a maths education course, but I don't think you'd be able to do a general maths Masters that wasn't related to teaching with those credits. They probably won't accept your PGCE credits though for an actual Maths course as to excel on a PGCE you do not have to be really good at maths, you have to be a great teacher which is something totally different. To do a Masters course it requires a different degree/type of commitment and academic ability than it does to do a teaching course, which whilst academic, is primarily a professional course.

Why are you thinking about doing a Masters after a PGCE though? That doesn't exactly show your commitment to teaching.

I've moved this to the postgraduate forum where you might get more responses although to be honest if they've said that your module grades aren't high enough this year then that isn't going to change, regardless of what else you do in the coming year.

Reply 2

evantej

18

Original post by GabrielH

Hey everyone, my first post here so please be gentle. Any help at all you give me would be great!

I really want to start a Master's degree in Maths, starting in 2012 at Bristol University. However, I applied to the department and they said my grades in certain modules weren't quite high enough and they couldn't give me a place. This year I'll be starting a Maths PGCE at the very same University of Bristol, so I'm already moved and settled here. I hold a BSc in Maths from Swansea, in the mid-to-low 2:1 percentage overall. Can anyone give me advice for ANYTHING I can do between now and next year that can increase my chances of the department accepting me for a Master's course? Maybe there are some part-time maths courses I could take to increase my knowledge of the new material, or I could assist researchers in the department over the holidays, or maybe I could even do something to present my PGCE in a more relevant light? It seems strange to think I'm taking a postgraduate maths-related course at the very same university and it would count for nothing.

If anyone has any experience or knowledge of what academic admissions people look for, any advice here would be amazing. Thank you very much!

A PGCE is a generic teaching qualification. The fact that it is in "mathematics" is largely irrelevant. At most, it means you will have some contact with tutors who taught mathematics. This means they will be able to advise you on how best to use your knowledge in the classroom.

A masters is completely different kettle of fish. If the mathematics department have said that your module marks are not high enough (they expect a high 2.1 after all), then they are saying this for your own good. Maybe they know Swansea do not cover certain areas, or maybe Bristol's workload is particularly intense.

Bristol do not offer a part-time masters in mathematics so you would have to look elsewhere. But a part-time masters would be almost impossible to do if you had a teaching job anyway. The PGCE aspect is a non-starter. To be blunt, you are never going to use your masters knowledge in the classroom. You probably will not even use most of your undergraduate knowledge.

My only suggestion is to decide for yourself what is more important: mathematics or teaching. If it is the latter then just save yourself the hassle and drop any aspiration you have. You are teaching to the lowest common denominator unfortunately. If it is the latter then look at Bath (10 minutes on the train), Cardiff (an hour) or UWE. But do not expect to be reimbursed, unless you have a lovely headteacher, for the trouble. I am not sure what provision the Open University has for masters-level programmes, but they might be worth checking out.

Maths Masters - Bristol. How can I get a place with my module grades?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you