Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Are there any "History of mathematics" university courses in the UK ?

SarahMaths

The fact that i can't seem to find any is incredibly frustrating.

Reply 1

TenOfThem

I wouldn't have thought so

What is it that you especially interested in

Reply 2

vicki_9

That is such a specialised area that I doubt there are specific courses, however I do maths at leeds uni and there is a history of maths module which I did last year and it was very interesting!

What area are you most interested in? The start of mathematical ideas or recent history and developments?

Reply 3

Mbob

Original post by SarahMaths

The fact that i can't seem to find any is incredibly frustrating.

It sounds more like something you would do a Masters or a PhD in.

You probably need an normal undergraduate Maths degree before you can begin to appreciate the history. Otherwise you would need a very well designed degree course which is unlikely to attract enough interest to justify running.

Reply 4

kanojyoxx

I think Open University do a short course on the history of maths if you're interested in that? It's like £400 though.

Reply 5

geetar

Google 'Open courses'. Several universities (mainly in America) have put up all their lectures on a particular course that anyone can access for free. For instance, I'm going to do one at Yale in medieval history.

If you're talking about official courses, I guess History of Science degrees would work. These are mainly postgrad, and the Cambridge Mphil is probably the most prestigious one here in the UK.

Reply 6

Octohedral

I do maths, and the problem is that, unlike with Art, you simply couldn't understand the relevance of most of the history of maths without understanding the maths itself - how could you write an essay on Galois' work on polynomial equations, and the subsequent development of field theory, without knowing any field theory?

It would have to be a maths course emphasising the historical aspect, but lots do that anyway, through modules. You can't dumb down the maths because you need a good foundation at each level to get any higher.

Sorry - I don't want to put you off. I'm glad you're interested in the history of maths - very few people are. What's the context? Would you consider doing a maths degree? :smile:

Reply 7

davros

Original post by SarahMaths

The fact that i can't seem to find any is incredibly frustrating.

Original post by TenOfThem

I wouldn't have thought so

What is it that you especially interested in

Many years ago the Open University used to broadcast "History of Mathematics" modules in the early morning via the BBC1 and BBC2 which anyone could watch. They now disseminate information to their students in other ways, but they might still offer a course on it. I don't think it would be substantial enough to constitute a full degree though!

Reply 8

monkyvirus

I'm sure plenty of unis offer a module in it at undergraduate level, I don't think you can do a degree in it. However, I'm sure plenty of people do masters/doctorates in it.

Reply 9

TheMagicMan

Original post by SarahMaths

The fact that i can't seem to find any is incredibly frustrating.

If you do maths at cambridge there is an optional lecture course you can go to...but be warned the lecturer is completely mental (We get highly amusing emails at 3 in the morning from him :rolleyes: