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maths at bristol, manchester, edinburgh or glasgow?

hello I was wondering which one of the (in title) universities are best for Mathematics? In terms of what you learn and how well you learn it?

I know Bristol is highest in terms of requirements and glasgow the lowest but they are both good unis? How big is the disparity in knowledge?

If you were to try do a masters somewhere else like maybe at Warwick or even Part III Tripos, would any of these unis be 'rigorous' enough? Thank you!
Original post by Ahmed Ralo
hello I was wondering which one of the (in title) universities are best for Mathematics? In terms of what you learn and how well you learn it?

I know Bristol is highest in terms of requirements and glasgow the lowest but they are both good unis? How big is the disparity in knowledge?

If you were to try do a masters somewhere else like maybe at Warwick or even Part III Tripos, would any of these unis be 'rigorous' enough? Thank you!

I can't say much for the course itself, but it's clear you have a type of university (large city) in mind here. If your plan is to then switch to Warwick or Cambridge then that will be quite an adjustment in terms of university atmosphere I would say. If you were hoping to transfer, Warwick or Cambridge would be looking at your university grades more than judging which university you were in.

Though more a sign of choice/variety than of quality, a larger maths department will have a greater range of modules and topics available to study in second and third year of the course (not so relevant to first year).

Hope these thoughts are useful.
Original post by Ahmed Ralo
hello I was wondering which one of the (in title) universities are best for Mathematics? In terms of what you learn and how well you learn it?

I know Bristol is highest in terms of requirements and glasgow the lowest but they are both good unis? How big is the disparity in knowledge?

If you were to try do a masters somewhere else like maybe at Warwick or even Part III Tripos, would any of these unis be 'rigorous' enough? Thank you!

If you have the grades, try for Cambridge. Else, Bristol or Manchester.
Reply 3
Original post by Wired_1800
If you have the grades, try for Cambridge. Else, Bristol or Manchester.

I don't and I don't think I'd cope too well in Cambridge, cohort seems too strong - Thank you though, Manchester might be my go to since it's much closer to me.
Original post by Ahmed Ralo
I don't and I don't think I'd cope too well in Cambridge, cohort seems too strong - Thank you though, Manchester might be my go to since it's much closer to me.


Alright. Good luck
Reply 5
Original post by Wired_1800
Alright. Good luck


Thank you, wondering, do you know any way I can check which unis are actually 'good' for mathematics? Feels like rankings take into account too much surveys but I'd want to actually know which is good for learning mathematics itself.
Original post by Ahmed Ralo
Thank you, wondering, do you know any way I can check which unis are actually 'good' for mathematics? Feels like rankings take into account too much surveys but I'd want to actually know which is good for learning mathematics itself.

You are right that rankings can be subject and take too many random things into account.

I don't know of objective ways to know which ones are actually decent at teaching maths. You could check the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) for maths and use that as a guide because it is an assessment of a department’s teaching quality.
Although it is a campus university, I think Lancaster is teaching me very well and also has a good university experience. In general, looking at the list of modules will give you an idea if the university teaches what you want to learn, although it will not give you an idea of the teaching quality. I don't know how to find out the teaching quality other than talking to students, who might have conflicting opinions.

-Kao (Lancaster Maths & Stats Student Ambassador)
Original post by Ahmed Ralo
Thank you, wondering, do you know any way I can check which unis are actually 'good' for mathematics? Feels like rankings take into account too much surveys but I'd want to actually know which is good for learning mathematics itself.

Forget rankings. Best way to tell the quality of a university department is you. Go and visit, talk to the staff, see how it feels. And again (although more applicable to second and third year (and fourth for MMath) than first), look at module variety.
Reply 9
Original post by Lancaster Student Ambassador
Although it is a campus university, I think Lancaster is teaching me very well and also has a good university experience. In general, looking at the list of modules will give you an idea if the university teaches what you want to learn, although it will not give you an idea of the teaching quality. I don't know how to find out the teaching quality other than talking to students, who might have conflicting opinions.

-Kao (Lancaster Maths & Stats Student Ambassador)

Lancaster was on the decision but that was when I was more leading towards computer science, for mathematics I don't think I'll be looking towards Lancaster. Thank you for the input though.
Reply 10
Original post by 04MR17
Forget rankings. Best way to tell the quality of a university department is you. Go and visit, talk to the staff, see how it feels. And again (although more applicable to second and third year (and fourth for MMath) than first), look at module variety.

I will try to go to the closer ones, thank you though.

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