How hard is it to swap degrees from maths to maths and philospophy?

I really want to study maths and philosophy for undergrad, but I have a much higher chance of getting into top unis like Oxbridge / Imperial / UCL if I were to simply apply for maths because I've not done much formal study on philosophy before.
How hard would it be to switch from maths to joint maths and philosophy once I am in uni?

Reply 1

CAG575

8

Original post by alanhuni

I really want to study maths and philosophy for undergrad, but I have a much higher chance of getting into top unis like Oxbridge / Imperial / UCL if I were to simply apply for maths because I've not done much formal study on philosophy before.
How hard would it be to switch from maths to joint maths and philosophy once I am in uni?

Hi
I can’t comment on UCL or imperial but my daughter is studying maths and Philosophy at Oxford. She had never studied Philosophy before. Most people in her course haven’t studied it before and they don’t expect it as the majority of schools don’t offer it. In order to be considered for Philosophy you need to have grasp of what it is and whether it would suit you and you like it. Books like” Think “ (by Simon Blackburn) and “ The pig that wants to be eaten” ( can’t remember who that is by) are a good starting point.

In Oxford it is not easy to swap courses. It is extremely unlikely that you would be able to swap from Maths onto Maths and Philosophy once you are there. There is more flexibility at Cambridge. Any other questions, just ask. Sorry, I can’t help about the London choices.

(edited 7 months ago)

Reply 2

RichE

15

Original post by alanhuni

I really want to study maths and philosophy for undergrad, but I have a much higher chance of getting into top unis like Oxbridge / Imperial / UCL if I were to simply apply for maths because I've not done much formal study on philosophy before.
How hard would it be to switch from maths to joint maths and philosophy once I am in uni?

I think the idea of applying for one degree subject and planning to be able to switch later is a very dangerous approach - there is no guarantee at all that you will be permitted to switch and, at Oxford at least, Maths & Phil is slightly less competitive a degree than Maths is.

As CAG575 says, there are very few people who will have formally studied philosophy, say to A-level. It's much better that you've done some reading and are making an informed choice about the types of philosophy you'll be learning. Oxford give here

https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/study-here/undergraduate-study/prospectus#philosophy

a list of recommended reading. (Note also that Cambridge don't offer Maths & Phil as a degree.)

Reply 3

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

15

At Lancaster uni, you would probably be able to swap from maths to joint maths and philosophy if you chose philosophy as your minor, as the first year would be the same. However, you might not be able to if philosophy doesn't have enough places. If you chose a different subject as your minor, you would probably not be able to swap as you would have missed out on the first year philosophy.

-Kao (Lancaster Maths & Stats Student Ambassador)

How hard is it to swap degrees from maths to maths and philospophy?

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