Bsc or Msc maths

I'm currently in my first year doing a 3 year Bsc Mathematics course.

I know it's still early days yet but I was thinking about possibly doing a Masters. Will this really have that much of an effect on my graduate/career prospects?

I'm not all that keen of studying at uni for 4 years, but at the same time, I'd do it if it was extremely beneficial, and I'd probably apply for my masters at a different uni anyway so to have a change.

Any thoughts and opinions are welcome :smile:

Reply 1

marcusmerehay

It depends on whether you feel you have the ability and determination to do a fourth year.

It may be worth researching which topics your Uni offers in its fourth year and whether they actually interest you/will help towards the career you want at the end of it.

Reply 2

BillLionheart

First of all a four year MMath is different from a BSc+MSc. Two main differences (i) MMath is covered by the usual loans/grants scheme as a BSc whereas its hard to get any funding for an MSc., (i) MSc courses usually go till the end of the summer with a more substantial dissertation than the MMath. The MMath certainly wins over the BSc if you are good enough to do well at it (eg if you fall below a 2.1 you should usually bail out with a BSc). MMath graduates tend to do much better in the (standard graduate training scheme) job market than BSc graduates for a variety of reasons. To some extent MMath graduates with a well chosen final year project can compete with MSc graduates for technical jobs (ie start doing something proper not just training). Both can be a good start to a PhD but on the whole an MSc (with its longer dissertation) is a better preparation if it is in the right area. Another reason to do an MSc is a fresh start (eg you got a 2.1 but felt you were worth a first) or a change of direction (eg an MSc on something really specific). In statistics an MSc is still seen as the entry level qualification to the profession, although some MStat or MMath in statistics graduates might be able to blag their way in.

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