MSc Mathematics modules prerequisites at Imperial

Currently doing MORSE at Warwick and I consider applying to do MSc at Imperial ( thinking of either Pure or Applied..). This year I plan to do all core modules that I would have done if I was on straight maths course so I guess I should have enough knowledge but I am still very worried about prerequisites of the MSc modules. Mainly because I will be doing 2nd year Warwick algebra in my third year and so will be unable to do any 3rd year more advanced modules related to algebra.

I found this 4th year programme file ( https://workspace.imperial.ac.uk/mathematics/Public/students/ug/courseguides/4thYearMaths14-15.pdf ) but for most modules I can't see anything about the prerequisites.

Anywhere I could find out more about the module and prerequisites?
Also in that 4th year programme for instance Elliptic curves module has code M4P32 whilst in MSc booklet it is M5P32, am I right to assume that it is the same?

Also if anyone has done the course and came from another uni, how did you find it in general?

Hi! I'm currently doing the 4th year of MSci maths at Imperial: this is basically the same thing, the main difference being that as an MSci student, I take 6 courses + project, while MSc students would take 7 courses + project and have some extra restrictions on their course choices.

The masters courses for maths at Imperial are a bit weird really. Basically, the codes M3Px, M4Px and M5Px, where they exist, all denote the same course, with the same lectures. So yes, M4P32 and M5P32 are the same thing. Similarly, M3/4/5P8 are all the same course: Algebra III.

There are officially no prerequisites other than where indicated in the booklet you linked. Knowledge of all compulsory 1st and 2nd year courses is obviously always assumed. There is just a single option in Year 2 -- sometimes pure courses expect you to have taken the pure option, similarly for applied and stats. This means that if you have a good grasp of second year algebra, you could definitely do most of the algebra courses on offer.

Hi! I'm currently doing the 4th year of MSci maths at Imperial: this is basically the same thing, the main difference being that as an MSci student, I take 6 courses + project, while MSc students would take 7 courses + project and have some extra restrictions on their course choices.

The masters courses for maths at Imperial are a bit weird really. Basically, the codes M3Px, M4Px and M5Px, where they exist, all denote the same course, with the same lectures. So yes, M4P32 and M5P32 are the same thing. Similarly, M3/4/5P8 are all the same course: Algebra III.

There are officially no prerequisites other than where indicated in the booklet you linked. Knowledge of all compulsory 1st and 2nd year courses is obviously always assumed. There is just a single option in Year 2 -- sometimes pure courses expect you to have taken the pure option, similarly for applied and stats. This means that if you have a good grasp of second year algebra, you could definitely do most of the algebra courses on offer.

Honestly, I found Imperial MSc too hard. I dropped out. PhD seems easier (which I'm doing right now).

Yeay finally someone! Many thanks




What in particular you found hard? Did they assume more knowledge than you had? And If you don't mind- where did you study your first degree?

Well it was socialising in London (also a problem) but maths wise Algebraic Geometry, Arithmetic Algebraic Geometry, plus we were supposed to know Homology as well.

It did kinda attract me to graph theory though (Liebeck and whatsisname), which I'm doing at the moment. I studied at Bath undergrad.

Yeay finally someone! Many thanks
So as long as I am comfortable with first and second year core modules, I should be fine taking y4 modules that do not specify any prerequisites? A bit odd tho that Elliptic curves for instance do not require anything!

Well it was socialising in London (also a problem) but maths wise Algebraic Geometry, Arithmetic Algebraic Geometry, plus we were supposed to know Homology as well.

It did kinda attract me to graph theory though (Liebeck and whatsisname), which I'm doing at the moment. I studied at Bath undergrad.

The general consensus this year seems to be that Algebraic Curves (M3/4/5P20) was quite hard and Algebraic Topology (M3/4/5P21) was very hard, compared to other 3rd year pure courses. And from what I've heard, most of the 4th year geometry courses are stinkingly hard. These things can vary dramatically depending on the year and lecturer though, so don't let that put you off. For example, they seem to have massively reduced the syllabus for P21 next year.

Modules that don't offer an M3 option (these are the un-starred ones in the course guide) tend to require more "unofficial" prerequisites. You seem to be quite interested in elliptic curves: I have a set of lecture notes from a few years ago, and they do indeed just require the 1st/2nd year material, so in theory you should be fine. However, you do get language like PIDs, UFDs, irreducible polynomials, algebraically closed, etc, being thrown around. All this is defined in years 1 and 2, but I for one became far more comfortable with them after doing the 3rd year algebra courses, where we messed about with these terms all day long. They also tend to require more "mathematical maturity" in general, which seems to be the main prerequisite.

Many many thanks. I am indeed interested in elliptic curves :P I am just cautious about it because at Warwick they claim it uses results from lots of modules including year 4. http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/maths/undergrad/ughandbook/year4/ma426/

Eh.. there is no algebraic geometry on the list of modules :O Perhaps it is Geometry I: Algebraic curves and yet no word about prerequisites ... But generally I heard AG is one of the hardest branches anyway ( I know it is very subjective and depends on depth but still).

I assume you did 3 years BSc at Bath?

And a bit off-topic question. Do they realistically take people with 2.1 or not so high firsts? Don't think I am getting over 75.. Sorry for bothering too much, I am kind of desperate for any info, can't find any people who got in for MSc.

It was 2011 so perhaps its not the same but I didn't do a module called "algebraic geometry". I just meant, algebraic geometry is hard. The course was algebraic geometry on elliptic curves i.e. number theory.

Yeah I only got a 2:1