Maths or physics degree??

As the deadline for making my firm choice on ucas approaches, I am still unsure if I should pick physics or applied maths and physics (or potentially Mathematics on its own) for my firm choice. I am a mature student who left education a few years ago so I don't have any friends on peers I could ask about the course at this time. So any information or advice would be appreciated

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Well, what is your end goal? What are your interests? What is your background in maths/physics academically so far?

One thing I would point out is that a maths degree is vastly different to the kind of maths you'll have been used to doing A-level (or similar). It's very abstract, much of it proof based. Even the "applied" side of a maths degree is often quite abstract and not the same kind of "number crunching" work you'll be used to from A-level and similar maths. In a physics degree you will touch on some of that abstract stuff depending on the course structure and optional modules you take, but you will spend a lot of your time doing a lot of that "number crunching" type of mathematical methods work. If you're happy to sit and spend hours solving integrals, a physics degree is a good pick!

Otherwise it obviously will depend a bit on your longer term goals. That said the two degrees have largely the same end options, and even for remaining in academia it's entirely possible to go into many physics PhD projects from a maths background (the reverse is less true though) for example, and for secondary teaching I gather it's very possible to end up teaching either maths or physics (or both) after doing a degree in either (but you may need to do an SKE if you want to go from one to the other, but as I believe both maths and science are shortage subjects I think you get paid for this anyway).

Neither is "better" in any general sense than the other though :smile:

Reply 2

User12345487

OP

2

Original post by artful_lounger

Well, what is your end goal? What are your interests? What is your background in maths/physics academically so far?

One thing I would point out is that a maths degree is vastly different to the kind of maths you'll have been used to doing A-level (or similar). It's very abstract, much of it proof based. Even the "applied" side of a maths degree is often quite abstract and not the same kind of "number crunching" work you'll be used to from A-level and similar maths. In a physics degree you will touch on some of that abstract stuff depending on the course structure and optional modules you take, but you will spend a lot of your time doing a lot of that "number crunching" type of mathematical methods work. If you're happy to sit and spend hours solving integrals, a physics degree is a good pick!

Otherwise it obviously will depend a bit on your longer term goals. That said the two degrees have largely the same end options, and even for remaining in academia it's entirely possible to go into many physics PhD projects from a maths background (the reverse is less true though) for example, and for secondary teaching I gather it's very possible to end up teaching either maths or physics (or both) after doing a degree in either (but you may need to do an SKE if you want to go from one to the other, but as I believe both maths and science are shortage subjects I think you get paid for this anyway).

Neither is "better" in any general sense than the other though :smile:

I'm not sure what my end goals are which makes it quite difficult to dissect what would be the right choice for me. I was good science at school, did the 3 sciences and maths for alevel, did very well and enjoyed them all but I found I preferred maths and physics and did have more of a natural flair for them. I think good employment prospects is important for me as well as salary but I would like to spend the next few years doing a course I enjoy hence why I am so apprehensive to pick.

Reply 3

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

15

Original post by User12345487

As the deadline for making my firm choice on ucas approaches, I am still unsure if I should pick physics or applied maths and physics (or potentially Mathematics on its own) for my firm choice. I am a mature student who left education a few years ago so I don't have any friends on peers I could ask about the course at this time. So any information or advice would be appreciated

Hi there,

I have recently graduated with a Natural Sciences BSc and thought it could be applicable to your question! Natural Sciences degrees tend to vary by university, so it's definitely worth having a look around to see what course is right for you. At Lancaster, the degree is very flexible, you can choose 3 pathways out of a possible 21. The subjects range from chemistry, biology, physics, maths, computer science, engineering, earth sciences, and more, so there are many different possible combinations! The complete list of different pathways is in the brochure which can be found here - https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/natural-sciences/ . This could potentially help by allowing you to study both maths and physics so you can understand which you might prefer at degree level or even so you can study them both throughout your degree.

I have loved the degree, and have started studying a Mechanical Engineering Masters since that ended up being my favourite subject of my Natural Sciences undergraduate. In terms of job prospects, it depends on the subjects that you choose as to what you go into, but 97% of Natural Sciences students from Lancaster are either in work or further study within 6 months of graduating. Furthermore, it allowed me to figure out which subjects I was most passionate about meaning I absolutely loved the degree. If you have any questions, just let me know!

-Bethan (Lancaster University Student Ambassador)

Reply 4

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by User12345487

I'm not sure what my end goals are which makes it quite difficult to dissect what would be the right choice for me. I was good science at school, did the 3 sciences and maths for alevel, did very well and enjoyed them all but I found I preferred maths and physics and did have more of a natural flair for them. I think good employment prospects is important for me as well as salary but I would like to spend the next few years doing a course I enjoy hence why I am so apprehensive to pick.

Strange, I'm sure I responded to this yesterday :s-smilie:

But in any case, to summarise: the employment prospects would be the same for any of the three courses, as employers usually don't care what subject you studied, and where they do the would only care if it was e.g. a numerate degree (and all are equivalently seen in that regard). The main influence on student employability is actually waht the student does themselves (i.e. getting internships etc and not just going to lectures and exams for 3 years...).

Maths degrees are very abstract as noted, so I'd recommend looking at some kind of introductory analysis/(abstract) linear algebra textbook (or maybe abstract algebra/number theory) to get a feel for the very different approach to maths and try your hand at some of the proofs. Something like Spivak's calculus or really most introductory analysis textbooks should be accessible to someone who has a good background in A-level Maths, in principle (but you may find the style not to your taste!).

Physics degrees are very much more similar to A-level Maths than anything else, and so you won't be "dropping" maths by doing a physics degree. You'd be doing more of the same calculus work day in and day out throughout the entire degree (and developing that to do more advanced work in a similar vein with multivariable/vector calculus, differential equations and so on). So that kind of A-level style mathematical methods work is very much in line with what you would do in a physics degree (and much less in line with what you do in a maths degree).

Reply 5

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

15

Original post by User12345487

As the deadline for making my firm choice on ucas approaches, I am still unsure if I should pick physics or applied maths and physics (or potentially Mathematics on its own) for my firm choice. I am a mature student who left education a few years ago so I don't have any friends on peers I could ask about the course at this time. So any information or advice would be appreciated

Hi, I'm a third year Maths student at Lancaster University and thought I could help. There's several sorts of courses you could pick. I'll link them down below so you can look at them if you would like:
Mathematics: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/mathematics-bsc-hons-g100/
Physics: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/physics-bsc-hons-f300/
Theoretical Physics with Mathematics: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/theoretical-physics-with-mathematics-bsc-hons-f3gc/
Natural Sciences (as Bethan has explained above): https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/natural-sciences-bsc-hons-gfc0/

Personally I do the Maths degree, but if you are interested in both Maths and Physics I would definitely suggest a Theoretical Physics with Mathematics degree, I have a few friends that do it, and they really like having the combination of the two subjects. I think with that degree you could choose to swap to just a Maths degree in your second year if you decided that Physics wasn't for you, it would be worth researching this more if you were think of doing this.

I hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions about studying Maths at Lancaster. :smile:

- Penelope (Lancaster University Mathematics Student Ambassador)