Reply 1
Hi Flo0005,
Congratulations on your offer! There are no "maths" modules as such on the course, nor a mandatory maths prerequisite (we also accept other 'science' A Levels), but you will need to be able to analyse data. As with anything, maths can be handy, but don't worry if it isn't your strong suit! There is plenty of support available to you, and you are able to reach out to tutors if you struggle with anything, maths or not.
I hope this helps,
Grace
University of Exeter Student Ambassador
Congratulations on your offer! There are no "maths" modules as such on the course, nor a mandatory maths prerequisite (we also accept other 'science' A Levels), but you will need to be able to analyse data. As with anything, maths can be handy, but don't worry if it isn't your strong suit! There is plenty of support available to you, and you are able to reach out to tutors if you struggle with anything, maths or not.
I hope this helps,
Grace
University of Exeter Student Ambassador
Reply 2
Original post by Flo0005
I'm set to go this September, and am just wondering how much maths is compulsory and/or useful to do well in the course? I'm not exactly bad at maths, but it's definitely not my strong suit.
Hi Flo0005,
I'm a current PhD student in the Centre for Ecology and Conservation, and have also been here for my Masters and undergrad degree too (in Zoology, so lots of overlap with the Con Bio + Ecology course!).
As Grace has mentioned, there isn't a specific maths module on the course, but there is a compulsory second year module called Analysis of Biological Data. This is mostly about experimental design, and how to visualise and analyse data, including with formal statistical tests. I did do Maths A Level, but can't say that it gave me any particular advantage for this module. A general understanding of concepts like the mean and standard deviation would probably help though.
Most of the course is taught using a programming language called R - which is a really useful tool for data analysis and commonly used in both academia and industry. I'd say that I probably found learning the programming side of data analysis more difficult than the statistics or maths itself - but then I'd never had any experience doing any coding or programming before the degree. If you are worried at all about this, one of the great things about R is that it is open-source and free - so you could download it and start exploring how to use it on your computer well in advance of the module, or even before starting the degree (if you're super keen!). Partly because of this accessibility, there are lots of great online courses and guides for teaching yourself how to use it. If you're interested at all, let me know and I can provide some links in another post.
I hope you're excited to start the course. The Centre for Ecology and Conservation is a fantastic department and I've thoroughly enjoyed my time studying and now researching here (which is why I've been here for almost a decade!).
If you have any further questions about the degree or life on campus, please don't hesitate to ask.
Kingsley
University of Exeter Student Ambassador
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