What is university maths actually like?

Hii everyone, I’m considering studying Mathematics at university, but I’m not sure what to expect compared to A-Level Maths and Further Maths. I’d love to hear about the course structure—how it differs from A-Level, what the exam and assessment structures are like (e.g., are there written exams, coursework, or a mix?), and how you’re assessed throughout the year. Also, what’s a typical week of study like? How much independent work is involved, and how does the workload compare to A-Level in terms of difficulty and time management? Any insight from current or past students would be really helpful!

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 1

McGinger

20

Suggestions :
A guide to studying Maths at university - including what to expect, application tips and future career opportunities. Featuring Royal Holloway, University of London. | Uni Taster Days - online, on demand
STEMM Summer School 2025 - Swansea University
Maths Lancaster University - Summer School

Reply 2

sppm726

12

Original post by annabel whittle

Hii everyone, I’m considering studying Mathematics at university, but I’m not sure what to expect compared to A-Level Maths and Further Maths. I’d love to hear about the course structure—how it differs from A-Level, what the exam and assessment structures are like (e.g., are there written exams, coursework, or a mix?), and how you’re assessed throughout the year. Also, what’s a typical week of study like? How much independent work is involved, and how does the workload compare to A-Level in terms of difficulty and time management? Any insight from current or past students would be really helpful!

I do combined/dual honours, so I guess multiply everything by two? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

6 hours of teaching lectures (2 modules of 3 hours each) per week
2 hours of tutorials (2 modules of 3 hours) per week

(Whilst in physics, it’s 2 hours per module with 2 hours a week maths, a 2 hours tutorial session that alternates between subjects, and 3 hours labs — for a comparison)

In total — 19 hours a week

In lectures, you just take notes, and tutorials are observed working time

In the first semester, I did Algebra 1 and Calculus 1, and in Semester 2 I’m doing Algebra 2 and Calculus 2. The single honours students also had a stats module and a coding/python module.

Topics in Algebra One: set notation, proofs, converse statements, negations, contrapositives, proof by contradiction, proof by induction, truth tables, functions, bijective, subjective, injective, imaginary numbers, complex numbers, finding complex roots of quadratics without a calculator, rational and irrational numbers, range and domain, co-domain, polar form, Euler’s formula, De Moivre’s theorem — basically further maths but with the proper names and language for everything

Topics in Calculus One: a lot of integration, differentiation, first principles, functions, inverse functions, ratio tests, limits, asymptotes, inequalities — more further maths, but the extreme stuff no one wants to do

Calculus 2 is even MORE further maths integration (starting with second order)

Right now in Algebra One, we’ve finished number theory, which is all about prime numbers, and how each composite number is made up of at least two primes multiplied by each other.

We say a|b to mean a divides b and a == b mod n means that a is congruent to b modulo n and that n | (a - b)

For example, 3 | (14 - 2) = 3 | 12 , so 14 == 2 mod 3

40% of the module is a test at the end of the semester, where you must get at least 40% correct to pass. Then, you also have to get at least 40% of the module correct to pass. The rest of the module’s percentages are gained with class tests (relaxed exam conditions) and problem sheets (open book questions but you can’t ask for help from other students)

What is university maths actually like?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Articles for you