Applied Mathematics

Applied mathematics is the discipline concerned with using mathematical methods, models and techniques to understand and address real problems in science, engineering, economics, biology, social science and beyond. Where pure mathematics pursues abstract structures for their own sake, applied mathematics asks how those structures can be used to describe and predict the behaviour of the physical and social world. It encompasses mathematical modelling, differential equations, numerical methods, probability and statistics, fluid dynamics, optimisation, and an ever-growing range of applications in fields from quantum mechanics to machine learning and epidemiology.

At the University of Edinburgh, this four-year full-time degree gives you a rigorous mathematical education alongside sustained engagement with the applications of mathematics to real-world problems. Edinburgh is one of the UK's leading mathematical research universities, and the programme benefits from the intellectual depth and breadth of that environment. You will develop your mathematical technique across the core areas of analysis, algebra, applied mathematics and statistics, while also learning to apply these tools to problems drawn from physics, engineering, biology, economics and other fields.

A year abroad is available, giving you the opportunity to study in another leading mathematical environment and to broaden your intellectual and personal horizons.

The ability to think precisely, to model complex situations mathematically, and to communicate technical results clearly are developed throughout. Computational skills and the use of mathematical software are increasingly central to applied mathematics practice, and the programme develops these alongside traditional analytical technique.

Graduates from applied mathematics programmes are in strong demand across finance, data science, engineering, research, software development, actuarial science, aerospace, energy, healthcare analytics, government, and academia. The combination of analytical rigour and practical modelling skill that applied mathematics develops is one of the most valuable and transferable in higher education.