Study here/Undergraduate studies/Available Subjects/
Mathematics

The college has tutors in all the main branches of Mathematics, who are committed to mathematical research as well as to teaching, and who together cover a wide range of subjects.

Watch the video above to find out more about studying mathematics at Jesus College.

The Mathematical Sciences departmental prospectus contains information about the course content and can be found here.

Teaching in Mathematics, as in most other subjects, has two components: University lectures, and college tutorials or classes.

As for the College side; in the First Year the syllabus is compulsory, and all Mathematics students follow the same course. The lectures, which are interrelated, are intended to cover the syllabus completely. In tutorials and college classes, you discuss with your tutor what you have learnt from lectures, and work through your solutions to problems designed to test your understanding. Problems are set by the lecturers in the first year, though in some subjects your tutor may set different ones instead. Your tutor is also likely to suggest some reading to do, and this reading may also be discussed in the tutorials. (The college operates a generous book grant scheme, which subsidizes the purchase of necessary textbooks by undergraduates.) Tutorials are ‘pupil-centred’ teaching in which the student determines the subject matter; their usefulness depends entirely on how thoroughly the student has prepared for them

At the end of the summer term of the first year, University examinations are held. It is necessary to spend some time revising for these, and lectures therefore finish halfway through the term; college teaching continues in the form of revision classes and tutorials. College Scholarships and Exhibitions may be awarded at the end of the first year to students who have worked well; the results of first-year exams play a major role in decisions on these awards.

In the second year the syllabus contains compulsory courses in algebra and analysis that are taken in the autumn term. Teaching is likely to involve a combination of tutorial and larger classes. Optional courses are also available and for these the teaching arrangements can be more varied; a student might have a single weekly tutorial to cover two or three related options, or those taking a particular option might be taught together in a class, or there might be some intermediate arrangement combining classes with shared tutorials. The college tutors between them cover nearly all the available options, but for one or two options teaching might be arranged with a specialist in another college. The tutors will set written work and reading on an individual basis. Second-year lectures aim more at providing a framework than a comprehensive treatment, and so the importance of reading and learning from your own study is greater than in the first year. Examinations at the end of the second year count towards the final degree mark. There are two papers on the compulsory core subjects and two cross-sectional papers on the selected topics.

In the third year (and fourth year) of the course, the syllabus provides a very wide range of options at a more advanced level. Each student will select only a few of these options. Teaching is usually by means of intercollegiate classes that run in parallel with the lectures. These classes are normally conducted by a faculty member and a graduate assistant; written work is set and marked each week and then discussed in the class. Although this teaching does not take place in college, the college tutors carefully monitor each student’s progress and are always available if any difficulties arise. Each student is assigned to one tutor who acts as ‘in-college supervisor’, and who will stay in touch with the student even though he may not be directly involved in the student’s teaching.

If you have a mathematical interest that is not catered for by the syllabus, there are several ways in which you may pursue it. Students may choose to enter the competition for the College Mathematics Essay Prize or the Vaughan Prize (awarded for outstanding work in Mathematics.) This involves writing an essay on a mathematical subject of your own choosing: essays of high enough quality can win substantial prizes of over £100. There is no restriction on the number of students who may be awarded prizes in any one year. It is also possible, with your tutor’s support, to take a subject of your own choosing as part of the final exam; such a proposal needs to be approved by the faculty board.

At the end of the course come the final examinations, on which your degree result depends. College tutors conduct revision classes and tutorials to prepare for these exams in the spring and summer terms. Whatever you do after graduating, we hope that you will remember your time at Jesus as one when you enjoyed the intricate and beautiful challenges of Mathematics.

Fellows

Professor Andrew Dancer

Professor Andrew Dancer’s research is in differential geometry, especially the study of Einstein spaces. He is responsible for the teaching of pure mathematics including algebra, analysis, geometry and topology.

Dr James Oliver

Dr James Oliver’s research is predominantly in fluid dynamics and its applications to free and moving boundary problems in industry, engineering and biology. He teaches Physical Applied Mathematics.

Professor Robin Evans

Professor Robin Evans teaches probability and statistics for the College. His research interests include statistical causality, graphical models and algebraic statistics.

Lecturers

Izar Alonso Lorenzo

Izar Alonso Lorenzo teaches Pure Mathematics and her research interests are in Differential Geometry.

Miss Ellen Luckins

Miss Ellen Luckins teaches Differential Equations, Integral Transforms and Prelims Geometry.

The deadline to submit your application for undergraduate study via UCAS is 16 October (please note that this date is usually 15 October, except where this date falls on a weekend). Please refer to the University’s webpages for detailed information on how to apply.

Places available at Jesus College

In a total College entry of about 100 undergraduates, 8 are offered places in a typical year to read Mathematics and the related Joint Schools courses.

Academic requirements

Academic requirements for this subject can be found here.

Selection criteria

The specific selection criteria are given on the department’s website here.

Admissions tests

All candidates must take the Mathematics Admissions Test (MAT) as part of their application. Separate registration for this test is required and it is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that they are registered by the deadline of 29 September 2023. We strongly recommend making the arrangements in plenty of time before the deadline. Everything you need to know, including how to register and guidance on how to prepare, can be found can be found here.

Written work

You do not need to submit any written work as part of an application for this course.

Interviews

If you are interviewed at Jesus you can expect two or three separate interviews with different tutors. The interviews will involve some general questions, but most of the time will be spent discussing mathematical topics.

Deferred Entry

Please refer to the Departmental website for subject-specific advice.

The Tutors have no objection in principle to offering a place to a candidate who wishes to defer entry for a year, provided this intention is made known at the outset. You must apply for deferred entry at the time of application to Oxford: you cannot change your mind after an offer has been made.

You should be aware that applicants who are offered places for deferred entry will generally be among the very strongest of the cohort for their subject, and the College limits its offers of deferred places in order not to disadvantage candidates applying in the following year. In some cases, an applicant for deferred entry may be offered a place for non-deferred entry instead.

Joint Schools

The following undergraduate joint courses are available at Jesus College:

The Mathematical Institute at Oxford enjoys a high reputation, both nationally and internationally, for the excellence of its teaching and research, and is among the largest in the country. Mathematical research at Oxford covers a very wide range in both pure and applied mathematics. It attracts generous research funding and draws students and visiting faculty from all parts of the world. The following degrees are available at postgraduate level:

  • DPhil or MSc by Research in Mathematics
  • MSc Mathematical and Computational Finance [Jesus College does not normally accept students for this course]
  • MSc Mathematical and Theoretical Physics
  • MSc Mathematical Modelling and Scientific Computing
  • MSc Mathematical Sciences
  • MSc Mathematics and the Foundations of Computer Science
  • EPSRC CDT Mathematics of Random Systems: Analysis, Modelling and Algorithms

The Department of Statistics is responsible for teaching Probability and Statistics courses, and has teaching and research strengths in a wide range of modern and exciting areas of statistical science. The following postgraduate degrees are offered:

  • DPhil or MSc by Research in Statistics (including the StatML CDT)
  • MSc or PGDip Statistical Science

Our graduates are prepared for a diverse range of careers. Recent information shows figures for first destinations of graduates as: further study 28.3%; industry and IT 11.5%; accountancy 15.0%; finance 15.0%; others 25.8%; still seeking 4.4%.

If you have any questions about entrance requirements, or about applying to study at Jesus College, please contact the Admissions Officer:

Email: admissions.officer@jesus.ox.ac.uk
Web: www.jesus.ox.ac.uk