Mathematics

The Cambridge Mathematical Tripos is one of the most challenging and stimulating mathematics courses in the country, probably in the world.

Nevertheless, since in the whole university there are almost 250 students starting the Tripos each year, not everyone on the course is a genius (although some certainly are), and if you are enjoying your A-level (or equivalent) Mathematics courses, and are good at them, the Tripos may well be for you.

As well as the straight Mathematics course, it is possible to apply to study Mathematics with Physics. Applicants for Mathematics and Maths with Physics are considered together. The College has no preference for one option over the other and will make offers to those applicants who are strongest academically, regardless of the option for which they apply.

We typically aim to admit 5 to 6 new undergraduate mathematicians at Magdalene per year.

Of the current Directors of Studies, Professor Stuart Martin (the Senior Tutor) studied Mathematics in Oxford and has research interests in algebra, logic and financial mathematics. Dr Sergio Bacallado works in statistics and probability, and Professor Stephen Eglen has research interests in computing and neuroscience. Dr Gareth Taylor (an algebraist) is a College Lecturer and currently takes many of the pure maths supervisions. 

The College usually has at least one Research Fellow in Mathematics and has a number of students reading for higher degrees in mathematics and for postgraduate qualifications in computing and statistics, some of whom are involved in teaching. Lectures for mathematicians are held at the central New Museums Site and the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, at a site in west Cambridge (about ten minutes' walk from the College).

The College Library has an excellent mathematical section, including all books on the Faculty reading lists. The special demands of the Tripos also require supportive teaching from the College. For example, in the first two terms you attend two lectures per day, and we lay on two supervisions a week, almost always in groups of one or two. At least one of these supervisions will normally be given by one of the Directors of Studies or College Lecturers at Magdalene, and the other by external supervisors at other colleges; this ensures that you obtain the best supervision available in all subjects. In addition to this, you will have regular meetings with your Tutor (a non-mathematician) and Director of Studies, to assess your progress and to plan future work.

Mathematics graduates from the College go into many areas of work, including quantitative jobs in the financial, banking, and actuarial sector as well as analytical roles in the consulting industry and Civil Service. Others go for technical jobs in mathematics or computing at technology firms, in fields ranging from quantum computing, to consumer software, to the pharmaceutical industry.

Others have stayed on for further study. For those students excelling in the third year, there will be an option to spend a fourth year in Cambridge studying advanced mathematics. This is known as the MMath. There are well over a hundred options to choose from, encompassing a whole range of subjects in pure and applied mathematics. An outstanding performance in the MMath may gain you admission to the Cambridge PhD program, as well as provide you with a firm basis for research degrees in other comparable universities.

More details of the course and the optional papers available can be found on the Faculty of Mathematics and the Undergraduate Study Mathematics webpages.

See Subject Requirements below, but we look for applicants who are mathematically gifted, passionate about the subject, and willing to work hard, regardless of their background or nationality.

Further information

The Cambridge-sponsored Millennium Mathematics Project runs an excellent website featuring a free online maths magazine, including articles of mathematical interest from cosmology to chaos theory.

As with all Cambridge Colleges, A-level applicants for Mathematics at Magdalene require A-levels in both Mathematics and Further Mathematics. We will take full account of cases in which applicants have had to self-teach elements of Further Mathematics A-level. For candidates taking the IB, the Higher Level Mathematics ‘Analysis and Approaches’ option is required.

We ask students taking the IB to choose the Mathematics HL 'Analysis and Approaches' course because the content of HL 'Applications and Interpretation' does not provide sufficient preparation for our course. If your school does not offer you this choice, then you will need evidence of some additional mathematical preparation (e.g. A-level Further Mathematics, or some other qualification). Please contact us if you need further advice about any proposed additional qualifications.

A-level Physics is not essential; however, for those studying the IB Higher Level Physics is desirable, especially for those planning on studying the Mathematics with Physics option.

Minimum Offer:

A-levels: A*A*A, with A* normally required in Mathematics and Further Mathematics. 

IB: 42 points or higher overall, with 7,7,6 or 7,7,7 in three specified subjects at Higher Level, including 7 in Mathematics (Analysis and Approaches).

Other qualifications: Check which other qualifications we accept 

All offers for Mathematics will require you to take STEP papers II and III. Two 1's is the typical offer condition at Magdalene; however, STEP offers are set on a case-by-case basis, taking into the particulars of individual applications.

Candidates will normally have two interviews of around 20-25 minutes each.

The interview process aims to assess your intellectual ability, potential, and commitment to the subject.

We do not require a written work submission for this subject.

Candidates are required to take the Test of Mathematics for University Admission (TMUA). The TMUA is a pre-registration required assessment. This means that you will have to register to sit the assessment at an assessment centre near to you. Registration for the pre-registration required assessment is separate from your UCAS application and it is essential that you are registered by your centre before the deadline. 

For further details see the TMUA website and the University TMUA page.

More information is available on the Interviews, Written Work and Assessments page.