Postgraduate

Postgraduate Certificate in Mathematics

On this page

• Description
• Planning your studies
• Career relevance
• Suggested routes to the degree
• Modules
• Learning outcomes
• Credit for previous study elsewhere
• On completion
• Regulations
• How to register

Description

The Postgraduate Certificate in Mathematics is awarded on successful completion of 60 credits of postgraduate mathematics study. The certificate course is a valuable qualification in itself or it can be the first qualification in a programme of mathematics study leading to a postgraduate diploma or an MSc. The modules offered may well be of interest to mathematically inclined scientists and engineers, as well as to mathematicians.

Planning your studies

Under normal circumstances, you should have a second-class honours degree in mathematics or in a subject with a high mathematical content. Whatever your background, you should assess your suitability for this certificate course by trying our diagnostic quiz.

If you are new to postgraduate study in mathematics you are advised initially to study Calculus of variations and advanced calculus (M820) on its own as your first module. However, if you have an undergraduate degree in pure mathematics you may alternatively study Analytic number theory I (M823) as your first module.

The modules in this qualification are categorised as entry, intermediate and advanced intermediate, as follows:

Entry: Calculus of variations and advanced calculus (M820), Analytic number theory I (M823)

Intermediate (applied): Applied complex variables (M828), Approximation theory (M832), Nonlinear ordinary differential equations (M821)

Intermediate (pure): Analytic number theory II (M829), Coding theory (M836), Fractal geometry (M835)

Advanced intermediate (applied): Advanced mathematical methods (M833)

Advanced intermediate (pure): Functional analysis (M826)

Guidance about the order in which the modules should be studied is as follows:

• You must normally pass at least one of the entry modules, Calculus of variations and advanced calculus (M820) or Analytic number theory I (M823), before studying any intermediate module.
• You must normally pass at least one of the intermediate modules before studying any advanced intermediate module.
• You must pass Analytic number theory I (M823) before studying Analytic number theory II (M829).

Otherwise within each category modules may be studied in any order, and you may register for a module while studying a pre-requisite for that module (i.e. before you know whether you have actually passed the pre-requisite module or not).

Further information about how the modules relate to each other is given in the description for each individual module.

All modules are worth 30 credits, and you are advised not to study more than 60 credits worth at a time. Not every module is presented each year, and we cannot guarantee that the same selection of modules will continue to be available every year.

You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 20 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you.

Career relevance and employability

Mathematics is at the heart of advances in science, engineering and technology, as well as being an indispensable problem-solving and decision-making tool in many other areas of life. It is no surprise therefore that mathematics postgraduates can be found throughout industry, business and commerce, in the public and private sectors. Employers value the intellectual rigour and reasoning skills that mathematics students can acquire, their familiarity with numerical and symbolic thinking and the analytic approach to problem-solving which is their hallmark.

There are a variety of reasons for studying mathematics at postgraduate level. You may want a postgraduate qualification in order to distinguish yourself from an increasingly large graduate population. You may find, particularly if you are a professional programmer or work in finance, that your undergraduate mathematical knowledge is becoming insufficient for your career requirements, especially if you are hoping to specialise in one of the more mathematical areas, which are becoming more sought after by employers. The extent of opportunities is vast and mathematics postgraduates are equipped with skills and knowledge required for jobs in fields such as finance, education, engineering, science and business, as well as mathematics and mathematical science research.

There is more information about how OU study can improve your employability in the OU’s Employability Statement from our Careers Advisory Service. You can also read or download our publication OU study and your career and look at our subject pages to find out about career opportunities.

Suggested routes to the degree

You can take a number of different routes towards your qualification. The routes illustrated below are routes many students are using, or have already successfully followed.

Please bear in mind that other routes are available – see the full module list for all options.

• Suggested route 1
• Suggested route 2

Modules

For this postgraduate certificate you require:

60 credits from the following optional modules:

Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations, the discontinued modules M431, M822, M824, M827, M830 and M841

Credit for previous study elsewhere

For this qualification, we do not allow you to count credit for study you have already done elsewhere.

On completion

On successful completion of the required courses you can be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Mathematics entitling you to use the letters PG Cert Maths (Open) after your name.

You may continue your studies and add a further 60 credits to your certificate to gain a Postgraduate Diploma in Mathematics (E23), or a further 120 credits to obtain the MSc in Mathematics (F04).

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Qualification Regulations and the Student Regulations.

Qualification Regulations

• Introduction to the Qualification Regulations
• General Qualification Regulations
• Postgraduate Certificate in Mathematics

Student Regulations

The Student Regulations (including the Code of Practice for Student Assessment and the Code of Practice for Student Discipline) are available on our Policy Documents for Students website.

How to register

To register for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the module you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that module.

See a full list of modules available for this qualification

About this page

A postgraduate qualification in Mathematics and Statistics.

Study explained

Credits

- show how much study is required to complete a course or qualification. One credit point represents roughly 10 hours of study.

Costs

- find out how much you can expect to pay.

Financial support

- find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.

Study explained

- all you need to know about studying with the OU.

Your questions

We may have already answered it in our frequently asked questions.

Or contact an adviser in our Student Registration & Enquiry Service Email or call +44(0) 845 300 60 90+44(0) 845 366 60 35

Employers' questions

Contact Corporate Enquiries
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