Mathematics with a Professional Placement Year (BSc)

Why study this course

This four-year degree features an employability-enhancing third year working in a paid mathematician or statistician role at an organisation of your choice.

Gain valuable hands-on experience and develop your professional skills whilst delving deeper into the fascinating world of mathematics.

A mathematics qualification is well-respected by employers. The numerical, logical thinking and problem-solving skills that you’ll develop will enable you to tackle a wide variety of roles.

This four-year version of the degree includes a year of paid work in a mathematician and/or statistician role during year three. You will return to Cardiff following the successful completion of your work placement at the start of the autumn semester ready for your final year of studies.

In a competitive graduate job market, a placement can help you gain extra skills and experience to make you stand out from the crowd. It could help you secure a permanent role after you graduate, as well as providing real-world context to support your studies. If you're not sure what career path to follow, it's a great opportunity to explore your options and might even help you make those all-important decisions about your future.

Our strong links with industry give you a wide range of placement providers to choose from. Our students have completed exciting placements at organisations including:

• HM Revenue & Customs
• The Ministry of Defence
• NHS Wales
• Nationwide
• BAE Systems
• IBM
• Disney

Careers and placements

Career prospects

You can use your BSc in Mathematics with a Professional Placement Year as a pathway to the workforce where you may meet our alumni working in traditional pursuits such as teaching, actuarial work, and accountancy through to IT, pharmaceutical research, engineering and more. Or, you might choose to widen your career options to include a range of related fields by completing postgraduate studies in the sciences, computing or engineering.

Maths careers support

In the spring semester of your first year, there are a range of masterclasses available to you to help support your future career prospects. The classes cover work experience, CV and covering letters, application forms, interview techniques, and an introduction to LinkedIn.

We have a regularly-updated student jobs board featuring a range of volunteering, internship, placement, and graduate opportunities. Plus, we organise a full programme of student and employer presentations every year with employers, such as Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, PwC, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Sainsburys, Network Rail, GSK, Office of National Statistics, Welsh Government, the MOD, Welsh Water, and the Met Office.

The School of Mathematics also has a Careers Management Skills Programme, presentations by students returning from industry and a range of sponsored prizes awarded for academic achievement.

Placements

A one year work placement is available on this programme,  to be taken after you have completed year two.

You will have support to apply for placements that appeal to you from a wide range of industrial partners. Placements are available in Cardiff, across the UK and also internationally and most have competitive salaries.

 Recent placement providers have included: CGI, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Goldman Sachs, Ministry of Defence, National Air Traffic Service and Walt Disney.

 When you are on placement, your work will be directly supervised by your placement provider. You will be working on real problems and using mathematics to produce results. You will also have close contact with our placement coordinators so they can discuss your progress and ensure you get the most out of the year. This will include visits as well as regular email contact.

 We will support you in preparing for your work placement through a range of skills development programmes.