Course tools

Mathematics and Statistics with Placement Year

About this course

Starts
September 2025
UCAS Code
GG14
Duration
5 years
Entry Requirements
Access: AABStandard: AAA

Course description

Students in a maths lecture

Find the patterns in huge datasets, draw conclusions and apply those creative solutions to real industry problems.

A Mathematics and Statistics with Placement Year MMath from Sheffield is where you put your statistics knowledge into practice in the real world – building experience for a career in research, major corporations or in data science.

From the essentials, you’ll build advanced techniques, develop programming skills using Python and R, and learn to present your work as a professional mathematician using LaTeX. In your second year we’ll show you how to apply your statistics knowledge to increasingly complex problems, through statistical modelling and computer simulations.

Your third year will be your placement year. This is where you get a taste of applied statistics in a finance role, or in the civil service. You’ll have plenty of support from your tutors all the way through, and you may come back with the offer of a job when you graduate.

By your fourth year, you’ll have the skills, knowledge and experience to go in lots of different directions – and a choice of optional modules to support whichever path you choose. We’ll train you in how to design experiments and collect data, how statistics are used in clinical trials of new drugs and how data can predict the likely outcome of an event.

There are also lots of opportunities – including the final year project and summer research placements – where you can work with our mathematicians to tackle a complex research question. With this degree as your first step, a job in the finance, technology or big data economy will soon follow.

Why study this course?

  • Leading maths research - 96% of our research is rated as world-leading or internationally excellent, according to the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
  • Real-world problem solving - research unanswered questions, from the most abstract research in areas like algebraic geometry and number theory, to the calculations behind animal movements and black holes.
  • Everyone is welcome - there’s a place at Sheffield for everyone who enjoys mathematics. Find a warm welcome at our active student society (SUMS), regular maths challenges and a dedicated LGBT+ student group for maths students.
  • Industry placement experience - spend a whole year in industry, gaining first-hand experience in applying mathematics and statistics in a real business situation.
  • Independent research project - complete your own maths research project in your final year. You’ll choose a topic in an area of mathematics that interests you, and work closely with one of our staff who is an expert in the field.
Second-year Maths student Amelia takes us through a busy day of lectures before heading to Netball practice to unwind

Careers

School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Strong mathematics skills open all kinds of doors for our graduates: from banking, insurance and pensions, to software development at tech companies and encryption services at security agencies. They also work for businesses with vast amounts of data to process and inform new products and services.

Organisations that have hired Sheffield maths graduates include AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, Barclays, Bet365, Dell, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, GSK, HSBC, IBM, Lloyds, PwC, Unilever, the Civil Service and the NHS. Lots of our students also go on to do PhDs at world top 100 universities.

Your career in mathematics and statistics

Will Oxley

My maths education in Sheffield has prepared me very well for conducting research

Will Oxley Mathematics MMath

As an undergraduate maths student, will took part in a series of research projects that led to four publications in academic journals. He's now working on a PhD at the University of Cambridge.

Student Hailey Pottinger stood in front of a brick wall smiling

I've found that employers always value the skills that maths students can bring to a role

Hailey Pottinger Mathematics MMath

After graduating, Hailey joined the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme. The mathematical and problem solving skills Hailey learned during her MMath degree helped her secure her place on the scheme, and management roles in the NHS.

Sonia Nayyar in her graduation gown holding her degree certificate

My degree has given me an excellent grounding in mathematical concepts I use every day

Sonia Nayyar Mathematics BSc

After graduating from Sheffield with a BSc in Mathematics, Sonia went on to work for a financial, actuarial and business consultancy, putting the analytic and logical thinking skills she learned during her degree to daily use.

Entry Requirements

The A-Level entry requirements for this course are:

AAB
A Levels + a fourth Level 3 qualification
AAB including A in Maths + A in a relevant EPQ; AAB including A in Maths + B in A Level Further Maths
International Baccalaureate
34 with 6 in Higher Level Maths (Analysis and Approaches)
BTEC Extended Diploma
DDD in Engineering with Distinctions in all Maths units
BTEC Diploma
DD + A in A Level Maths
Scottish Highers + 1 Advanced Higher
AAABB + A in Maths
Welsh Baccalaureate + 2 A Levels
B + AA including Maths
Access to HE Diploma
Award of Access to HE Diploma in a relevant subject, with 45 credits at Level 3, including 36 at Distinction (to include Maths units), and 9 at Merit
Other requirements
  • We will give your application additional consideration if you have passed the Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP), STEP 2 or STEP 3, at grade 3 or above. We do not consider STEP results in place of a third A Level