Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Sciences

Student Profile - Sarah Murphy

I chose UL for this course, but also because I’d never met a UL student who didn’t seem to love their time here. Maths and applied maths were my favourite subjects in school and this course seemed liked the perfect way to pursue those interests. For the first two years, you will establish a strong base in mathematics and statistics before specialising in your area of choice. In third year, you start to focus on your chosen specialty and then everyone goes on co-op placement. In your final year, you have the chance to pick a final year project in a topic that interests you.

This course has allowed me to develop essential skills needed to be a mathematician while also giving me the chance to apply them in a working environment. I completed my co-op placement in Analog Devices in Limerick, one of the leading semi-conductor companies in the world. I worked as a part of the New Product Engineering team that specialised in data analytics. My job involved the statistical analysis of data from different stages of testing and gave me the opportunity to apply the skills I had learned in college to the real world. My communication skills, presentation skills and my ability to work effectively as part of a team were vastly improved during my co-op experience.

I think one of the great advantages of studying Mathematical Sciences at UL is that it opens up a broad range of career paths. The course doesn’t tie you down to one profession but instead gives you the essential mathematical skills that are in demand in every sector.

Graduate Profile - Colm Howlin

I really enjoyed Maths in school, so I decided to continue with it at University. I visited several campuses before my making my decision on which University to choose. UL had by far the most impressive campus which made the decision easy.

As Principal Researcher at Realizeit, I lead the analytics and research efforts. Realizeit is an adaptive learning company that has created a platform to deliver personalised learning online to students. The platform uses data to figure out what works best for individual students and uses that to personalise and adapt the delivery of learning material.

I work on the development and deployment of the algorithms that are used by the system to personalise the learning experience. This ranges from algorithms that estimate the difficulty of a question to algorithms that automatically detect when a student is bored. I also work with several Universities to help them understand the impact of adaptive learning on how their students learn. My role, as with most in the tech sector, predominately involves problem-solving. The course not only provided me with the foundations in the tools that I would rely on in my career but more importantly, helped me develop my problem-solving skills.

Any advice for school leavers?

Study what you think you will enjoy, and you’ll set yourself up to have a far more successful and happier career than forcing yourself to study something that is supposed to lead to a good job or career.

Student Profile - Kevin Brosnan

This course offered me a great opportunity to become educated in a wide range of mathematical skills. Every module throughout the four years has challenged me in a unique way and developed core skills which are required in the workplace for mathematicians and statisticians.

For my co-op work placement, I was employed by Accenture in Dublin. Accenture are a global consultancy firm with 250,000 employees. I worked on the Accenture Analytics team who specialise in fraud and non-compliance for a wide array of companies ranging from financial institutions to utility providers and government departments. My placement offered me the opportunity to use skills and knowledge that I had developed in college and apply that to real life problems in large businesses. I developed basic office skills and vastly improved my interpersonal skills, which will be of huge benefit as I move out into the working world.

Student Profile - Bobby Reidy

A Day in the Life of... an Analytics Consultant 

I chose this UL course because maths was my favourite subject in school, I enjoyed working with numbers and I’m the kind of person who likes a straight and concise answer. I also saw that the course did not pin me down to any one profession after college, giving me great freedom to choose what I wanted to do after my course and not before. My typical day can vary a lot. I’m responsible for working on small mathematical projects for clients as well as travelling all over the UK and Ireland to give training courses on how to use mathematical software for their needs.

During my time in UL, my co-op work placement was a brilliant experience in every way. I chose to go abroad and UL arranged for me to work with Philips Healthcare in The Netherlands. I worked as a Data Analysis Intern as part of the Logistics and Optimisation team. My role was to help my supervisor in finding cost-saving opportunities by analysing the transport of replacement medical parts around the world. On my placement I learned valuable data manipulation skills, improved my ability to present results to colleagues and also the inter-personal skills needed to function well in a team.

Student Profile - Sarah English

I chose the Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Sciences because maths was my best subject in school and I liked what I heard about the course when I attended the UL Open Days.

1st and 2nd year covers all the groundwork in maths and the subjects become more interesting and applicable in 3rd and 4th year when you pick your major. The FYP (Final Year Project) gives everyone the opportunity to specialise in an area that interests them. The course has a diverse range of subjects with practical implementation in the labs.

I spent my coop at AIB Global Treasury in the IFSC in Dublin and this really helped me in deciding which career path to take.