This MSc provides an ideal foundation for students wishing to advance their mathematical modelling skills. The programme teaches students the basic concepts which arise in a broad range of technical and scientific problems and illustrates how these may be applied in a research context to provide powerful solutions.
Students develop an understanding of the processes undertaken to arrive at a suitable mathematical model and are taught the fundamental analytical techniques and computational methods used to develop insight into system behaviour. The programme introduces a range of problems - industrial, biological and environmental - and associated conceptual models and solutions.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of five core modules (75 credits), three optional modules (45 credits), and a research dissertation (60 credits).
The part-time option normally spans two years. The eight taught modules are spread over the two years. The research dissertation is taken in the summer of the second year.
Core modules
Optional modules
Dissertation/report
All MSc students undertake an independent research project, which culminates in a dissertation of approximately 15,000-words and a project presentation.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through seminar-style lectures and problem and computer-based classes. Student performance is assessed through a combination of unseen examination and coursework. For the majority of courses, the examination makes up between 90–100% of the assessment. The project is assessed through the dissertation and an oral presentation.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Mathematical Modelling MSc
Our graduates have found employment in a wide variety of organisations such as Hillier-Parker, IBM, Swissbank, Commerzbank Global Equities, British Gas, Harrow Public School, Building Research Establishment and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather-Forecasting.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Employability
Finance, actuarial and accountancy professionals are constantly in demand for their high-level mathematical skills and recent graduates have taken positions in leading finance-related companies such as UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland, Societe Generale, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, and KPMG.
In the engineering sector, one recent graduate has progressed to a mathematical modelling role at a leading transportation planning consultancy; another became a graduate trainee at a business segment of Schlumberger that provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services.
In addition, a number of graduates have remained in education either progressing to a PhD or entering the teaching profession.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
UCL Mathematics is internationally renowned for its excellent individual and group research that involves applying modelling techniques to problems in industrial, biological and environmental areas.
The department hosts a stream of distinguished international visitors. In recent years four staff members have been elected fellows of the Royal Society, and the department publishes the highly regarded research journal Mathematika.
This MSc enables students to consolidate their mathematical knowledge and formulate basic concepts of modelling before moving on to case studies in which models have been developed for issues motivated by industrial, biological or environmental considerations.
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
The following REF score was awarded to the department: Mathematics
82% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
Postgraduate degree programme in Mathematical Modelling Masters/MSc:
Most things in the real world are complex and difficult to understand, from biological systems to the financial markets to industrial processes, but explaining them is essential to making progress in the modern world. Mathematical modelling is a fundamental tool in the challenge to understand many of these systems, and is an essential part of contemporary applied mathematics. By developing, analysing and interpreting mathematical and computational models we gain insight into these complex processes, as well as giving a framework in which to interpret experimental data.
To fully capitalise on these tools, there is a fundamental need in both academic research and industry for a new generation of scientists trained to work at the interdisciplinary frontiers of mathematics and computation. These scientists require the ability to assimilate and understand information from other disciplines, communicate with and enthuse other researchers, as well as having the advanced mathematical and computational skills needed.
In the Autumn and Spring semesters, you will take masters-level courses in both advanced mathematical modelling and computation, in addition to the core interdisciplinary skills needed for a career in this field. In the summer you will undertake a research skills project, working with research leaders in a related area such as biosciences, systems biology, chemical engineering or medicine, alongside mathematics and computation. This will provide directly relevant training for a career in academic, industrial or clinical research, for example biotechnology, industrial engineering or the pharmaceutical industry. A key component will be training specifically in multidisciplinary research and communication, a vital skill for whichever career path the MSc leads you to.
Related Links
In the Autumn and Spring semesters, you will take masters-level courses in both advanced mathematical modelling and computation, in addition to the core interdisciplinary skills needed for a career in this field.
In the summer you will undertake a research skills project, working with research leaders in a related area such as biosciences, systems biology, chemical engineering or medicine, alongside mathematics and computation. This will provide directly relevant training for a career in academic, industrial or clinical research, for example biotechnology, industrial engineering or the pharmaceutical industry.
A key component will be training specifically in multidisciplinary research and communication, a vital skill for whichever career path the MSc leads you to.
Career Opportunities
This course is tailored to train students for careers in scientific research, and for employment in a wide range of industrial contexts, for example biotechnology, industrial engineering or the pharmaceutical industry. There is a considerable need for scientists with a strong mathematical and computational background who can communicate with experimental scientists; this MSc will provide you with specialised training, and through your research skills project, evidence that you can work in this multidisciplinary context.
Further transferrable skills developed through this course include team-working, oral and written presentation, problem-solving and time-management, particularly developed through the summer research skills project. Additional careers support is available through the School of Mathematics and from the University's career support team.
MathMods is a 2-year Joint MSc programme which can be taken in 5 EU universities: University of L’Aquila in Italy (UAQ), Vienna University of Technology in Austria (TUW), Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain (UAB), Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) & University of Hamburg in Germany (UHH), and University of Nice - Sophia Antipolis in France (UNS).
What makes MathMods so special is its peculiar mobility scheme, that is the fact that our students will be spending their postgrad years in two or even three different European countries. You'll be indeed studying in central Italy for your first semester, then move to Austria or Germany for the second term, and finally move again to 1 of our 5 partners for your second year, based on the mobility path you'll be assigned.
Upon graduation students will be awarded a Joint Master's degree (or double, depending on where they spend their Year2).
Since its establishement in 2008 MathMods was funded by the EU Commission firstly through the Erasmus Mundus programme action 1 A (project no. 2008-0100), and later through the Erasmus+ Key Action 1 programme, project no. 2013-0227. We're currently applying for the Erasmus+ Call for Proposals 2018 to continue awarding Erasmus Munuds scholarships to our future generations. No matter the outcome, MathMods will still be running with the aid of Consortium grants and other local grants. Visit the sections Apply and Program Structure to learn more.
Semester 1 focuses on Theory and is to be spend in L'Aquila (Italy)
Semester 2 focuses on Numerics and can be taken in Vienna (Austria) or Hamburg (Germany).
Then for Year2 each partner institution offers a specific curriculum or study path:
Semester4 is dedicated to thesis work.
Mathematical modelling refers to the use of mathematics and related computational tools to bring real-world, challenging and important socio-economic and industrial problems into a form simple enough so that a good solution can be found in a reasonable time, while keeping the relevant features of the problem. Constructing models requires knowledge of enough mathematical theory, methods of solution which are really effective and efficient, computational tools at hand to do it, some knowledge of the field of application, and communicative skills to understand the important elements from experts in that field. Our master's programme tries to put together all these elements to produce professionals able to work in different relevant fields with the highest intellectual level and state-of-the-art tools.
Effective modelling and simulation is an art that require a lot of practice, so that problem solving, project development and team work are aspects that should be highlighted in any training programme, as our Consortium knows perfectly. On the other hand, the abstraction behind the specific application is necessary to realise that the same base tools can be applied, with the needed changes, to very different situations in various engineering fields.
The language of the whole course is exclusively English at each of our five universities. Students must also attend (and acquire the relating credits of) a course of basic Italian language (first semester) and German language (second semester). Students will also have the opportunity to attend local language courses during their second year (spent at one of the five partners).
The area of applied mathematics on which this project is focused is a fundamental scientific field for a number of key technologies and sciences. The areas of the proposed tracks connect very well with various branches of the European high-tech industry, and one of the goals of the project is to enhance these connections by means of the release of well prepared professionals and researchers.
Career opportunities for graduates will typically arise in research and development laboratories, especially those defining and testing numerical models and procedures, either working for an specific sector or with a broader scope. Also, in big or medium size enterprises possessing their own research department or a division with an orientation towards research, in public or privately held Sector Technology Centres, and at computing centres involved in data processing or the creation of numerical codes for the industry.
Click here to view the results of a recent survey taken by our graduates about their overall experience in our MSc and their work experience after having graduated.
The graduates will be able to apply successfully for PhD programmes if they wish so, as has happened for the three already completed cycles. In all the countries of the Consortium members, the programme has been validated as enabling the holder of the MSc degree to enter a local PhD programme. A good percentage of our students seem indeed to prefer pursuing a PhD before going to the industry or returning to their countries of origin. The intended level of the programme, together with the initial selection of the students, allows affirming that most of them could follow a successful academic career, after a suitable PhD.
This one-year master's course provides training in the application of mathematics to a wide range of problems in science and technology. Emphasis is placed on the formulation of problems, on the analytical and numerical techniques for a solution and the computation of useful results.
By the end of the course students should be able to formulate a well posed problem in mathematical terms from a possibly sketchy verbal description, carry out appropriate mathematical analysis, select or develop an appropriate numerical method, write a computer program which gives sensible answers to the problem, and present and interpret these results for a possible client. Particular emphasis is placed on the need for all these parts in the problem solving process, and on the fact that they frequently interact and cannot be carried out sequentially.
The course consists of both taught courses and a dissertation. To complete the course you must complete 13 units.
There are four core courses which you must complete (one unit each), which each usually consist of 24 lectures, classes and an examination. There is one course on mathematical methods and one on numerical analysis in both Michaelmas term and Hilary term. Each course is assessed by written examination in Week 0 of the following term.
Additionally, you must choose at least least one special topic in the area of modelling and one in computation (one unit each). There are around twenty special topics to choose from, spread over all three academic terms, each usually consisting for 12 to 16 lectures and a mini project, which culminates in a written report of around 20 pages. Topics covered include mathematical biology, fluid mechanics, perturbation methods, numerical solution of differential equations and scientific programming.
You must also undertake at least one case study in modelling and one in scientific computing (one unit each), normally consisting of four weeks of group work, an oral presentation and a report delivered in Hilary term.
There is also a dissertation (four units) of around 50 pages, which does not necessarily need to represent original ideas. Since there is another MSc focussed on mathematical finance specifically, the MSc in Mathematical and Computational Finance, you are not permitted to undertake a dissertation in this field.
You will normally accumulate four units in core courses, three units in special topics, two units in case studies and four units in the dissertation. In addition, you will usually attend classes in mathematical modelling, practical numerical analysis and additional skills during Michaelmas term.
In the first term, students should expect their weekly schedule to consist of around seven hours of core course lectures and seven hours of modelling, practical numerical analysis and additional skills classes, then a further two hours of lectures for each special topic course followed. In addition there are about three hours of problem solving classes to go through core course exercises and students should expect to spend time working through the exercises then submitting them for marking prior to the class. There are slightly fewer contact hours in the second term, but students will spend more time working in groups on the case studies.
In the third term there are some special topic courses, including one week intensive computing courses, but the expectation is that students will spend most of the third term and long vacation working on their dissertations. During this time, students should expect to work hours that are equivalent to full-time working hours, although extra hours may occasionally be needed. Students are expected to write special topic and case study reports during the Christmas and Easter vacations, as well as revising for the core course written examinations.
Visit the Institute for Transport Studies at our Masters Open Days.
Mathematical models are fundamental to how we understand, analyse and design transportation systems, but these models face challenges from the rapidly changing nature of mobility.
Innovative technologies are being harnessed to deliver new approaches to transport services, and huge volumes of data create new opportunities to examine how patterns of movement are evolving.
If you’re a highly numerate graduate with a desire to apply your quantitative skills to the real world, or a practitioner working in the sector, this course will take you to the next level and prepare you for a career as a transport modelling specialist.
97% of our graduates find employment in a professional or managerial role, or continue with further studies.*
Experience a course designed in collaboration with employers, learning skills the industry desperately needs to unlock the full potential of big data.
Learn to think creatively, beyond the standard application of established solutions, and use your technical expertise across multiple scenarios.
Develop and apply mathematical models to analyse and improve the performance of transportation networks and flows:
Experience what it is like to be part of a project team working across disciplinary boundaries within the transport sector. Through this, gain insights into how modelling, environmental science, planning, economics and engineering can work together to develop sustainable solutions to global challenges. This industry-inspired approach will enable you to apply your knowledge to real-world issues in the field.
Your colleagues will be among the best and brightest from the UK and across the globe. Together you will learn mathematical modelling skills that can be applied to design smarter transport solutions founded on robust methods.
With a strong focus on industry needs, our degrees will prepare you for employment in your chosen field. They will also address the multi-disciplinary nature of transport – enabling you to make effective decisions for clients, employers and society.
Other Study Options
This programme is available part time, allowing you to combine study with other commitments. You can work to fund your studies, or gain a new qualification without giving up an existing job. We aim to be flexible in helping you to put together a part-time course structure that meets your academic goals while recognising the constraints on your study time.
You can also study this subject at Postgraduate Diploma level, part time or full time, or at Postgraduate Certificate level with our PGCert in Transport Studies.
Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Computer Modelling in Engineering at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
This MRes in Computer Modelling in Engineering programme consists of two streams: students may choose to specialise in either structures or fluids. The taught modules provide a good grounding in computer modelling and in the finite element method, in particular.
Computer simulation is now an established discipline that has an important role to play in engineering, science and in newly emerging areas of interdisciplinary research.
Using mathematical modelling as the basis, computational methods provide procedures which, with the aid of the computer, allow complex problems to be solved. The techniques play an ever-increasing role in industry and there is further emphasis to apply the methodology to other important areas such as medicine and the life sciences.
The Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational Engineering, within which this course is run, has excellent computing facilities, including a state-of-the-art multi-processor super computer with virtual reality facilities and high-speed networking.
This Computer Modelling in Engineering course is suitable for those who are interested in gaining a solid understanding of computer modelling, specialising in either structures or fluids, and taking the skills gained through this course to develop their career in industry or research.
If you would like to qualify as a Chartered Engineer, this course is accredited with providing the additional educational components for the further learning needed to qualify as a Chartered Engineer, as set out by UK and European engineering professional institutions.
Modules on the Computer Modelling in Engineering programme typically include:
• Finite Element and Computational Analysis
• Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations
• Solid Mechanics
• Advanced Fluid Mechanics
• Dynamics and Transient Analysis
• Communication Skills for Research Engineers
• MRes Research Project
The MRes Computer Modelling in Engineering course is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM).
The Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) is composed of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), and the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE).
The MRes Computer Modelling in Engineering degree is accredited as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) for candidates who have already acquired an Accredited CEng (Partial) BEng(Hons) or an Accredited IEng (Full) BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree.
The MRes Computer Modelling in Engineering degree has been accredited by the JBM under licence from the UK regulator, the Engineering Council.
Accreditation is a mark of assurance that the degree meets the standards set by the Engineering Council in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). An accredited degree will provide you with some or all of the underpinning knowledge, understanding and skills for eventual registration as an Incorporated (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng). Some employers recruit preferentially from accredited degrees, and an accredited degree is likely to be recognised by other countries that are signatories to international accords.
The Civil and Computational Engineering Centre has an extensive track record of industrial collaboration and contributes to many exciting projects, including the aerodynamics for the current World Land Speed Record car, Thrust SSC, and the future BLOODHOUND SSC, and the design of the double-decker super-jet Airbus A380.
Examples of recent collaborators and sponsoring agencies include: ABB, Audi, BAE Systems, British Gas, Cinpress, DERA, Dti, EADS, EPSRC, European Union, HEFCW, HSE, Hyder, Mobil, NASA, Quinshield, Rolls-Royce, South West Water, Sumitomo Shell, Unilever, US Army, WDA.
“I was attracted to the MRes course at Swansea as the subject matter was just what I was looking for.
I previously worked as a Cardiovascular Research Assistant at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne. My employer, the Head of the Cardiology Department, encouraged me to develop skills in modelling as this has a lot of potential to help answer some current questions and controversies in the field. I was looking for a Master’s level course that could provide me with computational modelling skills that I could apply to blood flow problems, particularly those arising from congenital heart disease.
The College of Engineering at Swansea is certainly a good choice. In the computational modelling area, it is one of the leading centres in the world (they wrote the textbook, literally). A lot of people I knew in Swansea initially came to study for a couple of years, but then ended up never leaving. I can see how that could happen.”
Jonathan Mynard, MRes Computer Modelling in Engineering, then PhD at the University of Melbourne, currently post-doctoral fellow at the Biomedical Simulation Laboratory, University of Toronto, Canada
Employment in a wide range of industries, which require the skills developed during the Computer Modelling in Engineering course, from aerospace to the medical sector. Computational modelling techniques have developed in importance to provide solutions to complex problems and as a graduate of this course, you will be able to utilise your highly sought-after skills in industry or research.
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 ranks Engineering at Swansea as 10th in the UK for the combined score in research quality across the Engineering disciplines.
World-leading research
The REF shows that 94% of research produced by our academic staff is of World-Leading (4*) or Internationally Excellent (3*) quality. This has increased from 73% in the 2008 RAE.
Research pioneered at the College of Engineering harnesses the expertise of academic staff within the department. This ground-breaking multidisciplinary research informs our world-class teaching with several of our staff leaders in their fields.
Highlights of the Engineering results according to the General Engineering Unit of Assessment:
Research Environment at Swansea ranked 2nd in the UK
Research Impact ranked 10th in the UK
Research Power (3*/4* Equivalent staff) ranked 10th in the UK
Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Computer Modelling and Finite Elements in Engineering Mechanics at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
Swansea University has been at the forefront of international research in the area of computational engineering. Internationally renowned engineers at Swansea pioneered the development of numerical techniques, such as the finite element method, and associated computational procedures that have enabled the solution of many complex engineering problems. As a student on the Master's course in Computer Modelling and Finite Elements in Engineering Mechanics, you will find the course utilises the expertise of academic staff to provide high-quality postgraduate training.
Computer simulation is now an established discipline that has an important role to play in engineering, science and in newly emerging areas of interdisciplinary research.
Using mathematical modelling as the basis, computational methods provide procedures which, with the aid of the computer, allow complex problems to be solved. The techniques play an ever-increasing role in industry and there is further emphasis to apply the methodology to other important areas such as medicine and the life sciences.
This Computer Modelling and Finite Elements in Engineering Mechanics course provides a solid foundation in computer modelling and the finite element method in particular.
The Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational Engineering, within which this course is run, has excellent computing facilities, including a state-of-the-art multi-processor super computer with virtual reality facilities and high-speed networking.
Modules on the Computer Modelling and Finite Elements in Engineering Mechanics course can vary each year but you could expect to study:
Reservoir Modelling and Simulation
Solid Mechanics
Finite Element Computational Analysis
Advanced Fluid Mechanics
Computational Plasticity
Fluid-Structure Interaction
Nonlinear Continuum Mechanics
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Dynamics and Transient Analysis
Computational Case Study
Communication Skills for Research Engineers
Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations
The MSc Computer Modelling and Finite Elements in Engineering Mechanics course is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM).
The Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) is composed of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), and the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE).
The MSc Computer Modelling and Finite Elements in Engineering Mechanics degree is accredited as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) for candidates who have already acquired an Accredited CEng (Partial) BEng(Hons) or an Accredited IEng (Full) BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree.
The MSc Computer Modelling and Finite Elements in Engineering Mechanics degree has been accredited by the JBM under licence from the UK regulator, the Engineering Council.
Accreditation is a mark of assurance that the degree meets the standards set by the Engineering Council in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). An accredited degree will provide you with some or all of the underpinning knowledge, understanding and skills for eventual registration as an Incorporated (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng). Some employers recruit preferentially from accredited degrees, and an accredited degree is likely to be recognised by other countries that are signatories to international accords.
Our new home at the innovative Bay Campus provides some of the best university facilities in the UK, in an outstanding location.
Hardware includes a 450 cpu Cluster, high-end graphics workstations and high-speed network links. Extensive software packages include both in-house developed and 'off-the-shelf' commercial.
The Zienkiewicz Centre for Computational Engineering has an extensive track record of industrial collaboration and contributes to many exciting projects, including the aerodynamics for the current World Land Speed Record car, Thrust SSC, and the future BLOODHOUND SSC, and the design of the double-decker super-jet Airbus A380.
Employment in a wide range of industries, which require the skills developed during the Computer Modelling and Finite Elements in Engineering Mechanics course, from aerospace to the medical sector. Computational modelling techniques have developed in importance to provide solutions to complex problems and as a graduate of this course in Computer Modelling and Finite Elements in Engineering Mechanics, you will be able to utilise your highly sought-after skills in industry or research.
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 ranks Engineering at Swansea as 10th in the UK for the combined score in research quality across the Engineering disciplines.
The REF assesses the quality of research in the UK Higher Education sector, assuring us of the standards we strive for.
World-Leading Research
The REF shows that 94% of research produced by our academic staff is of World-Leading (4*) or Internationally Excellent (3*) quality. This has increased from 73% in the 2008 RAE.
Research pioneered at the College of Engineering harnesses the expertise of academic staff within the department. This ground-breaking multidisciplinary research informs our world-class teaching with several of our staff leaders in their fields.
