Degree in Maths and Statistics

[MathsAndStatisticsDegree]

DD is studying Maths, Further Maths, Computer Science and Physics A' level. Her predicted grades are AABB. She has decided she wants to study Maths and Statistics and would like a campus university that also offers a year in industry. Any advice about which university would meet her criteria with her predicted grades would be very much appreciated. Thank you x

My nephew is currently studying this degree at Royal Holloway and he had similar grades I believe.

You could look on Unifrog to find a uni. I just wanted to say that my DS did a degree with a year in industry but it turned out they were expected to find their own placement. We didn't have the connections to do this so he had to skip that year. So make sure the uni your DD chooses offers support in finding a placement.

@MathsAndStatisticsDegree There is a whole thread on degrees with a year in industry! It’s unbelievably hard getting one! It’s so hard, many give up. The unis don’t have a bank of placements. They help students write a cv and little else. Students then might go through 5 rounds of recruitment! They don’t see a human being for 4 of them! I also don’t think you need a year out doing anything. Grads get jobs doing this degree. So concentrate on the best uni possible and get the best degree possible. Others are doing work in the holidays. Thats a very good back
up.

Universities won’t find the placement for them. There are multiple sites for placement vacancies. Please don’t blame the university or ‘not having connections’ for your son not securing a placement. They are an excellent way to cv build and explore the industry, but they can be difficult to secure

@Pinkissmart the university didn't give him any help at all. He had no idea there were any sites to find placements, if there are any for his field of study.

Loughborough do that degree with a year in industry, and offer help in finding a placement. And it's as big a campus as you could wish for

BSc Mathematics with Statistics (with placement year) at Lancaster University (campus uni with collegiate structure) has a typical offer of AAA which is reduced to AAB if Further Maths A level is offered by the applicant.
www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/mathematics-with-statistics-placement-year-bsc-hons-gcg3/2025/#course-entry

Well!! @MathsAndStatisticsDegree @TizerorFizz
My Dd is at York, and has just this week landed an internship at a big international company.
Had a six hr interview after a few rounds of testing ( kind of like the 11+, she said).
York placement team have have provided her with interview practice, put her in touch with last years interns who are currently on placements, provided a computer with a camera as hers wasn’t up to scratch.
Followed up on all other rejections and stages with other companies she’s applied for, as well as encouraging her to apply to placements which weren’t even advertised.
I can’t speak for other unis, but York placement team are definitely fabulous!!

Or your YP could have made numerous applications like other students have to. It isn't about contacts these days but strict application processes. Some students have to apply to between 60 and 80 to find their placement. Its not for the feint hearted but most actually engage in the process and don't expect uni to hand it to them on a plate.

@MathsAndStatisticsDegree Have a look at Lancaster.

@MathsAndStatisticsDegree If your DD is predicted A in Maths and an A in Further Maths, then she would meet the standard offer for BSc Maths with Stats at U of York (AAB). This is not advertised as being offered with a placement year but U of York does allow placement years to be requested for many (but not all) of its undergraduate courses, so worth your DD checking. Like Lancaster, U of York is also a campus uni with a collegiate structure.

Honestly uni of York has been great!
I've had other children at Cardiff and Birmingham, they don’t compare.

@Spirallingdownwards this is the first I've heard of how placements are found. He wasn't given this information by his university. I was merely trying to warn the OP that the placement isn't a given.

@StuntNun @Spirallingdownwards
even at York I think the students do have to be proactive, it’s not handed to them on a plate!
But York does have an up to date list of what’s open and available if you go and ask them for it!! And they definitely will help applications, cv’s, interviews etc….

My DD definitely got her placement entirely independently with no contacts

Hi, OP -

I highly recommend Lancaster School of Maths. They have made huge strides on the Teaching and Learning side and in the latest Research Exercise Framework (national research rankings), now excelling in both aspects, and they have strong student satisfaction. A lovely campus in a great location, also.

York and Loughborough are also strong choices. I know Loughborough as perhaps the UK’s leader in STEM tertiary Teaching and Learning. It is good to read the positive experiences students are having at York.

At the risk of introducing a fly into the ointment, I wonder if your DD has considered doing a Data Science degree? Lancaster and York offer this as Joint Hons between School of Maths and School of CS. It involves training in Maths, Statistics and CS and is an extremely hot field for employment in a variety of sectors. One of the 2 unis says the standard offer is AAA but they will also offer AABB and York offers a placement year.

FM is a superb qualification; CS at A level is not required - CS at uni is different and more interesting!

Your DD may well prefer to stick with Maths and Stats, which is an excellent degree. I think it is worth taking a little while to make the choice between them, if she hasn’t already.

@littlemissprosseco What percentage of those wanting placements actually got them? Were there enough to go round? Many Unis don’t have enough and don’t tell students how ludicrously competitive it is. One success story is great but how many got nothing? That’s the important stat? How many placements did they advertise vs students looking for them?

@MathsAndStatisticsDegree
@TizerorFizz
Without wanting to get drawn into an actual argument, we all know the world we live in is competitive. My point being, don’t be negative, there are many good unis that offer help out there. The students themselves have to be very proactive, and I do feel that that is where some of the problems lie.
However they shouldn’t be discouraged before they even start…….

@littlemissprosseco I think you are hugely optimistic and many parents were on the other thread saying the opposite. They thought the unis were going to help but 5 stages and applications to 20 plus employers with nothing to show for it, is a huge commitment. These were not poor unis. There are not enough placements and it’s hugely unfair to say dc didn’t bother. Some get lucky but many find they have been over promised. Come up with the success stats and I will change my mind but many students are very disappointed. With maths it’s just not necessary either. Numerate people get jobs.

If it’s stressful, lengthy and hugely time consuming taking dc away from studies, there needs to be evaluation of this. Too many students think the unis find the placements and are surprised and upset when they don’t. So eyes open is always best.

As others have said, I think that Lancaster is probably the place she's looking for.

Although, just as @poetryandwine mentioned above, there are other similar courses that she may wish to consider as well. As well as Data Science another which your DD might wish to consider is MORSE (Maths, Operational Research, Statistics & Economics) with a year in industry.

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/mathematics-operational-research-statistics-and-economics-morse-industry-bsc-hons-gln1/2025/

Although the university gives assistance in finding a placement, getting one is not guaranteed. Indeed, they say:

"If you are unsuccessful in securing a suitable placement for your third year, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent non-placement degree scheme and would continue with your studies at Lancaster, finishing your degree after your third year. The University offers a range of shorter placement and internship opportunities for which you would be welcome to apply."
.

And just to throw in a bit of a curve ball, how about Warwick?

Warwick is very highly rated indeed when it comes to Maths & Statistics, MORSE and Data Science (I would argue, more highly rated than Lancaster but that's besides the point)

You can also do a year in industry with any of these courses. They don't have specific courses with a placement year, but on any of these courses they say:

"You may additionally choose to spend an intercalated year in an approved industry, business or university between your last two years at Warwick, subject to availability and to satisfactory academic performance."

Warwick generally asks for higher grades though. Although if she takes the STEP (Sixth Term Exam Paper) or TMUA (Test of Mathematics for University Admission) and gets a reasonable grade then they offer a lower A*AA for those taking Maths and Further Maths.

Birmingham uni slightly higher grade requirement at AAA, but worth a look?

Apologies if someone else has already mentioned this, but I would question the wisdom of doing 4 A Levels with those predicted grades. She might be better dropping physics or CS and using the extra time to get up to 3 As. Nowhere makes offers based on 4 subjects afaik and if she applies for an 'aspirational' course she may stand a better chance of making the required grades if she's able to concentrate on her best 3.

I agree with @Another2Cats that MORSE is another excellent degree. I thought of mentioning it and I am glad that she did.

Warwick may not be a good choice for the DD from OP’s description, however. That’s fine as there are plenty of others.

I think three A levels is generally a sound idea also, unless you are excelling in all and need the challenge of a fourth.

However it isn’t true that unis will not make offers based on four; we have unearthed alternative four AL offers well suited to this DD above. It is true that every uni in the land will make offers based on three ALs if that is what you are signed up to and that is the norm for your school. A few view FM as half an AL, particularly in combination with Maths and Physics, but they provide guidance on their websites.

The trend to four ALs originated with schools trying to give their pupils an edge. It has had mixed success.

The added advantage of the Morse course at Lancaster is that the lead dept is the Lancaster Uni Management School (LUMS), so Morse students get addition support from LUMS with regards placements. Set against this, when my DC looked, Morse at Lancaster has a lower balance of Maths and Stats units (vs Econ, Operational Mgmt) compared with other unis offering Morse eg U of Southampton (also a campus uni and a standard offer of AAA or AABB for both Morse and for Maths & Stats).

Thank you so much everyone for all your advice and suggestions - it is very much appreciated and it has certainly made us think about issues and other options we hadn't known about or considered. Unfortunately we missed several open days due to illness. DD has visited Leeds Uni and liked this. Also Birmingham although she may not meet their entry requirements. I was thinking perhaps Nottingham Uni as she likes sports, their sports facilities look good (and the campus looks less concretety!) Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of these unis?