Study Mathematics at Otago

Sam van der Weerden:

Hi, I’m Sam van der Weerden. I studied philosophy and physics in my first couple of years at uni but quickly changed to mathematics. I was drawn to math because there are so many little moments where you go, “Aha!”—things start to click together. It brings in different aspects of study.

Now I’m in my fourth year, doing honours, and I’m planning to move into either postgraduate study or public transport analysis and planning later on in life. I think it’s really cool that, already in fourth year, I’m starting to see things that can be applied to those aspects of society and industry.

Mathematics is really unique because it describes the nature of the universe, but it can also describe a lot of other things, including everyday life—like just taking the bus. So yeah, I think it’s a really cool degree to get into.

Dr Jörg Hennig

My name is Jörg Hennig, and I’m a senior lecturer in applied mathematics in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Otago. Today, I want to tell you a little bit about studying mathematics.

Do you enjoy the feeling of solving a challenging problem? Do you have an appreciation for the beauty of mathematics? Do you like mathematical equations and abstract thinking? Then a math degree might be the right thing for you.

Why should you study mathematics? Math is the language of the universe. Everything, from the spread of the smallest viruses to the expansion of the entire universe, can be described in terms of mathematical equations.

Studying math also gives you transferable skills that are recognised by many employers, such as critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and communication skills. With a math degree, you are very flexible.

If you study other degrees—say, microbiology—you become a microbiologist. If you study nursing, you become a nurse. But mathematics opens many different career doors. About one-quarter of our graduates work in education, another quarter in finance, banking, and insurance, and the rest in diverse fields such as government administration, academia, research, software development, and IT. As you can see, there are many options with mathematics.

Why should you study at Otago? The University of Otago is in the top 1% of universities worldwide, according to the QS World University Rankings. Otago’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics also has one of the largest groups of motivated young lecturers in New Zealand.

With the integration of mathematics and statistics, we offer excellent combined programmes. Moreover, our lecturers are not just teachers—they are carrying out cutting-edge research, which guarantees research-informed teaching and provides an entry point for student research. Otago is also well known for its campus life and its support of culture and its diverse student population.

What is the structure of a math degree? You can complete a mathematics major in three years as part of a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts. For the math major, you need to take 11 or more papers from mathematics, statistics, and computational modelling, plus additional papers to meet the bachelor’s degree requirements.

Some of these papers are required, while others can be chosen to suit your particular interests. This means you can tailor your university experience to what you actually want to do when you graduate.

If you want to know more about the degree structure, all details are available on the department and university web pages and in the guides to enrolment.