Modern science relies absolutely on applied mathematics. It is the job of an applied mathematician to show how mathematical techniques can be applied to science and technology to answer interesting questions. Our goal is to use mathematical equations to study real-world problems rather than to study equations for their own sake. The Department of Mathematics uses mathematics to study such diverse areas as physiology, ice flow, floating runways, astronomy, quantum chemistry, nonlinear systems, the human genome and many other areas. Elements of these research areas are incorporated into our courses wherever possible. Each of the courses in the Applied Mathematics programme deals with some aspect of the "Mathematical Models" that are used for describing problems from a variety of areas within Science and Technology. The core skills taught in these courses are: How to build mathematical models. The mathematical ideas most useful for modeling Solution of models, often by computation

With a good degree in quantitative methods (mathematics, statistics, operations research and computing), career opportunities may include industry or government, computer development, insurance, meteorology, traffic engineering, systems analysis, computing programming, statistics, biometrics or operations research, and many other fields. There is also currently a strong demand for mathematics teachers. Recent University of Auckland graduates work as/in: Actuaries or actuarial associates NIWA scientists AgResearch Investment Banks Financial, Business and Risk Analysts National Institute of Health, USA Biotech companies Academic careers