The Bachelor of Science with Honours degree is made up of one full-time year of coursework that includes a research component. Subject areas range from Astronomy to Statistcs and a student may complete the programme in two subjects if desired (combined honours). Big Data! Those two words describe one of the new hot topics in mathematical sciences. The Computational and Applied Mathematical Sciences degree programme will give you access to this, and other fast growing areas of computational mathematics and statistics. The gap between the demand for graduates with computational mathematical science skills and the supply is predicted to increase, and there is no doubt that a graduate with good skills in this area will be in demand. The American Statistics Association predicted that by 2018 the United States alone could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical. In NZ the prediction is that “New Zealand is going to be short of 1800 data scientists by 2017” (NZ Herald article). This is an area of mathematical science that will open up a new world to you.

Mathematics and Statistics graduates are widely employed in industry, commerce, government departments and teaching, but job opportunities exist in many less obvious fields. Many jobs require specific mathematical or statistical skills while others require the ability to think precisely and reason logically - skills your mathematical studies will hone. A broad background and interest in a variety of mathematical areas, computation and science will make you highly employable, so you should aim to take papers in subjects that will expand your knowledge of applications of Mathematics and Statistics - for instance in Accounting, Biology, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Management, and Physics. There are very good job opportunities in financial mathematics and in computing combined with Mathematics, and new opportunities emerging in the field of Data Science. The demand for Statisticians has also burgeoned in recent years. Canterbury’s leading-edge IT sector is facing a shortage of qualified graduates, meaning UC Computer Science graduates are in high demand.