oxford maths dissertations

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Research Guide for Mathematics: Home

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Purpose of this guide

This guide is intended for students and researchers studying Mathematics at the University of Oxford, although students and researchers from any field may find it useful.

Use this guide to find out about books and online resources for Maths, including ebooks, ejournals, bibliographic databases.

Finding books for Mathematics

Oxford has a wide range of ebooks for Mathematics and printed books, including the main science collection in the Radcliffe Science Library .  For more detailed info about our book collections visit our books page  of this guide.

• SOLO Search SOLO, the University's resource discovery tool, for print and ebooks at Oxford. You can search by author, title or subject and limit to a specific library or online resources.
• SOLO user guide If you need help with SOLO, take a look at this guide for tips on searching, managing results and using your SOLO account.

Key journals

A lot of journals, as well as being available in print, are available online and can be searched via SOLO or eJournals A-Z. Below are a few of the top journals for Mathematics below but you can find a longer list on the journals page  of this guide.

• Acta mathematica
• Acta numerica
• Annals of mathematics
• Journal of differential geometry
• Journal of the American Mathematical Society
• Mathematics (BrowZine) Mathematics and Statistics journal content from the Bodleian Libraries from 2005 onwards.

Key databases

Oxford subscribes to many bibliographic databases. They can be used to locate journal articles, conference proceedings, books, patents, images, data and more. You can find some of the key databases for Mathematics below, but take a look at the  databases page  of this guide for more titles.

Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship, the American Mathematical Society fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education, and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and to everyday life.

The Society has over 32,000 individual members and 550 institutional members in the United States and around the world. Programs and services for AMS members and the mathematical community include professional programs such as meetings and conferences, surveys, employment services; publications including Mathematical Reviews (a database of over 2 million items covering over 60 years of mathematics literature), journals, and over 3,000 books in print; support for Young Scholars Programs and the Mathematical Moments program of the Public Awareness Office; resources such as MR Lookup for researchers and authors; and a Washington office that connects the mathematical community with the broader scientific community and with decision makers who determine science funding.

The AMS headquarters is located in Providence, Rhode Island, and the Society has offices also in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Washington D.C.

The Society was founded in 1865 for the promotion and extension of mathematical knowledge and was granted a Royal Charter in 1965. The Society is registered as a charity with the United Kingdom Charity Commissioners. It is the major British learned society for Mathematics, with a nationwide membership and several hundred overseas members.

MathSciNet is a comprehensive database covering the world's mathematical literature since 1864. It provides Web access to the bibliographic data and reviews of mathematical research literature contained in the Mathematical Reviews Database.

The Mathematical Reviews Database is the database of bibliographic information and reviews created and maintained by the American Mathematical Society. It continues the tradition and extends the scope of the work begun by the paper publication Mathematical Reviews in 1940. Journals, conference proceedings, and books of mathematics research are covered. The Mathematical Reviews Database is published in a variety of formats, including MathSciNet, the monthly Mathematical Reviews, and Current Mathematical Publications.

Mathematical Reviews is a paper publication containing the bibliographic information and review information of those items in the Mathematical Reviews Database for which there are reviews.

Current Mathematical Publications is published 17 times per year and contains the bibliographic information and classifications (using the Mathematics Subject Classification) of the classified items in the Mathematical Reviews Database.

MathSciNet, the Mathematical Reviews Database, Mathematical Reviews, and Current Mathematical Publications are all produced by the American Mathematical Society.

PhysMath Central is an independent publishing platform operated by BioMed Central committed to providing immediate open access to peer-reviewed physics and mathematics research.

SciFinder on the Web is a research discovery tool that allows you to explore the world’s literature in Chemistry and related scientific disciplines including biochemistry, biomedical sciences, chemical engineering, materials science, pharmacology, agriculture, etc. The CAS information service indexes and abstracts information from more than 10000 major scientific journals, 57 patent authorities around the world, conference proceedings, technical reports, etc and produces the following databases:

CAplus (Scientific Literature and Patents)

CAS REGISTRY (Chemical Substances)

CASREACT (Reactions)

CHEMCATS (Chemical Catalogs)

CHEMLIST (Regulated Chemicals)

MARPAT (Markush Structures)

Scopus is a bibliographic database for science, medicine and some social sciences. It covers over 25,000 journals and over 300,000 books from over 7,000 publishers worldwide, providing access to over 90 million records going back as far as the 18th century.

It includes the content from a number of other major databases: Medline (medicine) 1966 - , Embase (medicine) 1970 - , Compendex (engineering) 1970 - , Geobase (geography) 1980 - .

• Web of Science more... less... Alternative names: WoK ; WoS ; Web of Knowledge. Provides access to and cross-searching of databases in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine, social sciences and humanities. It includes Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, Arts and Humanities Citation Index, Data Citation Index. Also provides access to Journal Citation Reports for sciences and social sciences.
• Databases A-Z A full, browsable list of Oxford's online databases.

Lead Librarian, Physical and Applied Sciences

Key libraries

• Radcliffe Science Library The Radcliffe Science Library (RSL) is Oxford University's main teaching and research science library.
• Whitehead Library The Whitehead Library is the departmental graduate library located in the Mathematical Institute.

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Theses and dissertations

Read our guidance for finding and accessing theses and dissertations held by the Bodleian Libraries and other institutions.

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• Dissertation Topics Titles 2022-23
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• Dissertation Topics Titles 2023-24

Mathematical Institute

Please note the following topics are only open to Part C Maths, Maths & Phil, Maths & CompSci and OMMS students. For current students please see the full proposals here .

Representations of finite Hecke algebras - Prof D Ciubotaru

Conservation Laws of Chemical Reaction Networks - Dr H Rahkooy and Prof H Harrington

Applications of Syzygies in Biochemical Networks - Dr H Rahkooy and Prof H Harrington

Algebraic Methods for Maximum Likelihood Estimation - Dr J Coons

Homotopy Type Theory - Prof Y Kremnitzer

Mathematical Consciousness Science - Prof Y Kremnitzer

Equations in finite groups and probability - Prof N Nikolov

Penrose’s impulsive gravitational waves, Lorentzian synthetic spaces and optimal transport - Prof A Mondino

Optimal transport theory applied to PDEs - Dr A Esposito

Convolution equations and mean-periodicity - Prof J Kristensen

On the regularity for elliptic equations and systems - Prof L Nguyen

Cauchy Problems in General Relativity - Prof Q Wang

C*-Algebras - Prof S White

Geometry, Number Theory and Topology

Applications of Topological Data Analysis in Physical Oceanography - Dr A Brown and Prof H Harrington

Number of solutions to equations over finite fields - Prof A Lauder

Modular Forms and Elliptic Curve - Dr A Horawa

The Manin-Mumford conjecture - Prof D Rossler

The Chebotarev density theorem and its effective versions - Prof E Breuillard

Topological data analysis of CODEX multiplexed images in colorectal cancer - Dr I Yoon, Prof H Harrington and Prof H Byrne

The Twin Prime Conjecture - Prof J Maynard

Iwasawa Theory - Prof J Newton

Almost-periodicity in additive number theory - Dr T Bloom

Local Fields and the Hasse Principle - Prof V Flynn

Ramsey theories - Prof E Hrushovski

Kim Indepdence - Prof E Hrushovski

Mathematical Methods and Applications 

Untangling Knots Through Curve Repulsion - Dr R Bailo

Algebraic Topology and Machine Learning for Modelling Flow in Porous Media - Dr A Yim

Droplets on lubricated solid surfaces - Prof D Vella

Pattern formation and travelling waves in heterogeneous populations using aggregation-diffusion equations - Dr D Martinson

Modelling solid-body tides - Dr H Hay and Prof I Hewitt

Evolution of thin liquid films - Prof J Oliver

How directed are directed networks - Prof R Lambiotte

Mathematical Physics

The Classification of 2D Conformal Field Theories - Prof A Henriques

Formation of Planetary Rings - A Granular Gas Approach - Dr R Bailo

Numerical Analysis and Data Science

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare - Dr A Kormilitzin

AAA Rational Approximation - Prof N Trefethen

Flood prediction using machine learning - Dr Y Sun

Topics in Randomised Numerical Linear Algebra - Prof Y Nakatsukasa

Stochastics, Discrete Mathematics and Information

String graphs - Prof A Scott

Categorical Approaches to Probability - Dr D Lee

From algorithmic learning in a random world to algorithmic learning - Prof H Oberhauser

Black-Scholes versus stochastic volatility models as hedging tools - Prof M Monoyios

Wasserstein Space of Measures and Distributionally Robust Optimization - Prof J Obloj

History of Mathematics

Students wishing to do a dissertation based on the History of Mathematics should contact Christopher Hollings at  @email  by Wednesday of week 1 with a short draft proposal. All decisions will be communicated to students by the end of week 2.

All supported proposals , will then be referred to Projects Committee who meet in week 4 for final approval. With the support of Dr Hollings students must submit a COD Dissertation Proposal Form to Projects Committee by the end of week 3.

Department of Statistics

Please note that Part C Mathematics and Statistics students MUST select from the list of the below topics. OMMS students are also able to select the Statistics and Probability projects from the Department of Statistics.

It may be possible for a Maths student to complete a Statistics dissertation, however, the priority when allocating will be the Maths & Stats and OMMS students. If you are interested, please email  @email  for more information.

An alternative to the log-likelihood for clustering - Dr G Mena

Applications of Machine Learning to Drug Discovery - Prof G M Morris

Bayesian analysis of rank data - Prof G Nicholls

Brownian bees - branching and selection - Prof J Berestycki

Epidemiology models with contract tracing - Prof J Berestycki and Dr F Foutel-Rodier

Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation models of molecular scaffold assembly - Dr D Nissley

Knowledge (Self) distillation in machine learning - Prof F Caron

Limit order book and fundamentals-driven embeddings of financial instruments for portfolio selection - Prof M Cucuringu

Multiple testing and hypothesis aggregation - Prof D Steinsaltz

Parking functions, trees, and parking on trees - Prof C Goldschmidt

Partially Stochastic Networks - Dr T Rainforth

Probability and Statistics for Genetics - Prof R Davies

Proximal Causal Inference - Prof R Evans

Separation results for methods based on implicit regularization - Prof P Rebeschini

Two Sample Mendelian Randomisation - Prof F Windmeijer

Understanding COVID-19 in New York State schools in the 2020-23 and 2021-22 school years - Prof C Donnelly

Upper and Lower Bounds on the Probability of Finite Union of Events - Dr J Yang

MSc in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics

• Entry requirements
• Funding and Costs

College preference

• How to Apply

About the course

The course provides a high-level, internationally competitive training in mathematical and theoretical physics, right up to the level of modern research. 

The course concentrates on the main areas of modern mathematical and theoretical physics: elementary-particle theory, including string theory, condensed matter theory (both quantum and soft matter), theoretical astrophysics, plasma physics and the physics of continuous media (including fluid dynamics and related areas usually associated with courses in applied mathematics in the UK system) and mathematical structures underlying physical theory. If you are a physics student with a strong interest in theoretical physics or a mathematics student keen to apply high-level mathematics to physical systems and their underpinning mathematics, both pure and applied, this is a course for you.

The course offers considerable flexibility and choice; you will be able to choose a path reflecting your intellectual tastes or career choices. This arrangement caters to you if you prefer a broad theoretical education across subject areas or if you have already firmly set your sights on one of the subject areas, although you are encouraged to explore across sub-field boundaries.

The MSc offers a substantial opportunity for independent study and research in the form of an optional dissertation which may be worth a single or double unit depending on the amount of work involved.

Pattern of learning and teaching

You will have to attend at least ten units' worth of courses, where one unit corresponds to a 16-hour lecture course or equivalent. 

Depending on how many courses you take in total, and how they split between terms, you can expect to attend two, three or four (or, in exceptional cases, five) lecture courses per term. Each lecture course has roughly two one-hour lectures per week supplemented by roughly four 90 minute classes per term.

The remainder of your study time should be spent on self-study, consolidating on the material covered in lectures, working through the problem sheets set for each class and working independently on your dissertation, if you have chosen to undertake one.

Dissertation

You can opt to offer a dissertation as part of your ten units. 

The dissertation is undertaken under the guidance of a supervisor and will typically involve investigating and writing in a particular area of mathematics or physics, without the requirement (while not excluding the possibility) of obtaining original results. A dissertation gives students the opportunity to develop broader transferable skills in the processes of organising, communicating, and presenting their work, and will equip students well for further research or for a wide variety of other careers.

For single unit dissertations you can roughly expect a one hour meeting with your dissertation supervisor at the end of the first term, followed by a further one hour meeting in the second term. Double unit dissertations would have roughly twice this number of  meetings.

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Mathematical Institute and Department of Physics and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Mathematical Institute and Department of Physics.

Your performance will be assessed by one or several of the following means: 

• invigilated written exams
• course work marked on a pass/fail basis
• take-home exams
• mini-projects due shortly after the end of the lecture course.

The modes of assessment for a given course are decided by the course lecturer and will be published at the beginning of each academic year. As a general rule, foundational courses will be offered with an invigilated exam while some of the more advanced courses will typically be relying on the other assessment methods mentioned above. At least four of the ten units must be assessed by an invigilated exam and, therefore, have to be taken from lecture courses which provide this type of assessment. A further three units must be assessed by invigilated written exam, take-home exam or mini-project. Apart from these restrictions, you are free to choose from the available programme of lecture courses.

Graduate destinations

Research in mathematical and theoretical physics or industry.

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made in circumstances of a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.

Entry requirements for entry in 2024-25

Proven and potential academic excellence.

The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying. 

Degree-level qualifications

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:

• a first-class undergraduate degree with honours in mathematics, physics, or a related discipline.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.

If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.

GRE General Test scores

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience

• Publications are not expected.

English language proficiency

This course requires proficiency in English at the University's  higher level . If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level are detailed in the table below.

*Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) † Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)

Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides  further information about the English language test requirement .

Declaring extenuating circumstances

If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.

You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the types of reference that are required in support of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Supporting documents

You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the supporting documents that are required as part of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Performance at interview

Interviews are not normally held as part of the admissions process.

How your application is assessed

Your application will be assessed purely on your proven and potential academic excellence and other entry requirements described under that heading.

References  and  supporting documents  submitted as part of your application, and your performance at interview (if interviews are held) will be considered as part of the assessment process. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed.

An overview of the shortlisting and selection process is provided below. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide  more information about how applications are assessed . 

Shortlisting and selection

Students are considered for shortlisting and selected for admission without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex, sexual orientation, as well as other relevant circumstances including parental or caring responsibilities or social background. However, please note the following:

• socio-economic information may be taken into account in the selection of applicants and award of scholarships for courses that are part of  the University’s pilot selection procedure  and for  scholarships aimed at under-represented groups ;
• country of ordinary residence may be taken into account in the awarding of certain scholarships; and
• protected characteristics may be taken into account during shortlisting for interview or the award of scholarships where the University has approved a positive action case under the Equality Act 2010.

Initiatives to improve access to graduate study

This course is taking part in a continuing pilot programme to improve the selection procedure for graduate applications, in order to ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly.

For this course, socio-economic data (where it has been provided in the application form) will be used to contextualise applications at the different stages of the selection process.  Further information about how we use your socio-economic data  can be found in our page about initiatives to improve access to graduate study.

If you wish, you may submit an additional contextual statement (using the instructions in the How to apply section of this page) to provide further information on your socio-economic background or personal circumstances in support of your application.  Further information about how your contextual statement will be used  can be found in our page about initiatives to improve access to graduate study.

Processing your data for shortlisting and selection

Information about  processing special category data for the purposes of positive action  and  using your data to assess your eligibility for funding , can be found in our Postgraduate Applicant Privacy Policy.

Admissions panels and assessors

All recommendations to admit a student involve the judgement of at least two members of the academic staff with relevant experience and expertise, and must also be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or Admissions Committee (or equivalent within the department).

Admissions panels or committees will always include at least one member of academic staff who has undertaken appropriate training.

Other factors governing whether places can be offered

The following factors will also govern whether candidates can be offered places:

• the ability of the University to provide the appropriate supervision for your studies, as outlined under the 'Supervision' heading in the  About  section of this page;
• the ability of the University to provide appropriate support for your studies (eg through the provision of facilities, resources, teaching and/or research opportunities); and
• minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted to the University's taught and research programmes.

Offer conditions for successful applications

If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide more information about offers and conditions . 

In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:

Financial Declaration

If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a  Financial Declaration  in order to meet your financial condition of admission.

Disclosure of criminal convictions

In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any  relevant, unspent criminal convictions  before you can take up a place at Oxford.

Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

Some postgraduate research students in science, engineering and technology subjects will need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate prior to applying for a  Student visa (under the Student Route) . For some courses, the requirement to apply for an ATAS certificate may depend on your research area.

The Mathematical Institute's home is the purpose-built Andrew Wiles Building, opened in 2013. This provides ample teaching facilities for lectures, classes and seminars. The Mathematical Institute provides IT support.

There is also a cafe in the Andrew Wiles Building.

The Department of Physics provides the following facilities:

• teaching space in the Denys Wilkinson building and the Clarendon Laboratory
• use of the canteens in either building
• IT support.

Departments offering this course

This course is offered jointly by the following departments:

Mathematical Institute

Mathematics has been studied in Oxford since the University was first established in the 12th century. The Mathematical Institute aims to preserve and expand mathematical culture through excellence in teaching and research.

The Mathematical Institute offers a wide range of graduate courses, including both taught master’s courses and research degrees. Research and teaching covers the spectrum of pure and applied mathematics with researchers working in fields including:

• number theory
• combinatorics
• mathematical physics
• mathematical finance
• mathematical modelling
• mathematical biology
• numerical analysis.

Graduate students are an integral part of the department, interacting with each other and with academic staff as part of a vibrant community that strives to further mathematical study. As a graduate student at Oxford you will benefit from excellent resources, extensive training opportunities and supportive guidance from your supervisor or course director.

The Mathematical Institute has strong ties with other University departments including Computer Science, Statistics and Physics, teaching several courses jointly. Strong links with industrial and other partners are also central to the department.

View all courses   View taught courses View research courses

Department of Physics

The six sub-departments at Oxford Physics are Astrophysics, Atomic and Laser Physics, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Particle Physics and Theoretical Physics. Each of these sub-departments is autonomous, although many of the research projects available are interdisciplinary.

All of the DPhil degrees at Oxford Physics are research-based courses that normally take three to four years of study. You will be expected to carry out your own research in areas drawn from the broad range of research across the department, and will be allocated at least one supervisor who will be your primary contact for guidance throughout your research degree. In parallel with your project, you will be expected to attend a taught course in the first year, comprising lectures, seminars and discussion classes at graduate level.

Whilst working on your research project you will engage in a thorough skills training programme which includes a range of workshops and seminars in transferable skills, generic research skills and specific research techniques. There are also numerous seminars and lectures held in the department by local and visiting physicists, and you will be provided with many opportunities to meet experts in various fields. There will also be opportunity for you to present your work at both formal and informal conferences, seminars and colloquia.

The University expects to be able to offer over 1,000 full or partial graduate scholarships across the collegiate University in 2024-25. You will be automatically considered for the majority of Oxford scholarships , if you fulfil the eligibility criteria and submit your graduate application by the relevant December or January deadline. Most scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and/or potential. 

For further details about searching for funding as a graduate student visit our dedicated Funding pages, which contain information about how to apply for Oxford scholarships requiring an additional application, details of external funding, loan schemes and other funding sources.

Please ensure that you visit individual college websites for details of any college-specific funding opportunities using the links provided on our college pages or below:

Please note that not all the colleges listed above may accept students on this course. For details of those which do, please refer to the College preference section of this page.

Annual fees for entry in 2024-25

Further details about fee status eligibility can be found on the fee status webpage.

Information about course fees

Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges .

Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.

Where can I find further information about fees?

The Fees and Funding  section of this website provides further information about course fees , including information about fee status and eligibility  and your length of fee liability .

Additional information

There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees and living costs. However, as part of your course requirements, you may need to choose a dissertation, a project or a thesis topic. Please note that, depending on your choice of topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Living costs

In addition to your course fees, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.

For the 2024-25 academic year, the range of likely living costs for full-time study is between c. £1,345 and £1,955 for each month spent in Oxford. Full information, including a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs, is available on our living costs page. The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. When planning your finances for any future years of study in Oxford beyond 2024-25, it is suggested that you allow for potential increases in living expenses of around 5% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. UK inflationary increases will be kept under review and this page updated.

Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs). 

If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief  introduction to the college system at Oxford  and our  advice about expressing a college preference . For some courses, the department may have provided some additional advice below to help you decide.

The following colleges accept students on the MSc in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics:

• Balliol College
• Exeter College
• Hertford College
• Jesus College
• Keble College
• Lady Margaret Hall
• Linacre College
• Lincoln College
• Magdalen College
• Mansfield College
• Merton College
• New College
• Oriel College
• Pembroke College
• The Queen's College
• Reuben College
• St Anne's College
• St Catherine's College
• St Cross College
• St Edmund Hall
• St Hugh's College
• St John's College
• St Peter's College
• Somerville College
• Trinity College
• University College
• Wadham College
• Wolfson College
• Wycliffe Hall

Before you apply

Our  guide to getting started  provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

If it's important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline – eg under a December or January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships – we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance . Check the deadlines on this page and the  information about deadlines and when to apply  in our Application Guide.

Application fee waivers

An application fee of £75 is payable per course application. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:

• applicants from low-income countries;
• refugees and displaced persons; 
• UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and 
• applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.

You are encouraged to  check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver  before you apply.

Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?

You do not need to make contact with the department before you apply but you are encouraged to visit the relevant departmental webpages to read any further information about your chosen course.

You are welcome to contact academics involved, however this is not a necessary prerequisite to the application process. If you are unsure of who to contact, you should send an email to the  Academic Assistant  in the first instance.

Completing your application

You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents .

For this course, the application form will include questions that collect information that would usually be included in a CV/résumé. You should not upload a separate document. If a separate CV/résumé is uploaded, it will be removed from your application .

If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.

Referees: Three overall, of which at least two must be academic

Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.

Your references will support your intellectual ability, academic achievement, academic potential, and motivation, particularly with regard to mathematical and theoretical physics. These will normally be academic references, but one of them may be a professional reference if you have relevant professional experience.

Official transcript(s)

Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.

More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.

Contextual statement

If you wish to provide a contextual statement with your application, you may also submit an additional statement to provide contextual information on your socio-economic background or personal circumstances in support of your application.

Submit a contextual statement

It is not necessary to anonymise this document, as we recognise that it may be necessary for you to disclose certain information in your statement. This statement will not be used as part of the initial academic assessment of applications at shortlisting, but may be used in combination with socio-economic data to provide contextual information during decision-making processes.

Please note, this statement is in addition to  completing the 'Extenuating circumstances’ section of the standard application form .

You can find  more information about the contextual statement  on our page that provides details of the continuing pilot programme to improve the assessment procedure for graduate applications.

Personal statement: A maximum of 600 words

Your statement should be written in English and explain your motivation for applying for the course at Oxford, your relevant experience and education, and the specific areas that interest you and/or you intend to specialise in.

If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.

This will be assessed for your reasons for applying, evidence of motivation for and understanding of the proposed area of study, commitment to the subject beyond the requirements of the degree course, capacity for sustained and intense work, reasoning ability, the ability to absorb abstract ideas and at a rapid pace and an indication of your intended pathway through the programme.

Start or continue your application

You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please  refer to the requirements above  and  consult our Application Guide for advice . You'll find the answers to most common queries in our FAQs.

Application Guide   Apply

ADMISSION STATUS

Closed to applications for entry in 2024-25

Register to be notified via email when the next application cycle opens (for entry in 2025-26)

12:00 midday UK time on:

Friday 19 January 2024 Latest deadline for most Oxford scholarships Final application deadline for entry in 2024-25

*Three-year average (applications for entry in 2021-22 to 2023-24)

Further information and enquiries

This course is offered jointly by the Mathematical Institute and the Department of Physics

• Course page  on the course's website
• Staff and research  in the Mathematics Inst.
• Staff and research  in the Dept. of Physics
• Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences
• Residence requirements for full-time courses
• Postgraduate applicant privacy policy

Course-related enquiries

Advice about contacting the department can be found in the How to apply section of this page

✉ [email protected] ☎ +44 (0)1865 615206

Application-process enquiries

See the application guide

Suggestions or feedback?

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Four from MIT named 2024 Knight-Hennessy Scholars

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MIT senior Owen Dugan, graduate student Vittorio Colicci ’22, predoctoral research fellow Carine You ’22, and recent alumna Carina Letong Hong ’22 are recipients of this year’s Knight-Hennessy Scholarships. The competitive fellowship, now in its seventh year, funds up to three years of graduate studies in any field at Stanford University. To date, 22 MIT students and alumni have been awarded Knight-Hennessy Scholarships.

“We are excited for these students to continue their education at Stanford with the generous support of the Knight Hennessy Scholarship,” says Kim Benard, associate dean of distinguished fellowships in Career Advising and Professional Development. “They have all demonstrated extraordinary dedication, intellect, and leadership, and this opportunity will allow them to further hone their skills to make real-world change.”

Vittorio Colicci ’22

Vittorio Colicci, from Trumbull, Connecticut, graduated from MIT in May 2022 with a BS in aerospace engineering and physics. He will receive his master’s degree in planetary sciences this spring. At Stanford, Colicci will pursue a PhD in earth and planetary sciences at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. He hopes to investigate how surface processes on Earth and Mars have evolved through time alongside changes in habitability. Colicci has worked largely on spacecraft engineering projects, developing a monodisperse silica ceramic for electrospray thrusters and fabricating high-energy diffraction gratings for space telescopes. As a Presidential Graduate Fellow at MIT, he examined the influence of root geometry on soil cohesion for early terrestrial plants using 3D-printed reconstructions. Outside of research, Colicci served as co-director of TEDxMIT and propulsion lead for the MIT Rocket Team. He is also passionate about STEM engagement and outreach, having taught educational workshops in Zambia and India.

Owen Dugan, from Sleepy Hollow, New York, is a senior majoring in physics. As a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, he will pursue a PhD in computer science at the Stanford School of Engineering. Dugan aspires to combine artificial intelligence and physics, developing AI that enables breakthroughs in physics and using physics techniques to design more capable and safe AI systems. He has collaborated with researchers from Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and DeepMind, and has presented his first-author research at venues including the International Conference on Machine Learning, the MIT Mechanistic Interpretability Conference, and the American Physical Society March Meeting. Among other awards, Dugan is a Hertz Finalist, a U.S. Presidential Scholar, an MIT Outstanding Undergraduate Research Awardee, a Research Science Institute Scholar, and a Neo Scholar. He is also a co-founder of VeriLens, a funded startup enabling trust on the internet by cryptographically verifying digital media.

Carina Letong Hong ’22

Carina Letong Hong, from Canton, China, is currently pursuing a JD/PhD in mathematics at Stanford. A first-generation college student, Hong graduated from MIT in May 2022 with a double major in mathematics and physics and was inducted into Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honor society. She then earned a neuroscience master’s degree with dissertation distinctions from the University of Oxford, where she conducted artificial intelligence and machine learning research at Sainsbury Wellcome Center’s Gatsby Unit. At Stanford Law School, Hong provides legal aid to low-income workers and uses economic analysis to push for law enforcement reform. She has published numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals, served as an expert referee for journals and conferences, and spoken at summits in the United States, Germany, France, the U.K., and China. She was the recipient of the AMS-MAA-SIAM Morgan Prize for Outstanding Research, the highest honor for an undergraduate in mathematics in North America; the AWM Alice T. Schafer Prize for Mathematical Excellence, given annually to an undergraduate woman in the United States; the Maryam Mirzakhani Fellowship; and a Rhodes Scholarship.

Carine You ’22

Carine You, from San Diego, California, graduated from MIT in May 2022 with bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science and in mathematics. Since graduating, You has worked as a predoctoral research assistant with Professor Amy Finkelstein in the MIT Department of Economics, where she has studied the quality of Medicare nursing home care and the targeting of medical screening technologies. This fall, You will embark on a PhD in economic analysis and policy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She wishes to address pressing issues in environmental and health-care markets, with a particular focus on economic efficiency and equity. You previously developed audio signal processing algorithms at Bose, refined mechanistic models to inform respiratory monitoring at the MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics, and analyzed corruption in developmental projects in India at the World Bank. Through Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow, she taught computer science to Israeli and Palestinian students in Jerusalem and spearheaded an online pilot expansion for the organization. At MIT, she was named a Burchard Scholar.

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Course info

Mmsc dissertations (2019-20).

The dissertation will be written during Trinity Term on a topic chosen in consultation with your supervisor.