Career scope in Mathematics: UG and PG entrance exams, job prospects

Mathematics has propelled human thinking into new directions, inspiring Albert Einstein to develop his theories on special relativity and Lewis Carrol to pen the stories of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. If numbers are your thing, you, too, can delve deeper into this subject and have rewarding career choices.

Specialisations under Mathematics:

• Pure Mathematics: This branch mainly covers Algebra, Analysis, Number Theory, Topology, Geometry and Logic.

• Applied Mathematics: This branch deals with the application of Mathematics in other fields of science, such as Engineering and Natural Sciences, involving modern methodologies and model-making.

• Mathematical Physics: This branch involves areas like General Relativity, Non-commutative Geometry and Quantum Theory.

Why study Mathematics

• Become a problem solver: You acquire strong problem-solving abilities. The study of Mathematics strengthens your critical thinking and logical reasoning skills.

• Develop daily life skills: You learn to handle massive quantities of data, manage time, organise yourself in a systematic manner, and make decisions and communicate with others.

• Numerous opportunities in different fields: Mathematics plays a key role in subjects as diverse as Engineering, Computer Science, Statistics, Data Science, Natural Sciences, Biological Sciences, Medicine, Astronomy and Economics.

How to study Mathematics

You need to clear your Class XII exams with Mathematics and English as compulsory subjects. Different colleges and institutes set their own cut-offs or conduct their own entrance exams for Mathematics at the undergraduate level.

Some top institutes for UG courses in Mathematics:

Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Bengaluru

• Course offered: BMath.
• Duration: Three years.

• Eligibility: You need to clear your Class XII board exams or any equivalent exams with Mathematics and English as compulsory subjects to appear for the entrance exam.

• Exam pattern: Written test with MCQ and descriptive questions, followed by personal interviews. However, no interview was conducted in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

Check out more here.

Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) Chennai

• Course offered: BSc in Mathematics.
• Duration: Three years.

• Eligibility: You need to pass your Plus-Two or equivalent exams with Mathematics and English as compulsory subjects to appear for the entrance exam.

• Exam pattern: Written test with MCQ and descriptive questions.

Check out more here.

University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad

• Course offered: Integrated MSc in Mathematical Sciences. This combines both BSc and MSc in Mathematics.
• Duration: Five years.
• Eligibility: You need at least 60% aggregate at your Class XII board exams with Science subjects only and Mathematics as a compulsory subject to appear for the entrance exam.

• Exam pattern: MCQ.

Check out more here.

Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Benaras

• Course offered: BSc in Mathematics.
• Duration: Three years.

• Eligibility: You need to clear your Class XII board exams with at least minimum 50% marks with Physics, Mathematics and any one of the following subjects: Chemistry, Statistics, Geology, Information Technology or Geography. This will make you eligible for the BHU UET entrance exam.

• Exam pattern: Computer-based test (CBT).

Check out more here.

University of Delhi (DU), Delhi

• Course offered: BSc in Mathematics.
• Duration: Three years.

• Eligibility: You need at least 45% aggregate and 50% marks in Mathematics in your Class XII board exams.
• Admission: Merit is determined on the basis of one language, Mathematics and two best elective /academic subjects. Each college under the university sets its own cut-off.

Check out more here.

St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata

• Course name: BSc in Mathematics.
• Duration: Three years.
• Eligibility: You need to clear your Class XII exams with 60% aggregate and should score 60% in Mathematics.

• Admission: Merit-based and sets a cut-off every year.

Check out more here.

Presidency University, Kolkata

• Course offered: BSc in Mathematics
• Duration: Three years.

• Admission: Before the pandemic, you needed to clear PUBDET (Presidency University Bachelor’s Degree Entrance Test), an OMR-based exam conducted by WBJEEB (West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board), for admission to the university.

• For the last two batches, however, admission was merit-based. At least 70% marks in Class XII board exams were required for admission to the BSc course in Mathematics in 2020 and 2021.

Check out more here.

Some colleges affiliated to the University of Calcutta where you can study Mathematics:

• Asutosh College
• Bethune College
• Maulana Azad College
• Scottish Church College
• Lady Brabourne College

Admission: Merit-based. These colleges set their own cut-offs.

Some top institutes for PG courses in Mathematics:

Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)Bangalore, Bengaluru

• Course offered: MMath
• Duration: Two years.

• Eligibility: You need a three-year UG degree in Mathematics, or a BE/BTech degree, or a BStat/BMath degree to appear for the entrance exam.
• Exam pattern: Written test and interview.

Check out more here.

Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) — MSc in Mathematics

• Course offered: MSc in Mathematics.
• Duration: Two years.

• Eligibility: You need an undergraduate degree or a BE/BTech degree with a strong background in Mathematics to appear for the entrance test.

• Exam pattern: Written test with subjective and objective questions.

Check out more here.

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai

• Course name: Integrated MSc-PhD.
• Duration: Five years.

• Eligibility: You need a BSc/BMath/BStat./BE/BTech degree to appear for the entrance exam.

• Exam pattern: Objective type questions.

Check out more here.

The Institute of Mathematical Sciences Chennai (IMSc), Chennai

• Course name: Integrated MSc-PhD.
• Duration: Five years.

• Eligibility: You need a bachelor's degree in Mathematics or Statistics to appear for the exam. Exceptional candidates with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in other fields will also be considered for admission to the programme.

• Exam pattern: You have to write the National Board for Higher Mathematics Doctoral Scholarship Test.

Check out more here.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), multiple locations

• Course name: Integrated MSc-PhD, PhD

• Eligibility: You need a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and should clear the Joint Admission Test for Master’s (JAM).

Other leading universities to study MSc in Mathematics:

• University of Hyderabad
• University of Delhi
• University of Calcutta
• Banaras Hindu University
• Pondicherry University
• Jadavpur University

What to do with a degree in Mathematics

Academic research is one of the most sought-after areas after doing your postgraduation and PhD in Mathematics. You can also change your stream after graduating with Mathematics and specialise in subjects like Statistics, Economics, Computer Science or Physics.

Here are some of the job roles for mathematicians:

• Strategic analyst: They work in the finance and accounting sector. They monitor and interpret cash flows, formulate long-term business plans, develop financial management mechanisms and manage budgets.

• Actuarial analyst: They use statistical formulae to assess risk and estimate premiums. They are hired by insurance companies or other financial firms. They work on the plan rates of companies and analyse different strategies.

• Data analyst: They identify, collect, clean, analyse and interpret the collected data. They are also employed in fields like criminal justice, food, fashion, technology and business.

• Data scientist: They use technology and social sciences in understanding the trends of data. They use knowledge from Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science to simplify and make sense out of big data.

• Banking: The banking sector requires mathematicians for policy formulation, risk assessment, studying financial trends, and assisting in investment banking and daily accounting operations.

• Operations research analyst: They use statistical softwares to simulate current and future events. They weigh the costs and benefits of the alternatives they propose.

• Cryptanalyst: They mainly develop different mathematical methods and codes to protect data from hackers. Apart from working with the IT companies, they help government agencies, the police and military in decoding secret codes or sensitive data.