What is it like to study mathematical physics in the MAST programme?
We have several core courses that give you fundamental knowledge in probability and mathematical physics such as those on theory, partial differentials, and functional analysis. Additionally, there are a few courses that prepare you for a particular research topic, and that topic may be built on for your master’s thesis.
Usually, mathematical physics has a traditional form of teaching. However, I’ve also taught a workshop course where the students cooperate on problems and a doctoral reading group course where students who are interested in a particular topic meet and discuss it. You should expect to do more work on the lectures and exercises in this master’s programme than you did in your bachelor’s programme.
Who should consider these studies?
Students who are interested in applying mathematics to real world or physics problems are the best fit. Our students are typically oriented towards mathematical research rather than going to industry.
When you’re at the bachelor’s level, I’d recommend trying different things and seeing what’s suitable for you.
What kind of career paths does studies in mathematical physics open up?
Some of my students have gone into research – for instance, I have two PhD students right now who have studies mathematical physics at UH and another who went into machine learning for a different PhD programme. There are also a few people who work in industry, typically in software development.
I would say that it makes sense to take this study track if you’re considering research in mathematical physics and probability, or if you want to get some fundamental understanding of probability that will be useful in the right fields.
What do you find most interesting about this field of research?
Mathematical physics was very exciting for me because it was and is a vibrant subfield. Its two-dimensional statistical mechanics is a topic where you apply very beautiful mathematics to solve problems with physics relevance.