Studying Applied Mathematics at UNSW
The Department of Applied Mathematics at UNSW is a leading centre of mathematical research and teaching in Australia. It provides an outstanding honours and postgraduate education at the leading edge of applied mathematics research.
At UNSW, students have the chance to study traditional core areas of computational mathematics, nonlinear phenomena, environmental modelling or optimisation, or to do interdisciplinary work at the boundaries of physics, biology, finance, or information science. We are recognised nationally and internationally for the quality of our research, and we also maintain an extensive visitors program for research collaboration. The school attracts international visitors and world leaders in many fields and staff members often take part in conferences in Australia and abroad.
Our department has leading research groups in a variety of fields. Our computational mathematics group works on a range of problems in high-dimensional numerical integration, computational finance, pattern simulation and complexity. We have a strong group in meteorology and physical oceanography, with interests in weather forecasting, climate modelling, ocean current simulation and wave breaking. Optimisation research in the department ranges from studies of mathematical programming and computational optimisation to non-smooth optimisation and control. The nonlinear phenomena group is concerned with the study of the structure, symmetries and qualitative properties of nonlinear model equations that describe important physical processes. Our biomathematics group concentrates on issues in optimal scheduling of cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy, modelling nerve cell communication, and pattern formation in inhomogeneous media. The department has an outstanding record in attracting external research support.
With the advance of computing, many areas have been opened up to mathematical treatment - in finance, biology, weather simulation, medical diagnosis, image processing, for example - providing many new kinds of research opportunities. Honours and postgraduate programs in the Department of Applied Mathematics are aimed to prepare students for a wide variety of careers in universities, industry and government institutions.