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Comment by tonyedgecombe | Hacker News Reader

The Open University is pretty good for mathematics.

http://www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/

The Open University is pretty good for a heck of a lot of subjects, and there is absolutely no requirement for you to be in the UK to "attend".

Maths has always been a priority for them though.

I concur. BSc course in Mathematics is good, just try to pick hard subjects and avoid anything with computing.

First year is a high school level - you do not have to take it if you are good at that maths. Second year courses are a bit more challenging, but real fun in on 3rd year. I did Complex Analysis, Fluid dynamics, Further Pure Mathematics - they are solid and interesting.

I thought about some physics like electromagnetism or quantum theory, but decided to stick with pure maths.

I think to also go get MSc with them - they introduced Galois Theory this year, although the choice of subjects is limited there.

Have you studied here?

I've studied there for an MSc in Computing. It was good. The classes are a bit business-schooly but I got some good support from tutors. Obviously it depends on the individual tutor--the one for my project module wasn't as clear and supportive--but some are really fantastic.

I abandoned the BSc computing. It was rubbish. Java this, java that, java something else. There was one interesting course, a third year course Natural and Artificial Intelligence; nothing else was interesting - bread and water. There was a first year course something along the lines of What is the Web. If you've only ever used ms office, maybe ok, but for an HNer or tech enthusiast a waste of time.

They really need a CS curriculum, the trouble is the current government has pared back funding so I don't think they can afford much right now.

I'm two-thirds of the way through the same course at the moment. To be honest, I've been pretty disappointed with it. I've found the modules to be much more geared towards the management of IT rather than computing and the technical stuff has been largely skimmed over. The only decent module I've done was one of the Cisco CCNA ones and I'm pretty sure you can get the exact same content direct from Cisco for about quarter of the price (and the OU course fee doesn't include the CCNA exam)

I've also had some very disappointing tutors. One in particular was an arrogant arse whose own highest qualification was a BSc yet he was allowed to judge my Masters level assignments

Yes, I completed a BSc in Mathematics about five years ago.

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