Master of Science in Mathematical Sciences
Utrecht, Netherlands
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Feb 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 23,765 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* Dutch and other EU/EEA students (statutory fee, full-time) 2024-2025: € 2,530 Non-EU/EEA students (institutional fee) 2024-2025: € 23,765
Key Summary
Are you interested in using mathematics as the speaking language for areas like economics, physics, biology, and data science? Or as a challenging game for creative problem solving (like how to use the distortion of mobile phone signals to estimate the size of raindrops)? Do you want to become a skilled professional, trained to create the models and business processes necessary for this computerised world? Then this Master's might fit into the equation!
Become a desired Mathematician
The research-oriented Master’s programme in Mathematical Sciences will provide a rich toolkit of creative problem-solving skills that will turn you into a desired scientist, both in and outside academia. You will dive deep into mathematics, develop genuine research skills in pure, applied and industrial areas and learn to think out of the box.
Choose from an exceptional list of courses
This Master's is part of the national Mastermath programme, a collaboration of Dutch mathematics departments who joined efforts to enhance their Master's programmes. Due to this collaboration, you can benefit from an exceptional list of mathematical courses, offered either by Utrecht University or another Dutch University.
The programme is built around 6 tracks focusing either on Fundamental Mathematics or Mathematical Modelling. Upon enrolment, you must select 1 track to determine the focus of your programme.
The curriculum of the programme is made up of a 75 EC course part divided over year 1 and the beginning of year 2, and a 45 EC research part in the rest of year 2.
Course part (75 EC)
The course part consists of:
- 3 compulsory courses (15 EC)
- 8 elective courses (60 EC)
Courses
Compulsory Courses
- Mathematics for Industry
- Orientation on mathematical research
- Mathematics colloquium
Elective courses
- Introduction to Complex Systems
- Differential Topology
- Multiscale Methods with Application to Climate
- Sheaves in Topology
- Seminar High-Dimensional Probability Theory in Data Science
- Seminar Algebraic Theory
- Seminar Symmetry and Bifurcations
- Seminar Differential Geometry: Manifold Topology
- Seminar Ergodic Theory
- Seminar History of Mathematics
- Seminar on Neural Networks and Finance
- Seminar Number Theory: Counting Points on Curves over Finite Fields
- Seminar Logic
Profiles (optional)
In order to expand the thematic range of your Master's programme, you can also choose to do a profile in your (elective) course part. A profile is a coherent set of courses of 30 EC on a single theme that is usually not a standard part of the programme. Within this Master's you can choose from the following profiles:
- Educational profile
- Communication profile
- Complex Systems profile
- Applied Data Science profile
- Science-based entrepreneurship
Academic careers
About 50 % of our graduates choose to complete a PhD programme.
Non-academic careers
Our graduates have a broad range of career opportunities outside the world of academia. Professional careers of some graduates include:
- Process simulation engineer at CFTC
- Logisticians at KLM
- Data analyst at RABOBANK and MARKTPLAATS
- Researcher at the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR)
- Market maker at EY
Why in Utrecht
- Personal and small-scale teaching, including a lively colloquium with distinguished international speakers;
- Utrecht University's Mathematical Institute provides you with a stimulating research environment that offers opportunities for interaction between different fields, such as physics, biology, and technological applications.
- Our Mathematical Institute is the largest of its kind in the Netherlands and is known both nationally and internationally for the high quality of its staff, for teaching and scientific research.
- Extensive national and international network of contacts to benefit from. You’ll have the opportunity to attend lectures by visiting mathematicians and pursue your studies at other universities abroad.