Mathematics with Machine Learning

This is a Connected Degree
Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview
Understand the mathematics that underpins artificial intelligence, and develop the skills needed to build machine learning models.

You’ll make yourself vital to an age of artificial intelligence by building invaluable theoretical and practical abilities. You’ll study powerful mathematical concepts and tools, and bring them to bear on subjects like machine learning, neural networks, and Python coding.

Once you graduate, you’ll be set to enter any of the industries being transformed by AI and machine learning tools. You'll learn how to apply large language models such as ChatGPT, and how to analyse images and other live data coming from sectors such as healthcare, education and business. You'll also be ready to move into roles that rely on mathematical understanding, such as finance or government, or to take up postgraduate study in maths or artificial intelligence.

Course highlights

• Develop a rounded understanding of modern mathematics, including calculus, linear algebra and probability, with a focus on machine learning tools, theories and methods

• Apply your learning with modules in programming languages such as Python, Mathematica and R

• Learn how to use industry standard tools for building machine learning models such as scikit-learn, PyTorch and TensorFlow

• Study alongside world-class researchers in machine learning and mathematics, in a department placed in the top ten for teaching in the 2022 NSS report

• Build your career prospects with built-in employability programmes, placement support and careers advice

• Brush up your skills with our drop-in Maths Cafe and personal tutorial system

Careers
Studying machine learning shows you’re committed to understanding the needs of the growing artificial intelligence sector. Forbes magazine predicts a 71% growth in jobs that need AI or machine learning skills by 2026, and research suggests that the UK will face a skill gap that your knowledge could help fill.

You’ll also graduate with a deep understanding of the mathematical principles, theories and methods that make machine learning possible - unlike other degrees in this field, our degree in Mathematics and Machine Learning is designed to give you the underlying understanding that will help you grasp future developments in the sector.

Additionally, your mathematical study will make you employable in sectors beyond machine learning, as you’ll be able to show your readiness for careers in finance, analysis, or anywhere that analytical problem-solving is a bonus.

Typical roles

You can expect to apply for roles like “machine learning engineer” or “machine learning scientist”; or, more broadly, titles like “data engineer” or “data scientist”. More generally, you’ll find your ability to build models that learn from data is in demand in sectors such as finance, education, retail, defence, government research.