Honour School of Mathematics and Philosophy

Differences from 2015/16 to 2018/19

A

In the following ‘the Mathematics Course Handbook’ refers to the Mathematics Undergraduate Handbook and supplements to this published by the Teaching Committee of the Department of Mathematics.

  • 1. All candidates shall be examined in Mathematics and in Philosophy.

  • 2. No candidate shall be admitted to the examination in this School unless he or she has either passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination.

  • 3.

    • (a) The examination in Mathematics and Philosophy shall consist of three parts:

    • Part A, Part B and Part C.

    • (b) Parts A, B and C shall be taken at times not less than three, six, and nine terms, respectively, after passing or being exempted from the First Public Examination.

    • (c) Part A shall be taken on one occasion only. No candidate shall enter for Part B until he or she has completed Part A of the examination.

  • 4.

    • (a) In order to proceed to Part C, a candidate must achieve upper second class Honours or higher in Parts A and B together.

    • (b) A candidate who obtains only a pass or fails to satisfy the Examiners in Parts A and B together may retake Part B on at most one subsequent occasion; a candidate who fails to satisfy the Examiners in Part C may retake Part C on at most one subsequent occasion. Candidates who retake Part B are not allowed to go on to Part C.

    • (c) A candidate who has obtained Honours in Parts A and B together or has satisfied the examiners but has not obtained Honours in Parts A and B together is permitted to supplicate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Philosophy. A candidate who has achieved upper second class Honours or higher in Parts A and B together and who takes the examination in Part C and fails to obtain Honours in  Part C, is permitted to supplicate for the Honours degree of Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Philosophy with the classification obtained in Parts A and B together; provided that no such candidate may later enter or re-enter the Part C year or supplicate for the degree of Master of Mathematics and Philosophy; and provided in each case that the candidate has fulfilled all the conditions for admission to a degree of the University.

    • (d) A candidate who has achieved upper second class Honours or higher in Parts A and B together, and achieves Honours in  Part C may supplicate for the degree of Master of Mathematics and Philosophy provided that the candidate has fulfilled all the conditions for admission to a degree of the University.

  • 5. The Examiners shall classify and publish the combined results of the examinations in Part A and Part B, and in respect of candidates taking the four-year course shall separately classify and publish results in Part C.  

  • 6. The examinations in this school shall be under the joint supervision of the Divisional Board of Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences and the Board of the Faculty of Philosophy, which shall appoint a standing joint committee to make regulations concerning it, subject in all cases to clauses 1-4 above.

  • 7.

    • (a) The Public Examiners for Mathematics in this school shall be such of the Public Examiners in the Honour School of Mathematics as may be required, not being less than three; those for Philosophy shall be appointed by a committee whose three elected members shall be appointed by the Board of the Faculty of Philosophy.

    • (b) It shall be the duty of the chairs of the Public Examiners in Parts A, B and C of the Honour School of Mathematics to designate such of their number as may be required for Mathematics in the Honour School of Mathematics and Philosophy, and when this has been done and the examiners for Philosophy have been nominated, the number of the examiners in Mathematics and Philosophy shall be deemed to be complete. No examiners for Philosophy will be required in Part A of the examination.

  • 8. The highest honours can be obtained by excellence either in Mathematics or in Philosophy provided that adequate knowledge is shown in the other subject of the examination.

  • 9. The use of calculators is generally not permitted for written papers. However, their use may be permitted for certain exceptional examinations. The specification of calculators permitted for these exceptional examinations will be announced by the Examiners in the Hilary Term preceding the examination.

Part A

In Part A, each candidate shall be required to offer, from the Mathematics Part A Schedule (see below), papers  A0, A2, and  two papers from papers A3, A4, A5, A8  and  ASO.

A candidate may, with the support of his or her Mathematics tutor, apply to the Chair of the Joint Committee for Mathematics and Philosophy for approval of one or more other options from the list of Mathematics Department units for Part A which can be found inon the SupplementMathematical toInstitute thewebsite. Mathematics Course Handbook for courses in Mathematics Part A. Applications for special approval must be made through the candidate's college and sent to the Chair of the Joint Committee for Mathematics and Philosophy, c/o Academic Administrator, Mathematical Institute, to arrive by Friday of Week 2 of Hilary Term in the academic year of the examination for Part A.

Schedule of Papers in Part A

  •   A0 Linear Algebra

  • A2 Metric Spaces and Complex Analysis

  • A3  Rings and Modules

  • A4 Integration

  • A5 Topology

  • A8 Probability

  • ASO Short Options

Syllabus details will be published by the beginning of the Michaelmas Full Term in the academic year of the examination for Part AMathematics Teaching Committee.

Part B

The examination for Part B shall consist of units in Mathematics and subjects in Philosophy. The schedule of units and double units in Mathematics, shallalong with synopses and other details, will be approved by the Mathematics Teaching Committee and publishedwebsite inpage 'Registration for Part B Mathematics and Philosophy SynopsesCourses' of lecture courses supplement to the Mathematics Course Handbook by the beginning of the Michaelmas Full Term in the academic year of the examination concerned. The schedule shall be in two parts: Schedule 1 (standard units) and Schedule 2 (additional units). A candidate may, with the support of his or her Mathematics tutor, apply to the Chair of the Joint Committee for Mathematics and Philosophy for approval of one or more other options not in these Schedules, but from the list of Mathematics Department unitsCourses for Part B, whichincluding Statistics and Computer Science options. These can be found inon the SupplementMathematical toInstitute thewebsite Mathematicspage Course Handbook for courses in Mathematics'Registration Part B Mathematics Courses'. Applications for special approval must be made through the candidate's college and sent to the Chair of the Joint Committee for Mathematics and Philosophy, c/o Academic Administrator, Mathematical Institute, to arrive by Friday of Week 54 of Michaelmas Term in the academic year of the examination for Part B. In Philosophy the subjects shall be subjects  101–118, 120, 122, 124, 125, 127, 128,  and 199 from the list given in Special Regulations for All Honour Schools Including Philosophy. Each subject in Philosophy other than a Thesis shall be examined in one 3-hour paper. Each candidate shall offer:

  • (i) Four units of Mathematics from Schedule 1, two of which shall be B1.1 Logic and B.1.2 Set Theory.

  • (ii) Three subjects in Philosophy from 101–118, 101-116, 120, 122, 124, 125, 127, 128, 127-129, 137-139 and 198 of which two must be 122 and either 101 or 102, and

  • (iii) Either two further units in Mathematics drawn from Schedule 1 and 2 combined or one further subject in Philosophy from subjects 101–118, 101-116, 120, 124, 125, 127, 128, 127-129, 137-139, 198, and 199: Thesis.

Schedule of Units in Mathematics for Part B

The list of units and double units along with synopses and other details, will be approved by the Mathematics Teaching Committee and published in the Mathematics Course Handbook  by the beginning of Michaelmas Full Term in the academic year of the examination concerned.

The list of units for Part C shall include units in Mathematical Logic as specified by the Joint Committee for Mathematics and Philosophy.

Part C

In Part C each candidate shall offer one of the following:

  • (i) EightA minimum of eight units and a maximum of ten units in Mathematics;

  • (ii) SixA minimum of six units and a maximum of seven units in Mathematics and one unit in Philosophy;

from the lists for Mathematics and for Philosophy.

  • (iii) ThreeA minimum of three units and a maximum of four units in Mathematics and two units in Philosophy;

  • (iv) Three units in Philosophy;

from the lists for Mathematics and for Philosophy.

The schedule of units and double units in Mathematics, shallalong with synopses and other details, will be published inby the Mathematics Teaching Committee and published on the Mathematical Institute website page 'Registration for Part C Mathematics and Philosophy SynopsesCourses' of lecture courses supplement to the Mathematics Course Handbook by the beginning of the Michaelmas Full Term in the academic year of the examination concerned. The list of units for Part C shall include units in Mathematical Logic as specified by the Joint Committee for Mathematics and Philosophy.

A candidate may, with the support of his or her Mathematics tutor, apply to the Chair of the Joint Committee for Mathematics and Philosophy for approval of one or more other options not in these Schedules, but from the list of Mathematics Department unitsCourses for Part C, whichincluding Statistics, Computer Science and Other Options. These can be found inon the SupplementMathematical toInstitute thewebsite Mathematicspage Course Handbook for courses in Mathematics'Registration Part C Mathematics Courses'.  Applications for special approval must be made through the candidate's college and sent to the Chair of the Joint Committee for Mathematics and Philosophy, c/o Academic Administrator, Mathematical Institute, to arrive by Friday of Week 54 of Michaelmas Term in the academic year of the examination for Part C.

No unit in Mathematics, and no subject in Philosophy, may be offered in both Part B and Part C, except in the case of subject 199 (Philosophy Thesis). A unit in Philosophy consists of one of the following:

  • (a) One of the subjects 101-118116, 120, 124, 125, 127-129, 128 and 180 as specified in the Regulations for Philosophy in all Honour Schools including Philosophy. shall be examined by a three hour written paper together with a Part C Philosophy Essay of at most 5,000 words, as specified in the Regulations for Philosophy in all Honour Schools including Philosophy.

  • (b) A Special Subject 198, as specified in the Regulations for Philosophy in all Honour Schools including Philosophy.

  • [For(c) studentsA startingPart fromC MT 2017:Philosophy Thesis, as specified below.

  • (d) A Special Subject in Philosophy as approved by the Joint Committee for Mathematics and Philosophy by regulations published in the University Gazette and communicated to college tutors by the end of the fifth week of Trinity Term in the year before the Part C examination in which it will be examined. 

  • (c) a Thesis as specified below.

  • No candidate may offer more than one Special Subject in Philosophy in Part C. In approving a Special Subject in Philosophy for Part C, the Joint Committee for Mathematics and Philosophy may specify that candidates will not be permitted to offer certain Special Subjects in combination with certain other subjects, or will be permitted to do so only on condition that in the papers on the other subjects they will not be permitted to answer certain questions. Subject to these qualifications, any candidate may offer any Special Subject.

Philosophy Thesis

EachThesis, unitas specified in the Regulations for Philosophy otherin thanall aHonour ThesisSchools shallincluding bePhilosophy, examinedexcept bythat athe three-hourword writtenlimit paperis together with an essay of at most 520,000 words. 

The relative weight of the essay to the three-hour exam shall be 1 to 3, i.e. the essay shall count for 25% of the mark in that subject. No essay shall exceed this word limit, which includes all notes and appendices, but not the bibliography. The word count should be indicated on the front of the essay. There shall be a select bibliography or a list of sources. All essays must be typed in double spacing on one side of quarto or A4 paper, with footnotes rather than endnotes. Candidates should avoid any substantial repetition of material between examination scripts and examination essays.The topic for a Philosophy examination essay in a given subject can be any question set for the most recent examination of that subject in Honour Schools with Philosophy, with the exception of questions for Plato Republic (115) and Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics (116) consisting of multiple passages for comment, and the questions for Philosophical Logic (127) consisting of formal exercises. Candidates may apply for approval of other essay topics by writing to the Chair of the Board, c/o the Administrator, Philosophy Centre, Radcliffe Humanities Building, Woodstock Road, giving the title he or she proposes, together with an explanation of the subject in about 100 words and enclosing a letter from their tutor attesting to the suitability of this topic for the candidate. Any such application must be received no later than Friday of the sixth week of the Hilary Term preceding the Part C examination for which the essay is to be submitted. Late applications will not be considered. Any such application shall be accepted or rejected by the Board within two weeks of its being received.

Each essay shall be the candidate's own work, though it should show knowledge of relevant literature in the subject and may include passages of quotation or paraphrase so long as these passages are clearly indicated as such and the source properly attributed. The candidate may discuss a first draft of the essay with his or her tutor for that subject. The amount of assistance the tutor may give shall be limited to what can be provided in one of the candidate's tutorials for their study of that subject. For each essay the candidate shall sign a statement to the effect that the essay is his or her own work and the tutor shall also sign a statement confirming that, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, this is so. These statements shall be placed in a sealed envelope bearing the candidate's examination number and the name of the subject for which the essay has been written and presented with two copies of each essay. Each copy of an essay shall be identified only by the candidate's examination number and bear the name of the Philosophy subject for which the essay is being submitted and must be submitted not later than noon on Friday of the first week of the Trinity Full Term of the examination to the Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford, addressed to the Chair of the Examiners for Part C of the Final Honour School of Mathematics and Philosophy.

Schedule of Units in Mathematics for Part C

The list of units and double units along with synopses and other details, will be approved by the Mathematics Teaching Committee and published inon the MathematicsMathematical CourseInstitute Handbookwebsite by the beginning of Michaelmas Full Term in the academic year of the examination concerned.

The list of units for Part C shall include units in Mathematical Logic as specified by the Joint Committee for Mathematics and Philosophy.