UCD science Vs Trinity science

Goosewad

i'm doing maths and philosophy in trinity at the moment and i'm finding the maths very unenjoyable and confusing. it just seems like a whole heap of gobble-dee-gook to be honest. i don't think the stuff is impossible but the teachers just don't explain things very well.

anyhoo, i shall get to the crux of the matter. i'm considering moving to science and i was just hoping for some feedback on what the science courses are like in UCD and Trinity. what, in particular, is the maths like? theoretical physics students in trinity study the majority of the pure maths course and follow the 1st science physics course. in UCD do the theo physics students follow the same maths course as the general science students or do they have to do the pure maths stuff?

also, is there any real difference between the bachelor of science degree you get with a UCD science degree and the bachelor of arts degree you get with a Trinity science degree? is one better than the other?

hope ye can help,
cheers.:)

ankleman

Hey, I'm a 3rd Mathematical Science student in UCD and i can tell you the teaching is probably no better.

Luckily in Maths Sci though you study maths, maths-phys and stats which gives a good general education in the disciplines and doesn't put you in a box like Theoretical Physics does and also you have an incredible choice of courses in all three subjects in 3rd and final year.

That way you can focus on areas that you like. I've found Maths lecturers in general to be some of the most uninteresting people on this planet personality-wise so one is left utterly unstimulated and raw after most lectures.

I'm looking forward to my first English course in three years starting in January: The History of Mathematics! Oh yeah BABY! Welcome to pleasure country.....

[I still can't believe i put down Maths Sci on the CAO.... I'd drop out but I think nearly every undergrad degree is a waste of time anyway and ultimately it'll depend on a postgrad to get you good job so at least with Maths Sci it may appear to people that you are smart and actually learnt something in college which is not necessarily true at all!!!!]

Oh by the way with the new UCD horizons structure the Maths courses are really cool and when we finished our year we petitioned our lectures to put some better sourses on in first year so now 1st years get the chance to study some Special Relativity for example after christmas along with celestial motion which are two very interesting subjects taught by an absolute legend of a lecturer. I'd absolutely love to be a first year again, they got it so easy now......:mad: :mad:

John

Goosewad wrote:

i'm doing maths and philosophy in trinity at the moment and i'm finding the maths very unenjoyable and confusing. it just seems like a whole heap of gobble-dee-gook to be honest. i don't think the stuff is impossible but the teachers just don't explain things very well.

I mean no offense when I say this but if you're having trouble with maths (even with crappy lecturers) then I'd think twice about doing TP which is so maths intensive. I did maths in science in first year in TCD and the lecturers were awful but like everything in college if you read the books you should be able to understand. I'm not trying to discourage you from it but I'd check out the courses and past papers to see what you're getting into first.

Goosewad

i take your point completely.. i was only using the tp course as an example. i just wanted to find out whether the tp students in ucd follow the science maths course or a more difficult maths course. the pure maths course and the science maths course in trinity are completely different and the tps in trinity follow the pure maths one.

John

Yeah, just from your post I thought you were considering going into TP which I know is tough tough tough maths wise. I'd imagine UCD wouldn't be any easier but I don't know anyone doing science there anymore.

snowqueen

im doing science in ucd and its good enough. do be honest id say there is not much difference between science in ucd and trinity although you hear a lot of pple say the trinity is better but dats only because its a more recognised uni

sephirosis

im in first science in UCD(D) doing higher maths, maths phys and physics. the way the new system works , i believe that for first year at least im doing the exact same core modules as the TP students, though its likely they will diverge in the future

craiglen

They're fairly similar.... there's a hell of a lot more choice and flexibility in UCD though.