How to Apply to Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh: Scottish Four-Year Degrees, Direct Entry to a Named Programme, Very High School Mathematics Requirements and an Accelerated Route Into Year 2, for UK, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Students

Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh is taught by the School of Mathematics, part of the College of Science and Engineering, in the James Clerk Maxwell Building at the King’s Buildings campus. Here is what you need to know for September 2027 entry, based on Edinburgh’s official information, for UK applicants, international applicants (including those from China) and students who want to join Year 2 or transfer. Computer Science, Physics and Economics have their own guides; cross-disciplinary programmes are only mentioned briefly here.

1. Mathematics programmes and degree types

• Length: Scottish BSc (Hons) degrees normally take 4 years and MMath (Hons) degrees 5 years. Edinburgh says the four-year structure lets you study subjects such as physics, informatics, philosophy or languages alongside compulsory mathematics in Years 1 and 2, with the focus decided by the end of Year 2; from Year 3 you study only your degree subject. Some students may enter Year 2 directly, shortening the BSc to 3 years and the MMath to 4 (see section 7).
• Mathematics: BSc (Hons) UCAS code G100 (3 or 4 years) and MMath (Hons) G101 (4 or 5 years). The MMath is a five-year programme to masters level for those who want to study in more depth or use advanced mathematics in careers or research. Edinburgh says you can move between BSc and MMath until the beginning of Year 4, subject to strong academic performance.
• Applied Mathematics: BSc (Hons) G120 and MMath (Hons) G121. Besides abstract methods it stresses numerical computation and application to real-world problems, with room to specialise in areas such as mathematical physics or scientific computing.
• Mathematics and Statistics: BSc (Hons) GG13, a joint programme with a broad mathematics grounding before specialising in statistics; Edinburgh says it is recognised by the Royal Statistical Society for eligibility for the Graduate Statistician award; from Year 3 you take only mathematics and statistics courses.
• Mathematics and Physics: BSc (Hons) GF13, 4 years only, with mathematics and physics in equal depth; the key facts do not list second-year entry, but the entry requirements page keeps a second-year entry heading without any grades; the two do not match, so ask the admissions office.
• Other cross-disciplinary programmes (listed in the A to Z; see each page): Computer Science and Mathematics, Mathematics and Business, Philosophy and Mathematics, Economics and Mathematics (School of Economics) and Mathematical Physics (School of Physics and Astronomy).
• Exchange year: Edinburgh says you can spend Year 3 at an overseas partner university through an exchange programme; students have recently gone to California, Sydney and British Columbia; it is available on both the broad programme and the accelerated second-year entry programme.
• Placement year: the Placement field on the mathematics pages reads “No”; none of the pages read lists a mathematics programme with a placement year.

2. How admission works: apply to a named programme and specialise gradually

• Choose the programme when you apply: use the UCAS codes above (G100, G101, G120, G121, GG13, GF13 and so on).
• Year 1: G100 has 60 credits of compulsory courses (Introduction to Mathematics at University, Introduction to Mathematical Analysis, Linear Algebra 1) and the rest of the timetable is mostly other subjects; optional mathematics courses include Introduction to Data Science and the online Fundamentals of Algebra and Calculus, which Edinburgh describes as extra preparation for the transition to university.
• Year 2: 80 credits of compulsory courses: Linear Algebra 2, Elementary Probability and Statistics, Further Analysis and Several Variable Calculus, and Modelling and Computing; the rest can still be outside subjects.
• From Year 3: mathematics only, covering core topics such as statistics, topology, algebra, analysis, operational research, differential equations, numerical analysis and probability and measure theory; in Year 4 you complete at least one project-based course (a research project, a mathematical education course or a statistical case studies course) and choose options across pure mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics, operational research, financial mathematics, mathematical physics and mathematical education.
• Teaching and assessment: lectures plus small-group workshops, about 15 hours of teaching a week according to Edinburgh; exams are mostly “partially open book” where you may bring a page of notes; most courses have regular assessments through the year.
• The pages describe the course structure but give no grade thresholds for choosing specialisations; the condition for moving between G100 and G101 is “strong academic performance”, and the exact marks are not published.

3. Prerequisites: school mathematics subjects and grades

The figures below come from Edinburgh’s 2027-entry pages (first-year requirements are the same for G100, G101, G120, G121 and GG13); “most applicants needed” ranges are Edinburgh’s own guidance.

• SQA Highers (standard): grades most applicants needed in recent years were AAAAA (achievement by the end of S5 preferred), with BBB achieved in one year of S4 to S6; Highers must include Mathematics at A; Higher Applications of Mathematics is not accepted in place of Higher Mathematics; Advanced Higher Mathematics is recommended; mathematics qualifications must be no more than two academic years old at entry; you also need National 5 English at C; the other Highers can be in any subject except the few Edinburgh does not accept.
• A-level (standard): the range most applicants needed was A*A*A* to A*AB in one set of exams, including Mathematics at A*, with Further Mathematics preferred; the mathematics qualification must again be no more than two academic years old; GCSE English at C or 4.
• IB (standard): the range most applicants needed was 38 points with 766 at HL to 34 points with 765 at HL; HL must include Mathematics (Analysis and approaches only) at 7; SL English at 5.
• Mathematics and Physics (GF13): same grade ranges (Highers AAAAA, A-level A*A*A* to A*AB, IB 38 to 34 points) plus Physics: Higher Physics at B, A-level Physics at B, IB HL Physics at 5.
• Year 1 content: in Edinburgh’s sample timetable, semester 1 has Introduction to Data Science, an outside subject (the example is Physics 1A) and Introduction to Mathematics at University; Edinburgh says outside subjects can be discussed with your cohort lead and student adviser.
• Admissions test or interview: the pages read do not mention MAT, STEP, TMUA or any other written test, and do not mention an interview; applicants for second-year entry have a diagnostic test (section 7).
• Widening access: eligible permanent UK residents (Plus Flag) have lower minimums, for example for G100 Highers AABB by the end of S6, A-level A*AB and IB 32 points (765 at HL); see Edinburgh’s widening access offers page.

4. UK applicants

• Qualifications: Scottish students use Highers/Advanced Highers; students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland use A-levels (Edinburgh groups these under “English, Welsh and Northern Irish qualifications”); the IB is also accepted. For other UK qualifications, see “Other UK qualifications” and the entry requirements pages. Grades and subjects are in section 3.
• Widening access: eligible permanent UK residents (Plus Flag) have lower minimum requirements; the conditions and the mathematics grades are on each programme’s entry requirements page and Edinburgh’s widening access offers page.
• Fees: students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands pay the RUK rate: £10,050 for 2027/28 (£9,790 for 2026/27), rising each year with the UK Government fee cap. Edinburgh says this is the annual RUK fee for all full-time undergraduate programmes except the graduate-entry veterinary medicine programme. Scotland-rate students may have tuition paid by the Scottish Government if they normally live in Scotland and are studying for a first degree full-time.
• Loans and living costs: students who normally live in a part of the UK outside Scotland or in the Republic of Ireland may be entitled to a government tuition fee loan, and can apply to Student Finance for living-cost loans and bursaries (see Edinburgh’s funding page).

5. International applicants

• Qualifications: A-levels, the IB, Scottish and US qualifications and others; the programme page shows requirements once you pick a country and qualification (loaded dynamically, so check the website).
• English: everyone, including UK nationals, must show English. School qualifications: SQA National 5 English at C, GCSE English at C or 4, Level 2 Certificate English at C, or IB SL English at 5 (ab initio is not accepted). Tests: IELTS Academic 6.5 with at least 5.5 in each component (One Skill Retake not accepted); TOEFL iBT from 21 January 2026 4.5 with at least 4.0 in each component (before that, 92 with at least 20 in each; MyBest not accepted); C1 Advanced/C2 Proficiency 176 (162 in each component); Oxford ELLT 7 (5 in each); Oxford Test of English Advanced 145 (125 in each). IELTS, TOEFL, Oxford ELLT and Oxford Test of English Advanced results must be no more than two years old at the start date; other types up to three and a half years. Some programmes may need higher English grades, so check the programme page.
• Fees: international students pay a fixed annual fee set by their start date, unaffected by annual increases. The 2027/28 amount was not shown on the fee pages read (it is loaded dynamically); check the fee lookup on Edinburgh’s website. If you are given direct entry into Year 2, you pay the rate of the year group you join.
• Living costs: Edinburgh estimates £1,546 a month for a single undergraduate in 2026-27, about £13,914 for a 39-week academic year and £18,552 for a full year (excluding tuition).
• Scholarships: the scholarship specific to the School of Mathematics is the Edinburgh Global Undergraduate Mathematics Scholarships: each is worth £5,000, paid directly to the student in instalments as a contribution to living costs, tenable for the duration of the programme but ending if you do not make satisfactory progress in a year (a formal School decision of “Progress” or “Conditional Progression” without repeating the year). Eligibility: international/EU fee status and accepted for a full-time undergraduate degree hosted in the School of Mathematics (not mathematics within a degree hosted by another School); not open to students already on programme; you must have applied to Edinburgh through UCAS but need not have an offer yet. It is competitive and based on academic merit, applied for online (through EUCLID/MyEd), with a deadline of 23:59 UK time on 31 March 2027 and outcomes by 23 April 2027; the page shows a publication date of July 2024, so confirm that it applies to your year of entry. The School’s funding page also lists the Global Talent Fund BIG Scholarships for international Olympiad medallists (also on the international funding page). It further mentions a £3,500-a-year scholarship for students on the 2+2 programme; the pages read do not say who that programme is for, so ask the School. The other scholarships on the international funding page (asylum seekers, students from Turkey, veterinary studies, the £10,000 Rosedale OSSD award) are not mathematics-specific. Whether anything is assessed automatically is not published; the mathematics scholarship needs a separate application.
• Visa, funding evidence and credential verification: the international fees page says that if you need a Student visa you pay a visa application fee and a healthcare surcharge. Specific funding evidence and credential verification are not stated on the pages read; ask the admissions office.

6. Applicants from China

• Qualifications accepted for direct entry: the China page lists A-levels, the IB, Scottish and US qualifications and the Maple Leaf World Schools Program (MLWSP) Diploma; for competitive subjects, grade requirements may be higher.
• College of Science and Engineering and the MLWSP Diploma: five 1.0-credit Grade 12 subjects at 80%, with required subjects at 86% or above; where Mathematics is required, it must be Calculus.
• Gaokao: the College of Science and Engineering will consider applicants with excellent Gaokao results on an individual basis; no score is published, so contact undergraduate admissions through the enquiry form. Applicants who have completed a year at a leading Chinese university may also be eligible to apply for the College’s degrees.
• Ambright and the AST: applicants from China can apply with the assistance of the Ambright Education Group and sit written subject-dependent Aptitude Scholastic Tests in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and English at centres in China.
• College Internal Admissions Test: where there is no IFP pathway, you may be eligible for the College’s Internal Admissions Test, but eligibility is limited, requires exceptional grades in specific subjects and an outstanding test result; Edinburgh says these tests will be phased out over the next few years as new IFP pathways are introduced.
• Chinese Senior High School Certificate: Edinburgh says applicants with this certificate must do further study for most subjects because it does not normally meet minimum entry requirements.
• International Foundation Programme (IFP): a full-time one-year programme for international students who are not eligible for direct entry, offering a route into many undergraduate programmes; which degrees have a matching IFP pathway is not listed on the pages read, so check Edinburgh’s website.
• Interview and accreditation bodies: the China page does not state any interview or accreditation-body requirement specific to Chinese applicants; this is not published, so contact the admissions office through the enquiry form.
• The China page shows a publication date of November 2024, so check the website for updates.

The China page does not set out mathematics-specific scores; measure yourself against the A-level and IB requirements above and ask admissions directly how Gaokao results are assessed.

7. Direct entry to Year 2 and transfers

• Direct entry to Year 2 (accelerated route): the G100, G101, G120 and G121 pages show “Second year entry: Available”, if places are available and you meet the requirements; GG13 also shows it; GF13 (Mathematics and Physics) does not list it in its key facts, and its entry requirements page has a second-year heading without grades, so ask the admissions office. Edinburgh says this shortens the degree by a year (three years for the BSc, four for the MMath) and you focus on mathematics from the start, with no outside subjects; because you cover Year 1 and Year 2 content together, it is more challenging. The accelerated route takes the compulsory Year 2 mathematics courses plus specially designed courses covering the compulsory Year 1 material: Introduction to Mathematics at University, Accelerated Algebra and Analysis, and Linear Algebra 2, Elementary Probability and Statistics, Further Analysis and Several Variable Calculus, and Modelling and Computing.
• Extra requirements for Year 2 (on top of section 3): Advanced Highers AAA including Mathematics (one further science recommended); A-level A*A*A* in one set of exams including Mathematics at A* and Further Mathematics at A*; IB 38 points with 766 at HL including Mathematics (Analysis and approaches only) at 7; mathematics qualifications no more than two academic years old.
• How to apply (School of Mathematics page): choose 2 as the Point of Entry on your UCAS application; you can apply for Year 2 and change your mind on arrival (within the first two weeks of teaching); if you applied for Year 1 and decide on arrival that you prefer Year 2, it is usually possible if you have the necessary qualifications and do well in the diagnostic test, with the deadline generally noon on the Wednesday of Welcome Week; if you have already applied for Year 1 and want to be considered for Year 2, contact futurestudents@ed.ac.uk. The School says on average 40 to 50 students follow Second-Year Entry; they share the accelerated courses and join the rest of the Year 2 cohort for other teaching, and are treated as first years in other respects such as halls and Welcome Week.
• Transfer from another university (Edinburgh’s transfer page): you must apply through UCAS and the normal deadlines still apply, with some flexibility case by case in exceptional circumstances; places for transfer students are “extremely limited”, and some programmes do not consider transfers except in exceptional circumstances. If you have studied more than a year at your current institution, you are not given priority over qualified applicants who have not yet studied at degree level.
• “False start”: if you apply to transfer during your first year elsewhere, or leave your original university during or at the end of your first year and apply in a later year, you may be classed as a false start and treated as a new applicant in the competitive process.
• Year 1 or Year 2 transfer: you may restart Year 1 on a different programme or transfer to the same programme in Year 1 or Year 2; it is not normally possible to transfer beyond Year 2. For Year 2 you must provide information about the courses you have studied so Edinburgh can assess the curriculum match, and you are still considered like a Year 1 applicant and must meet all published Year 1 entry requirements including required subjects. How credits are converted is not published; contact the admissions office before submitting your UCAS application.

8. Cost summary

• RUK students: £10,050 (2027/28).
• Scotland-rate students: the Scotland rate, which may be paid by the Scottish Government; see the fee lookup.
• International students: a fixed annual fee; the amount was not shown on the pages read; a £5,000 mathematics scholarship is available competitively (section 5).
• Year 3 exchange: related costs include tuition, accommodation and living costs, visas and insurance.
• Edinburgh says all essential reading is freely available through the library, though some students buy key textbooks.

9. UCAS application and timeline

• Full-time undergraduate applications must be made online through UCAS, in the same way for international and UK applicants, with up to five choices. Check the application fee and personal statement format on the UCAS website. You need qualifications that meet the requirements, evidence of English, a personal statement and an academic reference.
• Timeline (Edinburgh, 2027 entry): applications open on 1 September 2026; 13 January 2027 is the UCAS equal consideration deadline, when most programmes close to all applicants; some may stay open and are listed on UCAS. Edinburgh says late applications are considered individually at its discretion and are not guaranteed; if you plan to apply late, contact the admissions team to check whether places remain.
• If you apply to more than one Edinburgh programme, Edinburgh advises asking for guidance first; a College may be prepared to make only one offer.
• Selection: Edinburgh says applications that meet, or are predicted to meet, all entry requirements enter selection, and those missing required subjects and similar requirements cannot be considered further; entering selection does not guarantee an offer. It considers academic qualifications, English qualifications, the personal statement, the academic reference and any programme-specific additional requirements. Applicants who applied by the deadline receive a decision no later than UCAS’s reject-by-default date in May.

Checklist

UK applicants:

• Highers Mathematics at A (most recent offers AAAAA) plus National 5 English at C; or A-level Mathematics at A* (A*A*A* to A*AB); or IB HL Mathematics (Analysis and approaches) at 7 (38 to 34 points)
• Apply through UCAS by 13 January 2027 with G100 or another programme code

International applicants (including those from China):

• A-level, IB, MLWSP Diploma and similar; the Chinese Senior High School Certificate needs further study such as an International Foundation Programme; no published Gaokao score, so contact admissions
• IELTS 6.5 (5.5 in each) or TOEFL 4.5 on the new scale (4.0 in each); check the international fee in the fee lookup; mathematics scholarship deadline 31 March 2027

Students wanting Year 2 entry or transfer:

• Year 2 entry: Advanced Highers AAA / A*A*A* / IB 38 points with 766; choose Point of Entry 2 on UCAS; transfers go through UCAS and the admissions office, and credit conversion is not published

Sources: The University of Edinburgh, Mathematics BSc (G100); G100 entry requirements; Mathematics MMath; Applied Mathematics BSc; Applied Mathematics MMath; Mathematics and Statistics; Mathematics and Physics; School of Mathematics: second-year entry; School of Mathematics: funding and scholarships; Global Undergraduate Mathematics Scholarships; Undergraduate programmes A to Z (2027 entry); Entry requirements for students from China; Tuition fee lookup; Fees for England, Wales and Northern Ireland; International tuition fees; Funding for international undergraduates; Living costs; When to apply; How applicants are selected; Apply through UCAS; Transfer from another university; Apply for entry to second year. Information is for September 2027 entry. Check Edinburgh for the latest details.