Unusual Options

What are Unusual Options?

Despite the adjective, Unusual Options are entirely usual: they are merely modules not which are neither Core Modules, Optional Core Modules or Listed Modules.

Subject to the Rules listed below, maths students should be able to take practically any module offered by the University as an Unusual Option. But note that many departments (e.g. most Arts and Humanities) require you to obtain their permission before the time of preregistration.

Unusual Options taken by maths students in the past include: History of Brazil, Shapes of Molecules, European Revolutions, Electroacoustic Music, Common Law, Contemporary France, Psychopathology, and German Language, in addition to many others.

The Institute of Advanced Teaching and Learning (IATL) offer several interdisciplinary modules that are popular Unusual Options.

What you need to do to register for an Unusual Option

All modules being taught this year are listed in the University's module catalogue, with CATS value. Look up the modules on their departmental websites to see which term they are taught in.

To register for an Unusual Option, you will need to obtain the agreement of the following people:

1. The lecturer/module organiser (with the exception of WBS modules where being accepted to their module in myWBS is sufficient). You should email the lecturer to see if your background is sufficient to study the module.
2. Your personal tutor. This can be a simple email to say that they approve.
3. The Director of Undergraduate Studies. However, this step will be done after you have submitted the Unusual Option form. It does not require you to directly contact DUGS.

Agreement is often granted, but if the module has a significant overlap with mathematics modules, the request will be rejected.

The Unusual Option form can be found here.

Deadline: by the end of Week 2 of the term the module is taught in. You will be e-mailed if there is a problem with permission to take an Unusual Option. If you do not hear then the option is approved and it will appear on Tabula.

You should not assume you will be allowed to take an Unusual Option. Do not make your module choices dependent on them until you have been granted permission.

Warning to finalists: We do not recommend taking a second-year module from other departments as Unusual Options. Second-year exam boards in other departments can often take place so late that we are unable to obtain marks in time for you to graduate in the summer.

Rules about Unusual Options

1. Permission to take an Unusual Option are required from the module lecturer, personal tutor and maths DUGS. The final decision lies with the maths DUGS.
2. A student may not take more than 30 CATS of Unusual Options from any one department in any one year.
3. All finalists (BSc and MMath) and 3rd-year MMath students may not take any first-year module offered by a department in the Science Faculty (i.e. Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine).
4. Language modules offered by the Language Centre are classed as Unusual Options, but an Unusual Option is not required to take them. Acceptance by the Language Centre is sufficient. Language modules from other departments (e.g. Italian or Classics) do need a form completed.

5. All finalists (BSc and MMath) and 3rd-year MMath students are not permitted to take beginners' language modules for credit.

6. Once a student has progressed from the first year, they may not take more than 30 CATS of first-year modules, in total, during their remaining years (including beginners' language modules).
7. First-year Science modules taken in Year 2 as Unusual Options and first year non-Science modules taken in Year 3 as Unusual Options will only be allowed at the discretion of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
8. List C modules (module codes beginning MA4xx) are considered to be Unusual Options for third year BSc students. To be allowed to take such modules, students must have reached the required standard at the end of their second year to have continued on the MMath had they been on that programme.
9. A student may not take module in which they have already been examined in a previous year (i.e. you cannot re-take a module you have done before as an Unusual Option).
10. No guarantee can be given on avoidance of clashes with other modules in timetabling for Unusual Options. We advise you not to take Unusual Options which clash with core maths modules.