Contacting the department

The Taught Programmes Office (TPO) is the best place to contact the department. It is located in B0.01 on the ground floor of the Zeeman Building and is open from 8.45am-12.15pm and 1-4.30pm from Monday to Thursday, and from 8.45am-12.15pm and 1-3.30pm on a Friday.

The Taught Programmes Office is your destination for most of your day to day needs in the department. It is where you can pick up resources made available and for general enquiries regarding modules and registrations. They do not deal with more general University issues such as fees or residences, questions on these should be directed elsewhere. If you have an urgent problem and cannot find your personal tutor you should also start here to get help.

You can always email the TPO on and they will come back to you.

Departmental communications

During term, the TPO will send out a weekly email newsletter to all undergraduates. This update contains useful departmental news, as well as details about careers events and other activities going on across campus that you can get involved with.

This email will be sent to your university email address - please look out for it and read it!

Information for new first years/freshers

• We have a dedicated set of pages aimed at incoming students, do check them out.
• You can also explore the University's Welcome Week pages.

Useful contacts

Senior Tutor: Professor Richard Sharp

The Senior Tutor is responsible for the Tutorial system, and is there to help students with serious pastoral problems. If your tutor, or the Undergraduate Office, think that you are having problems and need help they will refer you to the Senior Tutor. Depending on the situation a chat might be all that's needed, or help can be provided either within the department or through the Student Support Services. In extreme circumstances it may be possible to take "temporary withdrawal" to allow students to recover from a medical problem or serious extenuating circumstances, or occasionally students are given help to change degree. If you have a problem, don't just sit on it and hope things get better but seek help.

See Professor Richard Sharp's staff profile

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Dr. Siri Chongchitnan

The Director of Undergraduate Studies provides support and advice with the regulations of your degree programme. In the first week you will hear from them quite a lot, including in a talk in Welcome Week about course regulations.

As with the Senior Tutor if you have a problem that needs their help you will be referred to him through either your Personal Tutor or the Undergraduate Office. A lot of their work also overlaps with that of the Senior Tutor so you may find that you are getting help from both if you are struggling for whatever reason. The Director of Undergraduate Studies is ultimately responsible for authorising module choices including Unusual Options and change of degree (most commonly between the 3 year BSc. and the MMath), but mostly they will not need to see you personally and paperwork will be passed on to them were appropriate by the Undergraduate Office.

See Dr Siri Chongchitnan's profile

Director of Student Experience: Dr. Helena Verrill

Dr Verrill’s role is to ensure that your student experience is positive, productive, supported and enjoyable, from induction week through to graduation. She champions students' voices and ensures that staff and students maintain a collaborative dialogue through the SSLC, focus groups and student surveys. You will also be hearing a lot from her during Welcome Week.

See Dr Helena Verrill's profile

Head of Department: Professor James Robinson

The Head of Department is responsible for looking after the department to make sure everyone is happy! There is a large team of staff who look after teaching so much of this involves looking after all the other aspects of the department. You'll see him during Welcome Week, he may be your personal tutor, and he may be your lecturer (MA141 Analysis I).

See Professor James Robinson's profile

Deputy Head of Department (Teaching): Professor Samir Siksek

As well as being the deputy to the Head of Department, the Deputy Head of Department (Teaching) has responsibility for all of the teaching delivered by the Mathematics Department. As well as overseeing the strategic development of teaching in the department, he is involved in many other aspects of the running of the department and your degree programme and sits on many committees and the exam boards.

See Professor Samir Siksek's profile

The Student Staff Liaison Committee: SSLC

The SSLC is an elected committee of mathematics students who meet twice a term to discuss problems for students in the department with academic staff in attendance... there will be elections for first year representatives in the first couple of weeks of term, but you will be able to contact some members early on if there are problems that you would like to bring to their attention (they have a noticeboard outside the computer rooms in the Zeeman Building). They discuss library issues, building issues, general problems with lectures etc. and are consulted over proposed changes to the mathematics degrees. There is more about the SSLC elsewhere in this handbook.