BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Philosophy 
The interaction between Mathematics and Philosophy in the past 150 years has been far greater than at any previous time. Especially from 1907 to 1931 there was a serious, at times acrimonious philosophical debate among leading mathematicians, about the nature and practice of mathematics. In 1931, Kurt Gödel published two dramatic theorems that, by clearly pointing out the limitations of formal mathematics, revolutionised thinking about logic and the foundations of mathematics. Not long after that, the work of Turing and others opened up logical and philosophical questions about computability and the nature of the human mind. In the last fifty years, mathematical logic has had a surprising impact on areas such as analysis, where it has been shown that certain natural objects can be proved to exist only if we add, to the normal axioms of set theory, otherwise unmotivated, and provably independent, hypotheses.
The degree
Entry to the BSc(Hons) is now at 400 level. The one-year programme
consists of MPHI 450 and seven courses chosen from MATH 401-490 (other than
MATH 449) and PHIL 431-470. Normally one of the seven courses must be MATH
443 if the student has not been credited with MATH 343 previously. Normally
two courses will be chosen from the PHIL course list and five courses from
the MATH course list.
Prerequisites
Entry is from a completed undergraduate degree, generally the BSc, with good
grades and the following elements (or their equivalent from another New Zealand
university):
(1) 45 points from MATH 201-294; and
(2) 60 points from MATH 301-394; and
(3) 45 points from PHIL 208, 209, 233, HAPS 201, 202, MATH 230; and
(4) 45 points from PHIL 301-399, HAPS 302, MATH 308, 309, 336
University of Canterbury BSc(Hons) Courses, Subjects and Qualifications.
For further information please contact the Co-ordinator of the BSc(Hons) programme in Mathematics and Philosophy, Professor Douglas Bridges or Co-ordinator Dr Philip Catton.
International students should, in the first instance, contact the BSc(Hons) programme in Mathematics and Philosophy Co-ordinator to discuss the proposed course of study, and then must apply for admission ad eundem statum according to the proceedures described in the University Information for International Students . Information on subsequent procedures may be found there.