Meg shares how an integrated Masters in Mathematics at Edinburgh – including a year abroad at Caltech – led her towards a PhD in robotics and control.

Programme: MMath Mathematics

Year of graduation: 2024

Job title: PhD student in Control and Dynamical Systems at CalTech

Industry: Academia / Robotics

Home country: United Kingdom

Why did you decide to study Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh?

For me there were two decisions – maths, and then Edinburgh.

On the maths side, I always knew that was what I wanted to study. At school I took maths, further maths, physics and chemistry, and my favourite part of all the sciences was always the maths. So continuing with maths at university felt like a very natural choice.

Edinburgh came a bit later. I visited for an offer-holder day and just completely fell in love with the city. I remember walking around and thinking, ‘This is where I want to live for the next few years’. The University – and the School of Mathematics in particular – also made a good impression on me. Everyone I met was very welcoming.

I ended up based nearer the Central area, but most of my teaching was at King’s Buildings and I actually liked that separation. It felt like going in for a proper workday somewhere a bit quieter where I could focus, then coming back into town afterwards. The shuttle bus made it very easy to move between the two.

You did the combined undergraduate and Masters route – what made you choose that pathway, and what did you enjoy most about it?

At the beginning I chose the integrated Masters partly with a ‘why not?’ attitude. I liked maths and could imagine wanting to study it for longer, and it is easy to switch later if you change your mind. There was also a financial side to it for me – doing everything as one degree felt more manageable than doing a Masters elsewhere and paying for it as a separate postgraduate degree.

As I got further into the degree, staying on for the Masters level became a much more deliberate choice. I felt I still had more to learn and I was not quite ready to stop studying maths. I also was not done with Edinburgh. I did not feel a strong need for a change of scene, especially because my year abroad had already given me that break and a different environment for a while.

My favourite part of the integrated Masters was the dissertation in my final year. It was an individual project with a more research-focused feel, and once I got started I really enjoyed it. That experience was one of the things that made me think, ‘I would probably like doing a PhD too’. It gave me a small taste of what my life might be like over several years of research.

You spent a year abroad during your degree – where did you go, and what did you take from that experience?

I spent my year abroad at Caltech. Academically it was a very different environment from Edinburgh. Caltech is tiny in comparison – a class with twenty people was considered big. Most of my classes had around ten students, so you get to know everyone in the room, and you get to know your professors very well too.

That led to opportunities to do more research. I stayed on over the summer to do a research internship, which was hugely valuable, and it was definitely a stepping stone towards coming back to Caltech later for my PhD.

On a personal level it really was one of those ‘life changing’ experiences people talk about. There were only three of us from Edinburgh, so it was not even a big group of us. You are basically by yourself in another country and you have to figure things out. For me it was proof that I could live somewhere completely new, settle in, and do well.

The year was long – I was there from September through to the following August – and it was tough at times, but coming out the other side made me feel much more confident about moving abroad again. When I returned to Caltech for my PhD later, it felt much less of a shock because the place was already familiar and I knew I could make a life there.

When you started thinking about what to do after Edinburgh, what helped you decide on a PhD – and how did Edinburgh support or shape that step?

I spent quite a while going back and forth between the idea of going into industry and doing a PhD. The year abroad was a big factor – especially the research internship at Caltech. It was the first time I really saw what day-to-day research could look like, and I realised that I genuinely enjoyed it.

Because I had already spent a full year there through Edinburgh’s exchange programme, going back for a PhD didn’t feel like a huge leap into the unknown. I knew the department, the way courses and research worked, and I knew I could live there and be happy. That experience made the PhD route – and Caltech in particular – feel like a realistic option rather than just a name on a list, so the opportunity I had at Edinburgh directly shaped both my decision to do a PhD and where I chose to apply.

The Masters dissertation at Edinburgh reinforced that. I started it quite early in my final year and found that I was enjoying the process, not just treating it as another assessment. That made me more confident that I would like the research side of a PhD. The timeline for US PhD applications is quite early in the academic year (in October), so having those positive experiences helped me make a decision in time.

Edinburgh also supported me very directly. I spoke many times to the University’s Careers support. I talked to them about whether a PhD was the right decision, about the applications themselves, and later about how to choose between offers. Those conversations were incredibly helpful in navigating the whole process.

What advice would you give to someone considering studying maths at Edinburgh – and to a current Edinburgh maths student who’s trying to make the most of the degree?

For students who are just considering maths, my main advice is to think about whether you enjoy it and whether you are happy to be confused sometimes. There is quite a jump between school maths and university maths in terms of style. If you like being a bit creative and working through that confusion, maths can be very rewarding. If you want a flavour before when deciding, you could try something light – a popular maths book or a recorded lecture on YouTube.

For new and current students, I would say: do not panic if you hit a difficult course, especially in first year. When I was an undergraduate, there is this one notoriously hard class in the first semester where the material feels quite different from school and many people have a wobble. Being stuck and not fully understanding things straight away is normal – it is part of how everyone learns at this level. Embrace the confusion and work with other students. This is something that helped me the most. Some of my favourite memories from the degree are study sessions where we were all stuck together, talking things through and gradually making progress.

I would also really encourage students to choose courses they genuinely enjoy rather than only thinking about what looks good on paper. That has always been my approach, and I think it makes a big difference to motivation.

Finally, do not be afraid to talk to lecturers. My year abroad at a smaller institution made me realise that professors are not scary and that you can just speak to them. In my final year at Edinburgh, I started going to office hours more and I regretted not doing that earlier. If something is optional but looks interesting or helpful, it is often worth going along and making the most of those opportunities.

For those about to start their degree: make sure to relax over the summer so you’re ready for hard work when you arrive at Edinburgh!

What’s a highlight or favourite memory from your time in Edinburgh – academic or not?

It is hard to pick just one, because there are so many small moments that stand out. A lot of my favourite memories are quite simple – being in Edinburgh with my friends.

I think of evenings where it is cold outside, you are all wrapped up, and you go to a pub together and just have a really good time. Or going for walks around Arthur’s Seat and watching the sunset with friends.

I did really enjoy the academic side of the degree, but my absolute favourite part was life in Edinburgh itself and the people I shared it with.

Alumni Stories: Meg Wilkinson / School of Mathematics by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0

Share