a255  1610  04 Jul 85
AM-Young Graduate,0192
13-Year-Old Gets Oxford Math Degree
    OXFORD, England (AP) - A 13-year-old girl was awarded a mathematics
degree at Oxford University on Thursday after two years of study.
Before that, she had never even gone to school.
    Ruth Lawrence learned the good news when exam results were posted at
the 800-year-old university in central England. She was one of two
math students who received special commendation from the examiners.
    Ruth finished college in two years instead of the normal three, but
she cannot pick up her degree until next year because the university
has a three-year residency requirement.
    She said she would be staying in Oxford for at least another three
years to do research toward a doctorate.
    In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., Ruth said: ''I
don't think I am a genius. I think it's got out of a lot of hard
work. It's not sort of born in you. I think you just have to work
hard and have good teachers.''
    Before college, her father, Harry Lawrence, taught Ruth at home.
    Her tutor at Oxford, Mary Lunn, told the BBC that Ruth was now a
better mathematician than she.
    
AP-NY-07-04-85 1909EDT
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