Math Masters and Education Certification

Are you planning on becoming a math teacher, or are you interested in math but don't know exactly what you want to do with it? If so, then the new University of Oregon joint masters program between the math department and the school of education might be just what you are looking for. The program allows you to graduate in two years, including both summers, with a masters in math and a teaching license. The purpose of the program is to unite the departments around the goal of educating good math teachers. In particular, they want to focus on developing methods of teaching mathematical reasoning that can be applied to different types of math, and they have a grant from the NSF to pursue research in this area. Thus students in the program will do research on this topic for the College of Education during their two years in the program.

The first summer consists of taking two education classes and beginning work on the above- mentioned research. The next two terms the student will take one education class per term and two five hundred level math classes. At least one of these math classes must be a yearlong sequence that will be completed in the spring term. Although it is encouraged that the student take two such year long sequences, the other math classes can be mixed and matched with approval from the math department. During spring term of the first year the student will also begin doing research in math at the six hundred level, which he or she will continue during the next fall and winter term. This research replaces the requirement that a student take a six hundred level course to obtain a master's in math. Students in this program cannot take a six hundred level course their second year because they will be fulltime student teaching by spring term. Thus the second year will be spent mostly in the College of Education preparing to stuent teach, and the student will also do research in math the first two terms. During the first year in the program, the student is eligible for a GTF position in the math department, but as the second year progresses, he or she will be spending so much time in the schools that having a GTF position becomes unrealistic to impossible. A sample schedule is shown below.

Currently the University of Oregon offers a mathematics degree option called secondary education that is intended for students who plan to become secondary school math teachers. This program prepares students to pass a series of tests required to receive a teaching license. By the way, the education school wants you to pass all of these tests before you apply, and so it's good to start thinking about them the summer before you apply to graduate school. They will accept you without test scores, but having passed the tests, gives you an advantage over others who have not and gets it out of the way early. Yet, the amount of math knowledge required to get a teachers license is not necessarily enough to succeed in graduate math courses. Therefore, students who plan to pursue the mathematics masters degree might want to consider taking more math classes than those required for the secondary education mathematics option. Specifically, taking courses in differential equations and multivariable calculus will be useful for graduate courses such as analysis. Success in graduate mathematics courses is also heavily dependent on one's mathematical sophistication. Thus, it is a good idea to get comfortable with reading and doing proofs, and so one might want to try some theoretical math classes too.

If you want to be a high school math teacher, then all you really need is a teaching license, but there are many advantages to doing this program. For one, you get paid more if you have a masters degree although you could be masters in education instead. A masters in math opens up more job opportunities though. For instance, you have a better chance of getting promoted within your school if you have a masters in your subject. This advantage could mean getting more control over curriculum decisions and possibly becoming department head. A masters in math also qualifies you to teach at a community college, and makes it easier to find another job if you decide teaching is not for you.

Since this is a new program and it involves two departments, the application procedure can be a little confusing at times, but here is the lowdown. In order to apply to any graduate program at the U of O, you must submit an application to the Office of Admissions as well as submitting application material to the department that you are applying to. In order to participate in this program, you must be accepted to both departments separately, and so you will submit two applications to the Office of Admissions, but you only have to pay one application fee. You must also fulfill the application procedures for each department as if you were applying solely to that department. It is not until after you are admitted to both departments that it becomes relevant that you want to pursue concurrent master's degrees. If you are accepted to both programs, the graduate school will send you a letter asking which degree you plan to pursue. At that point you must fill out a concurrent degree form for the graduate school and ell them what will be your primary major. For the first year, that will be mathematics. After completing this process, you are on your way to a fun filled two years of studying hard, but it will all be worth it in the end.

Click here for a sample of a negotiated program that meets the requirements of

(a) middle/secondary licensure for teaching math and
(b) the masters degree in math.

Students accepted for this joint program would be eligible for Graduate Teaching Fellowships in the Math Department and/or the Department of Educational Leadership, Technology and Administration over the two-year period.

 

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