Program Overview
The Master of Arts (MA) in mathematics education features mathematics courses developed to increase the mathematical content knowledge of secondary teachers and prepare candidates for teaching in the community college or pursuing further graduate studies. To graduate, candidates must pass three comprehensive exams in their last semester. For those candidates considering more advanced graduate studies, a thesis option is available in lieu of comprehensive exams to expose candidates to research methods in mathematics education.
Program Outline
All MA Graduate Students: To obtain the MA degree in mathematics education, a candidate must earn 30 graduate hours (15 hours must be at the 6000 level) in mathematics within six years. Electives must be approved by a candidate’s graduate advisor.
Thesis Option: For the thesis option, a candidate must take at least six thesis hours for research. At the end of the thesis hours, a candidate must produce a written thesis and present results. For the thesis option, a candidate must earn at least 30 hours. The thesis option requires a minimum of 24 hours of course work and a minimum of 6 thesis hours. If a candidate who has selected the thesis option wishes to change to the non-thesis option, no credit will be granted for thesis courses.
Non-Thesis Option: For the non-thesis option, the twenty-one additional elective hours may be selected from graduate courses in mathematics and may include courses at the 5000 level with the approval of the candidate’s advisor. All non-thesis option candidates for the MA degree will be required to pass a comprehensive examination. This examination will include two parts. The first is mathematical content from the three required courses, and the second is from selected topics in mathematics education.
Required courses for all MA graduate students:
MATH 6310 Advanced Algebra for Mathematics Educators
MATH 6350 Advanced Geometry for Mathematics Educators
MATH 6370 Advanced Calculus for Mathematics Educators
Required course for the thesis option
MATH 6V96 Thesis (variable credit; 6 hours required)
Elective courses for MA graduate students:
MATH 5300 Professionalized Subject Matter
MATH 5306 Modeling and Simulation
MATH 5315 Introduction to Partial Differential Equations
MATH 5330 Mathematical Modeling in Biology
MATH 5340 Numerical Methods
MATH 5345 College Geometry
MATH 5362 Advanced Calculus I
MATH 5363 Advanced Calculus II
MATH 5371 Introduction to Probability
MATH 5372 Introduction to Statistical Inference
MATH 5373 Regression Analysis
MATH 5374 Introduction to Stochastic Processes
MATH 5375 Introduction to Topology I
MATH 5385 Complex Analysis
MATH 5391 Machine Learning
MATH 5392 Time Series and Forecasting
MATH 6305 Foundations of Mathematics
MATH 6307 Advanced Topics for Mathematics Educators
MATH 6312 Data Modeling for K-8 Teachers
MATH 6315 Introduction to Number Theory
MATH 6325 Problem Solving and Modeling for Mathematics Educators
MATH 6335 Technology Tools for Mathematics Educators
MATH 6340 Historical Perspectives of Mathematics
MATH 6342 Mathematical Modeling
MATH 6345 Advanced Ordinary Differential Equations
MATH 6357 Methods for Solving Nonlinear Differential Equations
MATH 6395 Probability and Statistics for Mathematics Educators
