Ph.D. in Mathematics with Specialization in Mathematics Education

Credit Requirements

A total of 90 hours above the B.S. degree is required, including credit hours for the Ph.D. thesis.

Core Requirements

Mathematics (18 hours)

All candidates for the Ph.D. with specialization in Mathematics Education are required to complete 3 of the following 4 one-year course sequences:

• Complex Analysis I & II (Math 5283, Math 5293)
• Real Analysis I & II (Math 5143, Math 5153)
• Algebra I & II (Math 5613, Math 5623)
• Geometric Topology, Algebraic Topology I (Math 5313, Math 6323)

 

and
Statistics (6 hours)

• Probability Theory (Stat 4113)
• Statistical Inference (Stat 4223)

   

Education (12 hours)

All candidates are required to complete 12 hours from one of the sequences i, ii, or iii. Three hours of Math 6990 must be included.

i.

Higher Education

• Topics in Mathematics Education (Sample Topic: Issues and Trends in Collegiate Mathematics) (Math 6990)
• Critical Issues in Higher Education (Edle 6230)
• The Community Junior College (Edle 6683)
• Historical Development of Higher Education (Edle 6753)
• Academic Programs: Development and Implementation (Edle 6813)
• The Academic Department (Edle 6843)

ii.

Common Education

• Topics in Mathematics Education (Sample Topic: Supervision of School Mathematics) (Math 6990)
• Fundamentals of Curriculum Development (Cied 5053)
• Analysis of Teaching (Cied 6033)
• Teaching Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics (Cied 4003)
• Teaching Geometry in the Secondary School (Cied 4053)

Only one course at the 4000 level may be used to satisfy this requirement.

iii.

Research in Mathematics Education

• Topics in Mathematics Education (Sample Topic: Comparison of Assessment Techniques in Learning Algebra) (Math 6990)
• Research Design and Methodology (Rems 5013)
• Analysis of Variance (Rems 6003)
• Multiple Regression Analysis in Behavioral Studies (Rems 6013)
• Program Evaluation (Rems 6373)
• Sample Survey Design (Stat 5043)
• Experimental Design (Stat 5303)

 

Professional Development Plan and Portfolio

Normally a candidate will declare his or her intention to pursue the Ph.D. in Mathematics with emphasis in Mathematics Education well in advance of the expected date of graduation so that a course of studies and professional activities can be designed and approved satisfying the following series of professional development requirements.

Professional Development Plan

A written Professional Development Plan, outlining the activities which the candidate intends to use to satisfy these requirements, must be presented for evaluation as early as possible in the candidate's graduate career. This written plan will be reviewed by, and must be accepted by, the candidate's advisory committee and the Mathematics Education Committee. Although normally completed earlier, review and acceptance of the Professional Development Plan must be completed before the qualifying exam.

Professional Development Portfolio

Each candidate will assemble a final Professional Development Portfolio containing documentation and summary reports on each of the elements constituting the professional development portion of the degree requirements. This portfolio may be presented for review and approval to the candidate's advisory committee and the Mathematics Education Committee at any time, but in any case, at least two weeks in advance of the final defense. 

Upon acceptance by the Mathematics Education Committee, a letter of reference documenting the candidates educational activities will be written to support the candidate's employment search.

Requirement 1: Curriculum Development Activity Each candidate must execute a curricular development project. Typical types of projects might be:

• Write and field-test class activities for a course being taught.
• Work in connection with a funded curricular project taking place within the department.
• Development of projects for use with a course.
• Write and field-test computer laboratory activities for a course being taught.

Requirement 2: Professional Educational Presentations Each candidate must develop and execute two professional presentations. Typical kinds of presentations might be:

• Presentation at state or regional meeting of MAA, NCTM or OCTM.
• Local teachers workshop presentation.
• Departmental or seminar presentation of educational interest.

Requirement 3: Broad Teaching Experiences Each candidate must plan with the mathematics education committee (with the agreement of the associate chairman of the department) a 2 year program of teaching assignments designed to provide the candidate with a broad range of experiences with various teaching modes (reformed, traditional, calculator-based, project).

Requirement 4: Education Seminar Participation Each candidate must participate in the Mathematics Education seminar for two semesters and must give at least two presentations in this seminar.

Comprehensive Examination

The Ph.D. student must take the comprehensive examination within one year of residence after completion of the required coursework for the examinations. The comprehensive examination will cover the content of four of the following five sequences: Algebra, Topology, Real Analysis, Complex Analysis and Statistics. A student who elects to take the exam over the Statistics sequence will take it when the Statistics department offers their exams which may not coincide with when the mathematics exams are given. A candidate who elects to take the Statistics examination is expected to complete both the Mathematics and Statistics department exams within 25 months of taking the first one. Pass or failure on the comprehensive exam and the resulting consequences will be as described in the section on doctoral exams of the Mathematics Graduate Program Handbook. In particular, no exam may be taken more than three times.  

Qualifying Exam

The student must pass an oral qualifying examination over the areas of specialization for their graduate theses. The exam covers the material on a reading list presented to the student by their advisory committee. It is the purpose of the examination to determine the student's readiness to begin thesis work. Before taking the examination, the student must have an approved plan of study and an approved Professional Development Plan.

Thesis Proposal

An outline of the proposed thesis research for both the major and minor thesis as well as the Professional Development Plan must be presented to the student's advisory committee for approval. A written proposal for the major thesis is then filed with the Graduate College.

Language Requirement

Candidates are required to complete the requirement in either 1 or 2 below.

1.

  Candidates must pass an examination demonstrating reading knowledge of one foreign language, French, German, Russian or Spanish.

2.

  Candidates must pass an examination demonstrating proficiency in one computer programming language, e.g., $C++$ or Fortran, or software system, e.g., MapleV or Mathematica, approved by the graduate committee. The graduate committee will assign an examiner who will determine proficiency by having the student solve programming problems or perform tasks of a similar nature and level of difficulty using the software system under controlled circumstances.

Theses

The candidate must complete a research thesis in mathematics education along with a minor expository thesis in mathematics or a mathematics thesis along with a minor thesis in mathematics education.

The major thesis is the dissertation for the purpose of the Graduate College requirements. It must prepared according to the style required of doctoral theses and defended.

The minor thesis must be typed. However, the technical style and form specifications are determined by the director of the minor thesis. The student must submit one copy of the minor thesis to each of the graduate director , the director of the minor thesis and the chairman of the student's advisory committee.

Graduate College Requirements

All requirements listed in the University catalog must be satisfied.