The M. A. Secondary Teacher Option

The secondary teacher option is a two-year part-time program designed for secondary school mathematics teachers who seek permanent certification. The courses are given in the evenings and in the summer, in a two-year cycle, each course being offered once every two years.

Admission

The minimum requirements for admission to this program are:

1. A bachelor's degree.

2. Two years of college level mathematics including one year of single variable calculus, one semester of linear algebra and one more semester of mathematics beyond single variable calculus.

3. Provisional New York State Certification for Teaching Mathematics, grades 7-12.

4. A grade-point average of 3.0 or better in all calculus and post-calculus mathematics courses.

5. Evidence that the student is likely to succeed: This usually includes three letters of recommendation from former teachers or supervisors.

6. Acceptance by both the Mathematics Department and the Graduate School.

Requirements for the M.A. Degree (Secondary Teacher Option)

The degree requirements are completion of a program of 30 graduate credits approved by the Director of the Masters Program for Secondary School Teachers, and passing the Secondary Teacher Option Comprehensive Examinations. These examinations consist of the final examinations of the core courses for teachers: Algebra, Analysis I and II, and Geometry, for Teachers. Normally, the required program includes:

MAT 511	Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics
MAT 512	Algebra for Teachers
MAT 513, 514	Analysis for Teachers I and II
MAT 515	Geometry for Teachers
MAT 516	Probability and Statistics for Teachers
MAT 517	Calcultors and Computers for Teachers
MAT 518	Seminar in the Uses of Mathematics
MAT 519	Seminar in Mathematics Teaching

a total of 9 one semester courses or 27 credits. One elective course, which is approved by the Director of the Masters Program for Secondary School Teachers, and is in a subject related to mathematics or mathematics education, may be taken to complete the required 30 credits.

Variations on this program will be considered for approval. For example, a student with a strong mathematics background may wish to replace some of the mathematics courses listed above by other graduate courses in mathematics, or subjects closely related to mathematics, or, in exceptional cases, by more education-oriented courses. Normally there will be no opportunity for students in this option to take supervised student teaching.

Students are permitted to transfer up to six credits of graduate work done elsewhere, in appropriate courses, for use towards the thirty credits required for the M.A. degree, subject to the approval of the Director of the Masters Program for Secondary School Teachers and of the Graduate School.