Mathematics Education (Secondary School Teaching)

The Department of Mathematical Sciences at IUPUI offers the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Mathematics from Purdue University, with a concentration in Mathematics Education. Graduates of this program will receive a Purdue University Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics. They will also fulfill the Indiana Professional Standard's Board's requirements for teaching mathematics to early adolescents (ages 11 to 15), adolescents (ages 11 to 18) and young adult students (ages 18+).

General requirements include courses in English composition and communication skills, foreign language, humanities, social sciences, comparative world cultures, physical and biological sciences, and computer science. The department also requires students to choose a secondary area of concentration outside of the department. This secondary area of concentration is fulfilled with the education requirements.

All undergraduate math majors complete three semesters of calculus (Math 16500, 16600 and 26100), ordinary differential equations (Math 26600), and linear algebra (Math 35100 or 51100). Additional math requirements for the math education option include Math 27600, 30000, 45300, 46300, 58300, 42400-42500 or Educ M457, and Stat 35000 or 41600 or 51100.

In addition to being accepted into the School of Science as mathematics majors, students in this option must also apply to the School of Education for the Teacher Education portion of the program, usually during the second year. Before a student can apply to the education phase of the program, he or she should complete several core math courses, take the Educational Foundations course (Educ H341) and take the PPST (Praxis I) exam. See Testing and Praxis Information on the School of Education website for answers to frequently asked questions.

Once accepted into the education phase of the program, the student will continue to take math courses and general requirements and will also complete several blocks of education coursework. The education blocks include classes and field experiences in middle and high schools.

Students in the mathematics education option complete 43 credit hours of mathematics (not including math methods courses). The capstone experience for students in this option is a semester of student teaching. A total of 124 credit hours is required to complete the degree.