The Mathematics Education Bachelor’s of Arts (B.A.) is specially designed for prepare students for a career in K-12 mathematics education. It shares a rigorous approach to advanced mathematics, but requires coursework that is particularly relevant to the K-12 classroom: number theory, classical geometry, and the history of mathematics. In addition, the math education major requires experience in supervised teaching. Many math education majors also participate in CalTeach, to enhance their experience and directly connect with local schools.
In California, students seeking a single-subject credential for secondary teaching in mathematics are required to take the CSET (formerly The National Teachers Examination), a series of examinations that must be passed in order to enter a teaching-credential program. Students who are interested in teaching in high schools can obtain a waiver of the CSET Examinations by completing the mathematics education major, plus three additional specified courses. The Mathematics Department Undergraduate Adviser, the Mathematics Department’s website, and the Education Department advising office have more information about the additional required course.
The undergraduate adviser may be contacted via email at mathadvising@ucsc.edu. The adviser provides information about requirements, prerequisites, policies and procedures, learning support, scholarships, and special opportunities for undergraduate research. In addition, the adviser assists with the drafting of study plans, as well as certifying degrees and minors. Students are urged to stay informed and involved with their major, as well as to seek advice should problems arise.
The Mathematics Department website is a critical resource for students. Here you will find a link to the undergraduate program; the materials at that link constitute the undergraduate handbook. Students should visit this first to seek answers to their questions, because it hosts a wealth of information. Each student in the major is encouraged to regularly review the materials posted to stay current with requirements, course curriculum, and departmental policy. Transfer students should consult the Transfer Information and Policy section.
Mathematics Undergraduate Student Learning Objectives
The mathematics program promotes mathematical skills and knowledge for their intrinsic beauty, effectiveness in developing proficiency in analytical reasoning, and utility in modeling and solving real-world problems. To responsibly live within and participate in the transformation of a rapidly changing, complex, and interdependent society, toward a sustainable and socially just society, students must develop and unceasingly exercise their analytical abilities. Students who have learned to logically question assertions, recognize patterns, and can distinguish the essential from the irrelevant aspects of problems can think deeply and precisely. Students equipped with these skills will be in a position to help solve the “big” problems of our time such as climate change.
Students majoring in mathematics attain proficiency in:
Critical thinking. The ability to identify, reflect upon, evaluate, integrate, and apply different types of information and knowledge to form independent judgments including analytical and logical thinking and the habit of drawing conclusions based on quantitative information.
Problem solving. The ability to assess and interpret complex situations, choose among several potentially appropriate mathematical methods of solution, persist in the face of difficulty, and present full and cogent solutions that include appropriate justification for their reasoning.
Effective communication. The ability to communicate and interact effectively with different audiences, collaborate intellectually and creatively in diverse contexts, and appreciate ambiguity and nuance, while emphasizing the importance of clarity and precision in communication and reasoning.
Students acquire and enhance these abilities in mathematical contexts, but the acquired habits of rigorous thought and creative problem solving are invaluable in all aspects of life. These skills are acquired through experience in the context of studying specific mathematical topics and exploring problems chosen to challenge students’ abilities, spurring them on to acquire new techniques and to abandon familiar but restrictive habits of thought. The overarching objectives can be realized in terms of more focused, appraisable objectives specific to mathematics described on the Mathematics Department website.
Curriculum Matrix
All of the key objectives are addressed to some extent in all courses. For example, the ability to formulate precise mathematical statements and to reason logically are essential skills that are progressively developed throughout the curriculum. However, some skills are more heavily emphasized and utilized in some courses than in others. Some courses are specifically intended to help students move to a new level of proficiency with a particular portfolio of skills, while others are accessible only to students who have already reached a given level; the latter courses make heavy use of particular skills, and thus enhance and reinforce the student’s mastery of them, but the skills themselves are not the primary focus of such courses. Some connections between the key objectives, main subject-specific areas, and courses are indicated in the tables of lower- and upper-division mathematics courses at the Mathematics Department’s website.