WHICH DEGREE SHOULD I CHOOSE IF I WANT TO TEACH MATHEMATICS?

CONTINUALLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Currently there are three degree plans designed for students intending to teach mathematics in grades 4 - 8 or 8 - 12. This webpage is intended to provide information that may help you in making a choice of degree plan.

I. BA in Mathematics - Major, mathematics for secondary school teaching option

General requirements for this degree (You may need to scroll up or down the page until you come to " Bachelor of Arts, Plan I" to see general requirements. Then you may need to click on "Next File in Chapter 10" to see the rest of the major requirements. Scroll down this second page until you get to Mathematics, then go down to Major, mathematics for middle grades and secondary school teaching options.)

Major requirements for this degree (You will need to scroll down the page to "Major, mathematics for secondary school teaching option")

Overview:

• This degree plan is suitable for students planning to teach mathematics in the middle grades or high school. It includes math courses intended especially for future teachers as well as standard mathematics courses. Since there is a limit of 36 hours of major courses allowed for a BA degree, this degree plan has no math electives. However, some of the required math courses do involve options.
• This degree alone will not qualify you to be certified to teach mathematics in Texas
. You can however pursue teacher certification along with your math degree by participating in the UTeach Program (more). Most students pursuing this degree plan will also participate in the UTeach certification program. This involves adding the following courses to the program of study:

• All of the mathematics courses required for UTeach certification in secondary math are included in the BA- Teaching Option degree plan. Students should consult a UTeach advisor in PAI 4.02 for more information about the UTeach requirements.
   
• This degree plan also allows the option for a student to receive their BA degree, then seek teacher certification through a post-baccalaureate program or an alternate certification program. This will involve extra time and usually extra expense, so students seeking certification are encouraged to participate in the UTeach program while working on their BA. Signing up for UTeach as soon as possible will help you receive your degree and certification in a timely manner.

Who might choose this degree plan

• Students who are interested in teaching math in grades 4 - 8. (Students who plan to teach in grades 4 - 8 might also choose the new Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Science BS degree, which requires fewer math courses than the math BA-Teaching Option, but more science courses than the math BA-Teaching Option .)
• Students who want to take a lot of non-math courses along with their math degree.
• Students who plan to complete their undergraduate degree before entering a certification program.

 
II. BS in Mathematics - Option V: Teaching

Degree requirements

Overview

This degree plan, like the BA-Secondary Teaching degree, was designed specifically for students planning to teach secondary mathematics. It includes several courses especially designed for teachers. It differs from the BA - Teaching Option primarily in the following ways:

• It allows (and requires) students to take more mathematics courses than the BA-Teaching Option. In particular, a depth course, intended to give additional background in an area of AP mathematics, and four or five (depending on the choice of depth course) additional hours of mathematics are required beyond what is required for the BA-Teaching Option.
• It includes all the UTeach certification requirements. In particular, a 2.5 GPA is required for graduation with this degree.

The BS-Secondary Teaching Option includes all the math requirements of the BA-Secondary Teaching Option, plus the following:

• The depth course: M 427K (Differential Equations) or M 378K (Mathematical Statistics). Students interested in teaching Calculus should take M 427K. Students interested in teaching Statistics should take M 378K. Both of these courses may be included in the program by counting one as a math elective.
• Four to five hours (depending on the choice of depth course) of upper-division math electives chosen from a specified list (Requirement 15g).
• A Supporting Course . This is a course in another department that uses mathematics. This course may be chosen from a long list of approved courses. (See the Supporting Course page on this website for more detail.) The purpose of the course is to give the future teacher experience in how mathematics is used in another discipline.

 Another difference between the BA- and BS-Teaching options is that the BS degree requires fewer language courses than the BA-Teaching option. However, this is not a good reason to choose the BS over the BA, since the other differences between the two degrees make the BS a more rigorous degree plan, and since experience in a second language is valuable for a future teacher.
 
Who might choose this degree plan

• Students who want to take more math courses than can be counted under the BA-Teaching Option. (Students planning to teach in the middle grades should be aware that they will have additional professional development courses required for certification.)
• Students with a strong interest in teaching AP or other advanced courses are urged to choose this degree plan.

III. Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Science BS

Degree requirements.

This is a new degree plan designed to prepare students for middle grades certification in math and science. The degree requires a broad array of courses in math and science, plus a concentration in either math or an approved area of science. This degree plan also includes the UTeach courses. See a UTeach advisor in PAI 4.02 for more information.
 
IV. Seeking Math Certification with Other Degrees:

1. Students may pursue UTeach math certification along with other math major options. However, all the math courses required in the math BA-teaching option must be included in the program of work. This may require taking additional math courses beyond those counted toward the math degree plan chosen.

2. There are also ways for students not pursuing a math major to work toward certification in secondary mathematics. These are:

• A student obtaining certification in a field other than mathematics may also obtain certification to teach mathematics as a second field by completing a specified list of mathematics courses (including most of those required for the math BA-teaching option). For more information about this, consult a certification advisor in the College of Education if the first field is not in science, and the UTeach advisor in PAI 4.02 if the first field is in science.
• A student who already has a bachelor’s degree can pursue a certification program in mathematics. The mathematics courses required include most of those required in the BA-Teaching Option. For more information, consult the UTeach advisor in PAI 4.02.