Program Overview
College of Natural and Health Sciences
Contact: Lindsay Reiten, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Location: Ross Hall 2239
Telephone: 970.351.2820
Website: www.unco.edu/nhs/mathematical-sciences/
Advising Information
Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.
To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.
The program consists of four parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) Credits
- University-Wide Credits
*For Educator licensure majors, PTEP coursework counts towards the minimum of nine upper-division UNC credits (300-400).
Program Description:
All undergraduate programs require a core of common courses to provide students with a solid foundation in the mathematical sciences. Thereafter, students can choose from three different concentration areas depending on their educational interests and goals.
This program prepares students to teach mathematics, such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and mathematical analysis and applications at the secondary school level (grades 7-12).
Students entering this program are expected to have the equivalent of four years of high school mathematics that will enable them to begin a study of calculus; students without these prerequisites may be required to take additional courses in algebra and trigonometry before beginning the calculus sequence.
Graduates of this program are prepared and will be qualified for licensure to teach mathematics in grades 7-12 in the state of Colorado. The program also prepares students for graduate study in mathematics education.
Program Admission Requirements:
- Academic Good Standing
- Teacher education and educator preparation licensure programs do not accept Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) or field-based courses that are more than ten years old. PLEASE NOTE: Teacher Candidates have the right to petition this policy at the discretion of the program coordinator.
Program Requirements:
For admission to PTEP, the student must have:
- completed MATH 131 and MATH 132 with a grade of "C" or better (C- is not acceptable);
- completed at UNC at least two content courses that may count toward the Math major;
- a GPA of at least 2.5 in all content courses taken at UNC that may count toward the major.
For admission to Student Teaching, the student must have:
- satisfactorily completed at least 30 semester hours of content courses that may count toward the math major, including: MATH 221, MATH 321 and MATH 341;
- satisfactorily completed Phases One, Two and Three of the Secondary Teacher Education Program;
- a GPA of at least 2.5 in content courses taken at UNC that may count toward the major.
The GPA in the content courses will be computed by the School of Mathematical Sciences according to procedures approved by the faculty that are in place at the time the student's application for admission to PTEP, or to student teaching, or for graduation.
Content courses that may count toward the major are those mathematics, statistics and/or computer courses specified in the Catalog as required courses for the major, or as program electives in the major.
It is recommended that students take MED 272, Mathematics Tutoring.
PTEP Program Requirements:
Teacher candidates who complete an approved content degree and the UNC professional teacher education program, as well as pass the appropriate Colorado Department of Education designated PRAXIS exam (if applicable), will be eligible for recommendation from UNC for a Colorado Department of Education teaching license.
If you are seeking licensure in your program area, the following items are required to complete your program.
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Completion of Application for Initial Admission to PTEP – referred to as Checkpoint #1 (Enrollment in this checkpoint will result in a one-time program fee, assessed to student accounts to pay for assessment software. This checkpoint will also require an out-of-pocket payment - to the chosen approved vendor - to obtain a fingerprint background check, which is required by the Colorado Department of Education.)
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Completion of Full Admission to PTEP – referred to as Checkpoint #2
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Completion of Application for Student Teaching – referred to as Checkpoint #3
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Completion of content specific PRAXIS test prior to Student Teaching
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Candidates may not take extra courses with Student Teaching without prior approval from the Program Coordinator and the STE Director.
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All PTEP Field Experiences and methods courses need to be successfully completed prior to Student Teaching.
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Student Teaching outside the supervision of UNC Faculty may or may not be approved.
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Teacher Candidates will not be placed in a school where they were once students or where they have a close relative attending and/or working.
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Teacher education and educator preparation licensure programs do not accept Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) or field-based courses that are more than ten years old. PLEASE NOTE: Teacher Candidates have the right to petition this policy at the discretion of the program coordinator.
Please work with your content advisor to determine when these requirements will be completed throughout your program.
Degree Requirements — 120 Credits
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
To complete the degree in 120 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses, some of which also count toward the required major and PTEP credits.
Any additional coursework completed outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.
Written Communication — 6 credits
ENG 225 is recommended to fulfill the Intermediate Writing Course in the Written Communication requirement.
See Written Communication courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
MATH 131 or MATH 132 is recommended to fulfill Mathematics requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Mathematics courses
Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 Credits
To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.
PSY 247 is recommended to fulfill Social & Behavioral Sciences and will fulfill both LAC and PTEP major requirements.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major — 42 credits
Take all of the following courses:
Take three of the following courses:
| MATH 317 | Mathematical Foundations for Teachers | 3 |
| MATH 322 | Introduction to Abstract Algebra II | 3 |
| MATH 342 | Introduction to Modern Geometry II | 3 |
| MATH 437 | Mathematical Modeling | 3 |
3. Required PTEP — 47 credits
Phase I (8 credits taken concurrently).
| ECLD 340 | Academic Language/Literacy Development in the Content Areas at the Secondary Level | 3 |
| EDF 366 | Conceptions of Schooling: Context and Process | 3 |
| STEP 161 | Observation and Analysis of Secondary Teaching I | 2 |
ECLD 340: May be taken outside of Phase I
Phase II (8 credits taken concurrently)
| STEP 262 | Observation and Analysis of Secondary Teaching II | 2 |
| EDSE 360 | Adaptation, Modification, and Integration of Curriculum for the Secondary Exceptional Learner | 3 |
Choose one of the following courses:
| PSY 247 | Adolescent Learning and MotivationLAB3 | 3 |
| PSY 349 | Educational Psychology for Secondary Teachers | 3 |
PSY 247 satisfies LAC Social & Behavioral Sciences.
Independent of Phase: Take nine credits
| MED 341 | Principles of Teaching Secondary Mathematics | 3 |
| MED 449 | Teaching Mathematics with Technology | 3 |
| ECLD 360 | Second Language Acquisition | 3 |
Phase III (8 credits taken concurrently)
| STEP 363 | Clinical Experience: Secondary | 2 |
| ET 449 | Integrating Technologies into Secondary Education Pedagogy | 3 |
| MED 441 | Methods of Teaching Mathematics | 3 |
Phase IV (14 credits).
4. University-Wide Credits — 0 credits*
*Note: Students must apply the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum requirements and the major requirements to complete this degree program in 120 credit hours. Students may have an increased number of university wide electives to apply to this degree depending on the number of credits applied to both the LAC and the major. See your advisor for details.