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:
This program prepares students to teach mathematics, such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and applications at the middle school level (grades 6-8).
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 6-8 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 185 and MATH 131 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 286, MATH 341 and MATH 391;
- 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 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 entering the program take MATH 102 in their first semester.
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 but is not required for the major.
See Written Communication courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
MATH 131, MATH 132, or MATH 185 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.
ECLD 260 is recommended to fulfill Social & Behavioral Sciences and U.S. Multicultural Studies requirements and will fulfill both LAC and PTEP requirements.
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 — 38 credits
Take all of the following courses:
| CS 120 | Introduction to Programming | 3 |
| MATH 131 | Calculus ILAX1 | 4 |
| MATH 132 | Calculus IILAX1 | 4 |
| MATH 185 | Number Sense and AlgebraLAX1 | 3 |
| MATH 283 | Fundamental Mathematics III: Geometry and Measurement | 3 |
| MATH 286 | Elements of Discrete Mathematics | 3 |
| MATH 317 | Mathematical Foundations for Teachers | 3 |
| MATH 341 | Introduction to Modern Geometry I | 3 |
| MATH 386 | Problem Solving | 3 |
| MATH 391 | Introduction to Number Theory | 3 |
| MATH 464 | Introduction to History of Mathematics | 3 |
| STAT 355 | Introduction to Applied Statistics and Probability | 3 |
3. PTEP Requirements — 47 credits
Phase I (8 credits taken concurrently)
| ECLD 260 | Language Acquisition in Multilingual SocietiesLAB3LAMS | 3 |
| EDF 290 | Foundations of Education | 3 |
| STEP 161 | Observation and Analysis of Secondary Teaching I | 2 |
Phase II (5 credits taken concurrently)
| EDSE 360 | Adaptation, Modification, and Integration of Curriculum for the Secondary Exceptional Learner | 3 |
| STEP 262 | Observation and Analysis of Secondary Teaching II | 2 |
Independent of Phase (take 9 credits)
| ECLD 341 | Content-Based Literacies for Equitable Access to PK-12 Instruction | 3 |
| MED 341 | Principles of Teaching Secondary Mathematics | 3 |
| MED 449 | Teaching Mathematics with Technology | 3 |
Independent of Phase (take 3 credits)
| PSY 247 | Adolescent Learning and MotivationLAB3 | 3 |
| PSY 349 | Educational Psychology for Secondary Teachers | 3 |
Phase III (8 credits taken concurrently)
| ET 449 | Integrating Technologies into Secondary Education Pedagogy | 3 |
| MED 441 | Methods of Teaching Mathematics | 3 |
| STEP 363 | Clinical Experience: Secondary | 2 |
Phase IV (14 credits)
4. University Wide Credits — 4 credits*
Complete additional credits to achieve the minimum credits needed for any degree at UNC; for this program, that will typically be 4 credits.
*Note: Students who apply the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum and the major requirements will have an increased number of university wide electives to apply to this degree. See your advisor for details.