Mathematics and Science Education, Biological Education Concentration, Ph.D.

Admission Requirements

Admission is based on a comprehensive assessment of a candidate’s qualifications including Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, undergraduate and graduate grade point average, and letters of recommendation.

Admission requires

1. an earned bachelor’s or master’s degree from an accredited university or college. Applicants holding only a bachelor’s degree will be expected to have earned that degree in an area of mathematics or science and will be expected to earn a master’s degree in science, mathematics, or education as they complete the requirements of the Ph.D. All applicants to this program will either possess a mathematics or science degree upon admission or will be required to earn a content master’s as a part of their program of study.
2. an acceptable grade point average (GPA). Successful applicants typically have a minimum 3.25 GPA in their most recent graduate work or a minimum 3.00 GPA when entering with a bachelor’s degree. Applicants holding a master’s degree should have earned at least 24 semester hours of graduate mathematics, science, and/or education credit.

Application Procedures

Applicants must submit all application materials to the College of Graduate Studies.

Application deadline: January 15 for full consideration for graduate assistantships in the following Fall semester. Assistantships may be limited for applications that are completed after January 15.

Applicant must

1. submit application with the appropriate application fee (online at www.mtsu.edu/graduate/apply.php). Once this initial application has been accepted, the applicant will receive directions on how to enter the graduate portal to be able to submit other materials.
2. submit official transcripts showing a grade point average (GPA) in previous academic work that indicates potential for success in advanced study;
3. submit official scores for the verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing measures of the GRE that indicate potential for success in the Mathematics and Science Education program. Although specific minimum scores are not set, evaluation of scores is an important factor in admission decisions.
4. submit supplemental application;
5. provide letters of recommendation from at least three professors or professionals that address the applicant’s potential to successfully complete a Ph.D. in Mathematics and Science Education.

NOTE: International students must also meet the College of Graduate Studies requirement for proof of English language proficiency. This may be accomplished by submission of TOEFL, UMELI test, or IELTS scores that meet the college’s requirements or by successful completion of level 112 of ELS coursework.

Applicants who do not meet these minimums but whose application materials indicate high potential for success may be admitted as non-degree seeking. Such students must meet the conditions of their admission in the time stated to be fully admitted to the program of study.

Degree Requirements

The Ph.D. in Mathematics and Science Education with a concentration in Biological Education requires completion of a minimum of 60 semester hours.

Once admitted to the program, each candidate must

1. complete at least 60 post-baccalaureate semester hours as described in the Curriculum section below. (Students entering with a master’s degree in mathematics, education, or a science discipline may have up to 15 graduate hours of previous coursework applied after determination that the content of the courses is directly equivalent to existing courses in the Mathematics and Science Education curriculum.)
2. make at least two research presentations at regional, national, or international meetings as the lead or coauthor;
3. be lead author or make significant contribution as coauthor of two articles published, in press, or under review in high quality, peer-reviewed journals;
4. in collaboration with an MTSU faculty member serving as principal investigator, make a significant contribution to the development of at least one external grant proposal;
5. complete the MSE 7800 - Teaching Internship ;
6. complete a dissertation and successfully defend it in the final oral examination.

Residency Requirement

During the residency year, students are expected to complete at least 16 hours of coursework that apply directly to the degree. Of these 16 hours, 13 hours of coursework are prescribed.

Fall Semester (5 hours)

•  MSE 7001 Residency Seminar in Mathematics and Science Education I  1 to 2 credit hours (2 credit hours required)
•  SPSE 7010 Educational Research Methodology  OR SPSE 7270 Learning Theories in Mathematics and Science Education  3 credit hours

Spring Semester (5 hours)

• MSE 7002 Residency Seminar in Mathematics and Science Education II  1 to 2 credit hours (2 credit hours required)

• SPSE 7180 Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods  OR MSE 7900 The Nature of Mathematics, Science, and STEM  3 credit hours

Summer (3 hours)

• MSE 7900 The Nature of Mathematics, Science, and STEM  OR BIOL 7900 Teaching and Learning Biology /CHEM 7900 Teaching and Learning in Chemistry  OR MATH 7320 Mathematical Problem Solving  3 credit hours

In addition, during the residency year, students are expected to complete each of the following:

1. Attend at least one conference: The conference should be directly related to the student’s concentration (i.e,. biology education, chemistry education, science education, mathematics education) and should be at the regional, national, or international level. The advisor must approve the selected conference.
2. Make significant progress* toward the submission of a manuscript on which the student is a co-author. The manuscript will be prepared under the guidance of or in conjunction with MSE faculty. Residency seminars will support this process.
3. Attend at least five (5) program activities not associated with course credit: The MSE program has numerous activities that occur during the academic year (i.e., fall and spring semesters). These include seminars, book club meetings, reading/writing groups, journal clubs, etc. Some of these are intended for all MSE students while others are specific to concentrations.

*NOTE: Significant progress toward the submission of a manuscript is defined as legitimate peripheral participation of the student within one or more of the following components of a manuscript:

• Research rationale/study introduction
• Literature review
• Research design and methodology
• Data analysis data presentation
• Writing

Curriculum: Mathematics and Science Education, Biological Education

The following illustrates the minimum coursework requirements. In addition, a maximum of 36 hours of dissertation research may be required to fulfill degree requirements.