I'm curious as to whether or not I would be admitted to a math master's program with a B average in my last 24 s.h. of math courses. I have a BA in liberal arts from the early 90's, and a very low GPA of 2.25. My math courses are recent (2004-2006) and I am wondering if I have a chance at getting into a master's program with such a record. How high would my math GRE have to be? Are such programs extremely competitive? Thanks in advance.
Mathgeek, What are you trying to use Master in Mathematics for? Teaching? There are several programs in Master of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Education...I don't know which one you are looking..
I work in IT now. My liberal arts degree isn't acceptable for jobs in IT for a lot of firms HR filters, so I took a few math courses to qualify for some kind of CS degree. It turns out I enjoy math a lot more than I remember and while career goals are nice, I really just want to study math with professors since I am not a genius and studying on my own is difficult. I have seen online math masters (new one at University of Washington, applied math) and I have seen the teaching math programs too. I have been very disappointed in career opportunities. My salary has stagnated and I am generally unhappy. But I have no idea what I want to do instead of IT. I have reached a ceiling on advancement and I don't want to work any harder after years of doing so, only to be disappointed by the opportunities offered, anyway. So I have opted not to care about career anymore, and just enjoy myself. Anyway, bottom line is, I would like a bricks and mortar school or online school where I can study math at the graduate level. I guess I want to know if I should get my hopes up.
The University of Texas offers a Master of Arts in Teaching - Science Education which might meet your requirements.
The University of Idaho offers a Master of Arts in Teaching Mathematics (M.A.T.). http://www.outreach.uidaho.edu/eo/ViewPage.aspx?pid=37
mathgeek, You should take a look at the GRE Subject Exam for math. You might need to take another undergrad math class to two in preparation, but if you enjoy math (and I'm with you on that), then that's no great penalty. If you can complete a decent score on the math GRE a school might feel a little more assured about the adequacy of your preparation for a graduate program. Plus, the GRE pretest booklet serves as a pretty good guide as to what a math undergrad is expected to know and do and serves as a good curriculum planner of sorts. If they still balk then ask to take one of the graduate classes sans admission and ACE IT. Two other things you can do for the fun of it would be check into the Physics (and math!) forum and the archived videotaped math lectures at the Internet Archive (warning: really, really high level). The Physics Forums has a math section with questions and answers from pre-college to "I didn't understand the question," and the math lectures are presentations on areas which Ph.D. mathematicians have been researching. These two resources won't necessarily help your admission into grad school; they're more for your entertainment and a start to a math-oriented theme to your life. Best of luck and let us know of your decisions and progress. Mark
Montana State University www.montana.edu offers a Master of Science degree in Mathematics Education via distance learning.
You have a good chance on getting into a math grad program. Most schools will only look at your last 24 or "in-major" GPA instead of your overall GPA. Even if you are below what the school requires, most schools will still give you a chance by admitting you conditionally and then see how you do on your first few courses. As for GRE scores, depends on the school.
The University of South Africa (www.unisa.ac.za) has a variety of math programs up to and including the PhD level. I do not know how well they would translate into a teaching job here in the U.S. I have started enrolling in their B.A. (Hons) program via the canadian website (http://www.iaci-canada.com/) I have a B.A. in Mathematics from Northwestern Univ but it has been at least ten years and I am a bit rusty. Personally, I am more interested in this for an intense intellectual challenge than a teaching job. I will let you know what happens with it. Regards, Stephen BA Northwestern Univ (Math/Chem) MD Medical College of Ohio (now UTMC) Pathology AP/CP Residency ORMC Pathology Chief Resident ORMC Blood Bank Fellowship WBH Diplomate, American Board of Pathology
