In which order should I get these degrees?

juillet
Sun, 17 Jul 2016 20:44:40 +0000

You can do a master’s in math and get a teaching credential concurrently. Many - most, probably - master’s programs in math education allow you to earn an initial teaching certification at the same time. At some schools the M.Ed program allows that, but at other schools it’s an MAT program. Take, for example, the University of Georgia’s MAT in math education ([https://coe.uga.edu/academics/degrees/mat/math-education]here), Georgia State University’s MAT in math education ([here](http://mse.education.gsu.edu/programs/masters-specialist-programs/mathematics-education-m-a-t/)), the University of Pennsylvania’s MSEd in math education ([here](http://www2.gse.upenn.edu/tep/programs/secondary)), and Harvard University’s Ed.M program ([here](http://www.gse.harvard.edu/masters/tep))

However, while some of those programs will include some graduate-level coursework in math, the majority of the program is about graduate-level coursework in education specifically - like classroom management, child development, teaching in urban areas, etc. If you want a program that has graduate-level coursework in mathematical topics, then yes, you’ll want an MA in math as opposed to a master’s in math education. In that case, it probably doesn’t really matter what order you do it in, but you’d probably want to do the MA in math first and then the certification after.

1. Check and see if the state you want to teach in has a different certificate upgrade that you get for the master’s. If it does, you may want to get the MA in math first, and then get the teaching certification. Given that teaching certification takes about a year and so does an MAT program, it may make sense for you to get two master’s degrees - the MA in math and then the MAT.

2. In order for your teaching certificate to remain active, you might actually have to teach immediately after you get it (or soon). So I’d check that out because that might affect the order that you take it in.

Also, you can send undergraduate letters of recommendation to both programs. Let’s say that you finish college and do a one-year MAT, then you want to get an MA in math. You can still get letters of recommendation from your undergrad professors since they know you the best - you can add in one recommendation letter from an MAT professor, too.