2025-2026 University Catalog
Mathematics and Science Education
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Graduate Information
For further information regarding programs, consult the following:
Ph.D. Program
e-mail: mathsciphd@sdsu.edu
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/crmse/msed/
M.A. Program
Mathematics and Statistics
619-594-6191
Teacher Education
619-594-6131
Admission to Graduate Study
Students applying for admission should electronically submit the university application available at http://www.calstate.edu/apply along with the application fee.
All applicants must submit admissions materials to SDSU Graduate Admissions.
Graduate Admissions
The following materials should be submitted as a complete package directly to:
Graduate Admissions
Enrollment Services
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA 92182-7416
- Official transcripts (in sealed envelopes) from all postsecondary institutions attended;
NOTE:
- Students who attended SDSU need only submit transcripts for work completed since last attendance.
- Students with international coursework must submit both the official transcript and proof of degree. If documents are in a language other than English, they must be accompanied by a certified English translation.
- English language score, if medium of instruction was in a language other than English (http://www.ets.org SDSU institution code 4682).
Mathematics and Science Education
The following admissions materials must be submitted electronically. For information regarding the admissions process, visit the program website at http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/crmse/msed/. The Cal State Apply application must be completed prior to the mathematics and science education admissions materials.
- Mathematics and science education application;
- Three letters of recommendation attesting to capability to do graduate work in mathematics and science education;
- Personal statement;
- Research statement;
- One copy of unofficial transcripts;
- Curriculum vitae or resume.
Section I. Master’s Degree Programs
General Information
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics offers two specializations in its program of graduate study leading to a Master of Arts degree for teaching service. The specialization for community college teaching offers candidates a program designed to provide them with the mathematical breadth necessary to teach a wide variety of lower-division collegiate mathematics courses, while also providing them with a better understanding of the issues involved in teaching and learning mathematics. The specialization for secondary teaching offers coursework designed to strengthen the mathematical background of secondary teachers, to provide teachers with a deeper understanding of learning and teaching mathematics in grades 7-12, and to allow teachers the opportunity to analyze curriculum and evaluation efforts in a manner that can lead them to make reasoned judgments about curricular, testing, and instructional issues in grades 7-12 mathematics.
Courses described in this section may also be of interest to students seeking the Master of Arts degree in education with concentrations in elementary curriculum and instruction or secondary curriculum and instruction, offered by the School of Teacher Education.
Associateships
Graduate teaching associateships in mathematical sciences are available to qualified students. Support for qualified candidates may also be available through the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, School of Teacher Education, or through employment on faculty research grants. Applications are available from the appropriate campus offices.
All students must satisfy the general requirements for admission to the university with classified graduate standing, as described in Admission and Registration .
Section II. Doctoral Program
WEBSITE: http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/crmse/msed
General Information
San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego, jointly offer a doctoral program in mathematics and science education. The program faculty at SDSU are members of the College of Sciences and the College of Education and are affiliated with the Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education (CRMSE). They represent a number of different disciplines, including biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, psychology, statistics, and teacher education. The program faculty at UCSD, also an interdisciplinary group, are members of the Division of Physical Sciences (chemistry, mathematics, and physics) the Division of Biological Sciences, or the Division of Social Sciences (cognitive science, communication, education studies, psychology, and sociology). The program is administered under the College of Sciences at SDSU and under the Division of Physical Sciences at UCSD.
The research interests of the participating faculty members cover a wide range of issues in the learning and teaching of mathematics and the sciences. Graduates of the program will be qualified to take a variety of professional positions, including faculty appointments in universities, colleges, and community colleges; specialist positions in public school districts; and out-of-school employment in settings that require expertise in mathematics and science education.
Doctoral Faculty
The following faculty members of the cooperating institutions participate in the joint doctoral program, being available for direction of research and as departmental members of joint doctoral committees.
San Diego State University:
Co-Director: Susan D. Nickerson
Graduate Adviser: Meredith Vaughn
Staff Adviser: Deb Escamilla
Doctoral Program Members: Biology: Kelley, Oechel, Sbeglia, Williams (Emeritus); Chemistry: Komperda; Computer Science: Beck (Emeritus); Education: Hernández, Navarro; Mathematics: Bowers (Emeritus), Delaney, Lobato (Emeritus), Nickerson, O’Neill, O’Sullivan, Pilgrim, Rasmussen, Reinholz, Zahner; Physics: Anderson, Goldberg (Emeritus); Psychology: Thoman; Statistics: Levine; Teacher Education: Cappello, Chizhik, Johnson, Lamb, Marshall, Philipp, Ross, Schenkel, Vaughn
University of California, San Diego:
Co-Director: Stanley Lo
Graduate Adviser: Stacey Brydges
Staff Adviser: Kyung Brown, MSED Grad Advising (msed-advising-g@ucsd.edu)
Doctoral Program Members: Alač, Barner, Brydges, Burgasser, Bussey, Chapman, Chivukula, Clarke, Daly, Datnow, Eggers, Geller, Halter, Heyman, Juavinett, Lo, McDonnell, Meaders, Minnes, Núñez, Ochoa, Owens, Quarfoot, Rabin, Simon, Stevens, Walker, Weizman, Wienhausen (Emeritus), Wishard
Admission to Doctoral Study
Applicants for admission to the doctoral program in mathematics and science education must meet the general requirements for admission to both universities with classified graduate standing as outlined in the respective current catalogs. Applicants must also meet the special requirements of this program. These include: (a) an acceptable baccalaureate degree in mathematics or science (or a related discipline); b) a master’s degree, or its equivalent, in biology, chemistry, physics, or mathematics; (c) a GPA of at least 3.25 in the last 30 semester (or 45 quarter) units of upper division work and at least a 3.5 in the graduate work attempted; (d) good standing in the last institution attended.
Students with a master’s degree in mathematics or science education can also be considered for admission if they meet the following requirements: (a) a bachelor’s degree in mathematics or science; (b) a master’s degree in mathematics or science education that includes substantial graduate level mathematics or science courses. The GPA and graduate standing requirements specified in the previous paragraph must also be met. Students entering the program with a master’s degree in mathematics or science education are required to take three additional graduate-level courses in mathematics or sciences as specified in “Specific Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree.”
Students applying for admission to the doctoral program should electronically submit the university application available at http://www.calstate.edu/apply along with the application fee.
All applicants must submit admissions materials separately to SDSU Graduate Admissions and to the Mathematics and Science Education Ph.D. Program.
Graduate Admissions
The following materials should be submitted as a complete package directly to:
Graduate Admissions
Enrollment Services
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA 92182-7416
- Official transcripts (in sealed envelopes) from all postsecondary institutions attended;
NOTE:
- Students who attended SDSU need only submit transcripts for work completed since last attendance.
- Students with international coursework must submit both the official transcript and proof of degree. If documents are in a language other than English, they must be accompanied by a certified English translation.
- English language score, if medium of instruction was in a language other than English (http://www.ets.org SDSU institution code 4682).
Mathematics and Science Education
For information regarding the admissions process, visit the program website at http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/crmse/msed/.
Financial Support
San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego have a number of research and teaching associateships available to support students admitted to the Joint Doctoral Program. All students applying to the program will be considered for financial support.
Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty:
Anderson, Matthew E., Senate Distinguished Professor of Physics (B.S., University of California, San Diego; Ph.D., University of Oregon)
Cappello, Marva G., Professor of Teacher Education (B.F.A., Rochester Institute of Technology; M.S., The City University of New York, Hunter College; Ph.D., University of Southern California)
Chizhik, Alexander W., Professor of Teacher Education, Director of Academic Labor Relations (B.A., B.S., University of California, Irvine; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles)
Kelley, Scott T., Professor of Biology, (B.A., Cornell University; Ph.D., University of Colorado)
Lamb, Lisa L. Clement, Professor of Teacher Education (B.S., College of William and Mary; M.A., San Diego State University; Ph.D., San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego)
Levine, Richard A., Professor of Statistics (B.S., State University of New York at Binghamton; M.S., Ph.D., Cornell University)
Nickerson, Susan D., Professor of Mathematics, Coordinator for Ph.D. Program (B.S., Eastern Nazarene College; M.A., University of California, San Diego; Ph.D., San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego)
Oechel, Walter C., Albert W. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Biology (A.B., San Diego State University; Ph.D., University of California, Riverside)
Rasmussen, Chris L., Professor of Mathematics (B.S., M.A., Ph.D., University of Maryland)
Reinholz, Daniel L., Professor of Mathematics (B.S., M.S., Colorado State University, Fort Collins; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley)
Thoman, Dustin B., Professor of Psychology (B.S., Middle Tennessee State University; M.S., Ph.D., University of Utah)
Zahner, William C., Professor of Mathematics (B.A., Boston College; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz)
Hernández, Sera, Associate Professor of Education (B.A., M.A. Loyola Marymount; M.A., Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley)
Johnson, Nicholas, Associate Professor of Teacher Education (B.A., University of California, Los Angeles; M.A., California State University, Dominguez Hills; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles)
Komperda, Regis, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry (B.S., M.S., University of Illinois; Ph.D., Catholic University of America)
Navarro, Melissa, Associate Professor of Dual Language and English Learning Education (B.A., University of California, San Diego; M.Ed., University of California, Los Angeles; Ph.D. Claremont Graduate University and San Diego State University)
O’Neill, Chris, Associate Professor of Mathematics (B.S., B.A., San Francisco State University; Ph.D. Duke University)
Pilgrim, Mary E., Associate Professor of Mathematics (B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Colorado State University)
Ross, Donna L., Associate Professor of Teacher Education (B.A., Lewis and Clark College; M.S., San Diego State University; Ph.D., University of Washington)
Vaughn, Meredith E., Associate Professor of Teacher Education (B.S., Allegheny College; M.Ed., Ph.D., Boston College)
Delaney, Victoria, Assistant Professor of Mathematics (B.S. Carnegie Mellon University; M.Ed. Lehigh University; M.S., Ph.D. Stanford University)
Marshall, Brittany, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education (B.S., M.A. North Carolina State University; Ph.D. Rutgers University)
Sbeglia, Gena C., Assistant Professor of Biology (B.S., Binghamton University; M.S, University of Missouri - St. Louis; Ph.D., Stony Brook University)
Schenkel, Kathleen, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education (B.S., University of Notre Dame; M.Ed., University of Notre Dame: Ph.D., Michigan State University)
Emeritus Faculty:
Beck, Leland L., Ph.D., 1980-2016, Professor of Computer Science
Bowers, Janet S., Ph.D., 1996-2020, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Goldberg, Fred M., Ph.D., 1986-2012, Professor of Physics
Lobato, Joanne E., Ph.D., Professor of Mathematics
Williams, Kathy S., Ph.D., 1987-2017, Professor of Biology
Additional Faculty:
O’Sullivan, Michael E., Professor of Mathematics (B.A., Reed College; M.S., Portland State University; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley)
Philipp, Randolph A., Professor of Teacher Education (B.A., M.S., California State University, Northridge; Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison)
Programs
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