Math and Science Scholars
Math and Science Scholars (MASS)
Texas A&M University’s College of Science, Education Team Up to Solve
Secondary Math and Science Teacher Shortage
TAMU students with an interest in Science have an important option to consider as they charter their course toward a career. Unlike a campus meal plan or an all-sports pass, however, this option’s benefits are more far-reaching than the next semester – more like the next generation.
In an effort to positively affect the future of scientific education, Texas A&M’s Colleges of Science and Education teamed up in 2001 to create the Math and Science Scholars (MASS) Program, a collaborative effort to recruit and prepare the best and brightest students to become the next generation of mathematics and science educators. The program was initiated in response to The Texas A&M University System’s Regents Initiative for Excellence in education, not to mention a pressing state and nationwide need for qualified mathematics and science teachers.
The MASS Program is ideal for students interested in pursuing a career teaching high school mathematics and/or science – or for those who simply want to keep their options for the future open. The program allows access to top faculty in both colleges and utilizes a field-based approach to math and science education that features hands-on teaching strategies in local secondary classrooms with some of the area’s best master teachers.
Students seeking certification under MASS graduate with the same number of hours as any other science major and receive a degree in one of four areas of specialization: biology, chemistry, mathematics, or physics. As an added incentive, students can enroll in the program’s one-hour introductory course tuition free. If they decide not to pursue teacher certification, that credit hour will be applied toward their free elective in any of the College of Science’s degree plans.
The driving force behind MASS and its many goals is Texas A&M’s Center for Mathematics and Science Education, a joint collaborative of the Colleges of Science and Education since 1985. The center is intended to serve as a clearinghouse for issues related to mathematics and science education at the local, state, and national levels. In addition to course reform and grant solicitation, the center is dedicated to the recruitment and retention of math and science educators. The center is led by a four-personal panel of codirectors, including Dr. Carol Stuessy, Associate Professor in TLAC, and Dr. Gerald Kulm, Curtis D. Robert Professor of Mathematics Education in TLAC.
“The future of great scientific discoveries begins with an inspiring teacher,” says Dr. Jane Close Conoley, Dean of the College of Education and Human Development. “The Colleges of Science and Education are committed to developing those inspiring teachers for the next generation of scientific discovery.”
