Mathematics Education

In order to meet minimum University admission requirements, applicants must have:

• A bachelor’s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA – An earned bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution, or a comparable degree from an international institution, with a minimum 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average (GPA) in all coursework attempted while registered as an upper-division undergraduate student working towards a bachelor’s degree.
• GRE test scores*. Official test results are required from the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). These scores are considered official only when they are sent directly to the Office of Admissions from the testing agency. Examinee copies are not considered official. Graduate Record Exam (GRE): http://www.ets.org/ – FSU Institution Code: 5219. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) do not retain scores longer than five years. If your test scores are older than five years, you may have to retake the test to have official scores sent directly to FSU from the testing agency. If you have the report that was mailed to your home address for older scores, then FSU will accept that report.
  • M.S. and Ed.S. applicant target scores: Verbal – 146+, Quantitative – 140+
  • Ph.D. applicant target scores: Verbal – 151+, Quantitative – 145+, Writing – 3+
  • *NOTE: The GRE admission requirements for master's and specialist programs have been waived through Fall 2026.
• Language proficiency test (international students only) – FSU accepts scores from TOEFL (minimum 80), IELTS (minimum 6.5), MELAB (minimum 77), Cambridge C1 Advanced Level (minimum 180), Michigan Language Assessment (minimum 55), and Duolingo (minimum 120)
• Transcripts – Applicants must submit an official transcript from each college and/or university attended. Transcripts should be sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions electronically at graduateadmissions@fsu.edu or via mail in a sealed envelope:
  • Florida State University
    Office of Graduate Admissions
    314 Westcott Building
    P.O. Box 3061410
    Tallahassee, FL 32306-1410
  • Admission to graduate study is a two-fold evaluation process. The Office of Admissions determines eligibility for admission to the University, and the academic department, program, or college determines admissibility to the degree program. University graduate admissions requirements are found at https://gradschool.fsu.edu/admissions/graduate-admissions. Academic programs have additional requirements.
  • Florida State University requires a course-by-course credential evaluation for all applicants that have degrees from a non-U.S. institution. International and domestic applicants with degrees earned from international institutions must submit their official transcripts through a NACES approved evaluator for transcripts from a non-U.S. institution. SpanTran has created a custom application for Florida State University that will make sure you select the right kind of evaluation at a discounted rate. See the “Transcript Requirement” section on The Graduate School website, https://gradschool.fsu.edu/admissions/graduate-admissions, for detailed information on University transcript requirements for graduate admission.

Applicants must upload the following REQUIRED supporting documents to the Admissions Application Portal:

• Statement of purpose – should describe your purpose for pursuing a degree, qualifications and long-term career goals.
  • At least one (1) page for M.S. and Ed.S. applicants
  • At least two (2) pages for Ph.D. applicants
• Letters of recommendation
  • Two (2) for M.S. and Ed.S. applicants
  • Three (3) for Ph.D. applicants
• One-page resume/curriculum vitae
• Writing Sample – it is acceptable to submit a paper used in another class, or one that was published. (PhD applicants who do not have a suitable writing sample may submit a writing response.) 

Doctoral applicants - click here to learn more

• Online master’s program:
  • Fall: July 1
• Specialist program:
  • Fall: July 1
  • Spring: November 1
  • Summer: March 1

• Doctoral program:

  • Fall: December 1 (priority deadline); July 1 (final deadline)

If you are interested in applying, please contact STE-GradCoord@fsu.edu.

• Apply Now
• Apply Now - International Students

• Online master’s
• Specialist
• Doctoral
• Scholarly Engagement Requirement
• Master's Student Handbook
• Doctoral Student Handbook

Christine Andrews-Larson: Dr. Andrews-Larson’s research is broadly structured around three interrelated foci: (1) student reasoning and instructional design that leverages that reasoning (e.g., in the context of inquiry-oriented mathematics instruction), (2) supports for instructors to productively elicit and build on student reasoning, and (3) attention to equity, particularly regarding ways in which inquiry-oriented instructional approaches may provide different kinds of learning experiences and outcomes for different groups of students. Notably, she has earned grants from the National Science Foundation to pursue this work in the areas of undergraduate linear algebra and in the context of integrating middle grades mathematics with computer science using Scratch.

Robert C. Schoen: Dr. Schoen’s research focuses on educational interventions designed to improve teaching and learning in K–5 mathematics (with an emphasis on number, operations, and algebraic thinking) and grades K–8 statistics. He has directed more than one-dozen randomized controlled trials of interventions focused on increasing teachers’ professional capacity, including programs such as Florida’s Mathematics Formative Assessment System (MFAS) and Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI). His work always involves partnerships with schools and school districts as well as interdisciplinary collaboration with experts in diverse fields such as educational and psychological measurement, statistics, psychology, and of course, mathematics.

Ian Whitacre: Dr. Whitacre studies K-8 mathematics teaching and learning. The majority of his work has focused on (a) students’ reasoning about integers and (b) prospective elementary teachers’ number sense development. In addition, Dr. Whitacre’s current project concerns (c) mathematics teaching and learning with PhET interactive simulations at the middle-school level.

Information about tuition and fees at Florida State is available here. You can learn more about the scholarship and aid opportunities for College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences students here.

Curriculum choices in our master’s and specialist programs are designed to enable students to become teacher leaders, college instructors, as well as curriculum specialists, state testing specialists and textbook company representatives. Doctoral program graduates are prepared to become university professors, researchers and leaders in the field.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job outlook for high school teachers is expected to grow 7.5%  through 2026, which equates to approximately 79,500 new jobs. The job outlook for instructional leaders/coordinators is expected to grow up to 10.5% through 2026. That translates into over 17,000 new jobs nationwide. The median national annual salary range for instructional leaders/coordinators is $64,450 per year.  In the state of Florida, mathematics teachers are identified as one of the critical shortage areas. For university or college professors, the Bureau predicts a 9.2% increase in jobs by 2026, totaling 5,300 new jobs. The median national salary is $73,230 per year.

A career in mathematics education can be very rewarding, and a typical path offers ample opportunities for professional development and growth. Educators make a difference in the lifelong learning experience of their students, as well as, the quality and standards of the programs they teach.

On-campus programs: Veronica Houck

Online master's program: Heather Murphy