A Recent History of the Production of Doctorates in Mathematics Education

Institutions in the United States have been producing PhDs in mathematics education for more than a century. Teachers College at Columbia University and the University of Chicago produced the first graduates in mathematics education in 1906 and 1912, respectively. In those institutions, doctoral students in mathematics education typically took courses along with doctoral students in mathematics. However, the dissertation research took a different direction as doctorates in mathematics education focused on issues related to mathematics learning, teaching, or curriculum. Over the past fifty years the nature of doctoral programs in mathematics education has taken many different paths. While some doctoral programs remain in mathematics departments, today the majority of doctoral programs in mathematics education are in colleges/schools of education. Some doctoral programs in mathematics education continue to require a substantial amount of mathematics, while others require very little graduate-level mathematics. This article highlights the production of doctorates in mathematics education for the past fifty years.

Reys, R. E. & Reys, B. J. (2016). A recent history of the production of doctorates in mathematics education. Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 63(8), 936-939.