Auburn University Noyce Scholarship Program.

The National Science Foundation Robert Noyce scholarship program is named in honor of the co-founder of Intel. Its purpose is to encourage students with majoring in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM fields) or graduates in these fields to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers. The Auburn University program provides funding to support scholarships for students or graduates who commit to teaching mathematics in high-need schools.

Project personnel (Mathematics and Mathematics Education):

Dr. Overtoun Jenda, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, link to webpage;

Dr. Gary Martin, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, link to webpage;

Dr. Michel Smith, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, link to webpage;

Dr. Marilyn Strutchens, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, link to webpage.

Scholarships in STEM Science fields. Beginning in 2007, Science was added to the Noyce Scholarship program. The science education contact faculty is:

Dr. Melody Russell, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, link to webpage.

Scholarship amount: $10,000 per year. The funds may be used for tuition, textbooks and for costs of attendance as defined in section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087II). Recipients may receive up to two years support.

A screening committee will make the final determination of who is accepted, based on consideration of how well they meet or exceed the qualifications for entry to the Fifth Year program, along with the potential to become a successful teacher shown in the essay and letters of recommendation.

Auburn Noyce Program Benefits.

Students interested in participating in the program will enrolled in the Fifth year Alternative Masters Program in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching. This is a “fifth” year program which typically requires three (full academic year plus one summer) or four (full academic year plus two summer) semesters. Students will matriculate from the program with a Masters Degree. There are two main paths:

Students who already have a BS in mathematics (or equivalent) may receive scholarship support for the three or four semesters necessary to complete the Alternative Masters Program while specializing in mathematics.
Students who are undergraduates and plan to graduate with a BS in mathematics (or equivalent) may be supported for their senior year (Fall + Spring) plus the three or four semesters necessary to complete the Alternative Masters Program while specializing in mathematics.

Noyce Scholarship Program Requirements:

Recipients must be US citizens, nationals or permanent resident aliens.

Recipient must be in the last two years of a BS program and plan to graduate with a major in a STEM field or must have a B.S. in a STEM field. Applicant must have a minimal grade point requirements of at least 2.75 (on a 4.00 scale) for all undergraduate work attempted, at least 2.50 for courses in the major or field of certification and a grade point average of 3.0 for both mathematics and education coursework. Applicant must have completed 60 semester hours of general studies courses, including courses in each of the following areas: humanities, social science, science, and mathematics.

Recipient must commit to completion of two years of service as a mathematics or science teacher for each year the scholarship is received. Service must be performed within 6 years after graduation and must be performed in a school system that has at least one high needs school: According to the NSF program description: Service must be performed within 6 years after graduation from the program for which the scholarship was awarded and must be performed in a high need local educational agency [typically a school system] that meets one or more of the following criteria:

1. It has at least one school in which 50 percent or more of the enrolled students are eligible for participation in the free and reduced price lunch program established by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.1751 et seq.).

2. It has at least one school in which: (i) more than 34 percent of the academic classroom teachers at the secondary level (across all academic subjects) do not have an undergraduate degree with a major or minor in, or a graduate degree in, the academic field in which they teach the largest percentage of their classes; or (ii) more than 34 percent of the teachers in two of the academic departments do not have an undergraduate degree with a major or minor in, or a graduate degree in, the academic field in which they teach the largest percentage of their classes.

3. It has at least one school whose teacher attrition rate has been 15 percent or more over the last three school years.

Applicant must be able to obtain full admission to The Alternative Masters Program in Curriculum and Teaching. Applicant must submit competitive scores on the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination taken during the last five years. (Typically, students admitted to the Alternative Masters Program have GRE Verbal Subtest scores above 400 and Quantitative Subtest scores above 400.) Alternative Masters applicants who have not taken the GRE but who have satisfactory grade point averages (2.75 undergraduate and 3.0 graduate) may seek provisional admission status for one semester. However, they must submit satisfactory GRE scores and be fully admitted before enrolling for a second semester.

Application Process and Requirements:

Submit application: <Link to Application.>

Provide an essay describing your interest in the profession. Essays will be graded based on students’ dispositions toward teaching and diverse populations.

Provide three letters of recommendation from past mathematics or science teachers, instructors, or others addressing the applicant’s scholarship, commitment towards teaching, and leadership qualities. The letters should be sent to:

Auburn University Noyce Scholarship Program

Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Auburn University

Auburn AL 36849

Outline of Alternative Masters Program in Curriculum and Teaching.

Three methods courses are required: A middle school methods course focuses on teaching mathematics in grades 4-8, focusing on multiplicative reasoning, proportional reasoning, and algebraic thinking, with an emphasis on understanding how students learn; a second methods course extends these concepts to the upper grades, with particular focus on developing more formal mathematical concepts and on orchestrating student discourse; a third methods course explores the use of technology in promoting student learning, with special focus on developing preservice teachers’ knowledge of the middle and secondary school curricula. Students’ preservice preparation culminates in an internship that requires them to utilize what they have learned throughout the program; again, students in the Fifth Year receive credit for the internship at the graduate level.

Students in the fifth year program are also required to take two additional graduate courses in mathematics education from among six that are offered focusing on aspects of teaching and learning mathematics. Each of these courses focuses on a particular aspect of the teaching and learning of mathematics. Students must complete comprehensive examinations to ensure they have developed a deep understanding of all of the major components related to the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Link to Fifth Year Alternative Master details: (box below)

Below is a typical program of study for a Fifth Year Alternative Master candidate:

Undergraduate Prerequisites or Corequisites: (10 hrs)

CTSE 4030 Curriculum & Teaching I (4 hrs)

CTMD 4010 Teaching Methods: Middle School Math (4hrs)

CTSE 4200 Managing Middle & HS Classroom (2 hrs)

Curriculum and Teaching: (9 hrs)

CTSE 7510 Research Studies Mathematics (3 hrs) or

CTSE 7530 Organization of Program Mathematics (3 hrs)

CTSE 7970 Technology and the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics (3 hrs)

CTSE 7540 Evaluation of Program: Mathematics

Teaching Field: Advisor approved 6000-7000 level courses in Math (15 hrs)

(Noyce scholars recruited from Mathematics Masters programs would typically already have satisfied this requirement; recommended courses would include advanced geometry such as non-Euclidean geometry, number theory and related discrete areas, probability and statistics.)

Other Related Areas: (9 hrs)

RSED 7000 Advanced Study in Exceptionality (3 hrs)

CTRD 6710 Literacy & Inquiry Content Areas (3 hrs)

FOUN 7100 Advanced Study of Educational Measurement and Evaluation (3 hrs).

Internship: (10 hrs)

CTSE 7920 Internship (10 hrs)

Mathematics Content Field: (A typical mathematics major would have satisfied most if not all of these.)

MATH 5670 or STAT 3600 Probability or Statistics (3 hrs)

MATH 5310 Abstract Algebra (3 hrs)

MATH 5200 Analysis (3 hrs)

MATH 5380 Geometry (3 hrs)

A course in discrete mathematics (3hrs)

Link to Final Report

The Auburn University Noyce Scholarship Program is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.