About the Program

The Graduate Group in Science and Mathematics Education (known informally as SESAME) offers an interdisciplinary graduate program leading to a doctoral degree in science and mathematics education. The program is designed to produce graduates who have advanced expertise in a scientific discipline as well as in educational theory and research methodologies. The graduate group was established so individuals with training or experience in a mathematical, scientific or technical discipline could pursue advanced students focused on educational issues in these disciplines.

To enter the program, students must have an excellent academic record with a bachelor's or, preferably, a master's degree in a natural science, mathematics, or engineering/computer science. Experience teaching, developing instructional materials, or doing educational or psychological research in these areas will also be favorably considered. Knowledge of psychology, cognitive science, education, or statistics is helpful but not required.

Students enrolled in the program will be expected to attain in their chosen scientific discipline a degree of competence comparable to that of a departmental PhD candidate in that discipline. Their thesis research will consist of a project dealing with the development of improved educational approaches research on new instructional models or basic research on learning or cognition in mathematics and science. Upon satisfactory completion of their studies and thesis work, students will obtain the degree of PhD in Science and Mathematics Education.

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Admissions

Admission to the University

Minimum Requirements for Admission

The following minimum requirements apply to all graduate programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:

1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
2. A grade point average of B or better (3.0);
3. If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g., Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 90 on the iBT test, 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, 230 on the computer-based test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
4. Sufficient undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.

Applicants Who Already Hold a Graduate Degree

The Graduate Council views academic degrees not as vocational training certificates but as evidence of broad training in research methods, independent study, and articulation of learning. Therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to pursue new subject matter at an advanced level without need to enroll in a related or similar graduate program.

Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree only if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.

The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:

1. Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
2. Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.

Applicants may apply only to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Any applicant who was previously registered at Berkeley as a graduate student, no matter how briefly, must apply for readmission, not admission, even if the new application is to a different program.

Required Documents for Applications

1. Transcripts:  Applicants may upload unofficial transcripts with your application for the departmental initial review. If the applicant is admitted, then official transcripts of all college-level work will be required. Admitted applicants must request a current transcript from every post-secondary school attended, including community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) attended. 
   If you have attended Berkeley, upload your unofficial transcript with your application for the departmental initial review. If you are admitted, an official transcript with evidence of degree conferral will not be required.
2. Letters of recommendation: Applicants may request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division.
3. Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants from countries or political entities in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and Quebec (Canada). However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a US university may submit an official transcript from the US university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement: 1) courses in English as a Second Language, 2) courses conducted in a language other than English, 3) courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and 4) courses of a non-academic nature. If applicants have previously been denied admission to Berkeley on the basis of their English language proficiency, they must submit new test scores that meet the current minimum from one of the standardized tests.

Where to Apply

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page . 

Admission to the Program

Requirements

1. A bachelor’s degree or its recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
2. Superior scholastic record, normally well above a 3.0 GPA;
3. Indication of appropriate research goals, described in the statement of purpose;
4. Results of the General Test of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE); and
5. For international applicants whose academic work has been in a language other than English, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Selection Criteria

SESAME accepts three to six PhD students each year from more than 50 applications. Applicants are judged on a number of factors. Good scores and a high GPA are necessary, but not sufficient. The deciding factor is the ability to demonstrate a research record and agenda that fit well with specific SESAME faculty. In a small, interdisciplinary program, it is important that applicants clearly indicate in the statement of purpose which faculty member(s) they are interested in doing research with and why. SESAME only accepts applications for the fall semester.

Statement of Purpose and Personal History

The statement of purpose and personal history are two separate essays.

The statement of purpose should succinctly explain your reasons for applying to SESAME, briefly review our relevant academic preparation and work experience, and describe your future academic or professional goals once the degree is acquired. The focus should be on your preparation, experience and aims rather than a discussion of the trends or importance of education in general. The most successful statements are one to two pages in length and focus on the strengths and experiences of the applicant, providing the reviewers with evidence and justification for admitting those applicants who are qualified and well-suited for SESAME.

The personal history should include any relevant information not already included in the statement of purpose. Additional suggestions may be found in the Graduate Division’s Personal Statement Guide. There is no minimum length for the personal history.

These two essays are used in part to evaluation the candidate’s writing skills. Pursuant to UC Berkeley Policy, the two statements must be written by the candidate her or himself.

Three Letters of Recommendation

PhD applicants should provide at least three and no more than five letters that speak directly to their ability and potential to perform academic work at the doctoral level.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Normative Time Requirements

Total Time to Advancement and Total Normative Time

Use this checklist if you entered the program with master’s degree in your mathematics, science, or engineering discipline:

Use this checklist if you entered the program without a master’s degree in your mathematics, science or engineering discipline:

Time to Advancement

Curriculum

The SESAME program requires doctoral students to complete coursework in each of the following seven areas. These courses provide exposure to the major concerns and issues of this field of study. Students, in consultation with their adviser(s), choose from the list of approved courses under each category. Students who wish to substitute other courses to meet the requirements may petition the SESAME Executive Committee.

Note: Students must take required courses for a letter grade. A student's transcript is required to have a balance of courses with letter grades and satisfactory/unsatisfactory such that two-thirds of the course units have earned a letter grade.

Preliminary Examination

The preliminary exam occurs the spring semester. The exam is based upon the preliminary examination reading list compiled by the executive committee. However, the exam is more than just a review of the required readings. Students are expected to be able to analyze and synthesize what they have read in order to take a position on the main issues in cognitive and educational research. The exam typically consists of a written essay component and a one-hour oral debriefing based upon the same questions answered on the written component. The exam is used as one source of information during the students' year-end evaluation. It provides the faculty with a common piece of work from each student and a basis upon which to judge if students have become socialized to the SESAME intellectual community.

Courses

Science and Mathematics Education

Faculty and Instructors

Faculty

Dor Abrahamson, Associate Professor. Mathematical cognition, design-based research, mixed-media design for mathematics learning environments, embodied interaction.
Research Profile

Alice M. Agogino, Professor. New product development, computer-aided design & databases, theory & methods, intelligent learning systems, information retrieval & data mining, digital libraries, multiobjective & strategic product, nonlinear optimization, probabilistic modeling, supervisory.
Research Profile

Andrea Disessa, Professor. Education, cognition, conceptual development, science education, design of technology for education, computational literacies.
Research Profile

Marcia C. Linn, Professor. Technology, learning, mathematics, science, education, science teaching, gender equity, design of learning environments.
Research Profile

Michael Ranney, Professor. Problem solving, knowledge representation & reorganization, explanatory coherence & inference, conceptual change, societal implications, science instruction, global climate change psychology, numeracy in journalism, naïve/informal physics, computational models of cognition, perceptual-cognitive interactions, intelligent tutoring systems, understandings of biological evolution, Reasoning, qualitative & quantitative thinking.
Research Profile

Alan H. Schoenfeld, Professor. Thinking, teaching, learning, productive learning environments, mathematics education, modeling the process of teaching, understanding how and why teachers do what they do.
Research Profile