Initial Publication Date: January 13, 2014

American Mathematical Society

30,000 members
Education staff lead: AMS Education Committee, comed@ams.org
http://www.ams.org/
The mission of AMS is to further the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, advocacy and other programs, which
  • promote mathematical research, its communication and uses,
  • encourage and promote the transmission of mathematical understanding and skills,
  • support mathematical education at all levels,
  • advance the status of the profession of mathematics, encouraging and facilitating full participation of all individuals,
  • foster an awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and everyday life.

The AMS supports programs for both the pre-college and college levels that nurture mathematical talent in the United States:

  • AMS has promoted introducing students to research-level mathematics (so called REU programs) by organizing conferences for directors of programs that involve undergraduates in mathematics research of all types. AMS also keeps track of REU sites and publicizes them online.
  • The AMS Epsilon Fund grants provide funding support and recognition for programs that focus on pre-college students and which encourage mathematically talented students to think broadly and creatively about mathematics and its applications.
    http://www.ams.org/programs/edu-support/epsilon/emp-epsilon
  • Mathematics Programs That Make a Difference: Since 2006, the AMS has highlighted programs that aim to bring more persons from underrepresented backgrounds into the pipeline beginning at the undergraduate level and leading to an advanced degree in mathematics, or retain them in the pipeline. This is done through an award.
  • AMS website also showcases efforts made by mathematicians in U.S. colleges and universities to improve college-level mathematics education. This is done through the awards to exemplary programs. The idea is to promote good methods in existing programs and to encourage further innovation, promoting new teaching methods that might scale up to help address the national imperative of training more well-prepared STEM graduates. Another good example is how AMS collects and organizes information for undergraduate students interested in research.
    http://www.ams.org/programs/students/undergrad/undergrad
  • The AMS runs several programs specifically for high school students: The Arnold Ross Lecture series for talented high school mathematics students aims to stimulate their interest in mathematics beyond the traditional classroom and to show them the tremendous opportunities for careers in mathematics. The lectures also intended to illustrate some recent development in mathematical research.
    http://www.ams.org/programs/students/ross-lectures/ross-lectures
  • Another popular activity is the game "Who wants to be amathematician." Through this national competition AMS hopes to enhance the image of mathematics among students.
    http://www.ams.org/programs/students/wwtbam/wwtbam
  • The annual Survey data on the state of Mathematical Sciences is published four times a year in the Notices of the AMS. The survey gives information each year from departments in the mathematical sciences at four-year colleges and universities in the United States. This provides invaluable information to the mathematical sciences community. The data collected include:
    • New Ph.D. recipients (dissertations, gender, race/ethnicity and citizenship, and employment plans)
    • Faculty (size, recruitment, hiring, and salaries)
    • Graduate students (enrollment status, gender, and citizenship)
    • Degrees awarded (Ph.D., master's, and bachelor's)
    • Course enrollments (graduate and undergraduate)
    • http://www.ams.org/profession/data/annual-survey/annual-survey

  • Last but not least, AMS is heavily involved in organizing meetings and in public policy that could affect education. AMS is also involved in public awareness campaigns.

Premier Contribution to Faculty Development

AMS organizes Mathematical Research Communities (MRCs) they intend to nurture early-career mathematicians (those who are close to finishing their doctorates or have recently finished) and provides them with opportunities to build social and collaborative networks to inspire and sustain each other in their work.

The structured program is designed to engage and guide all participants as they start their careers. For each topic, the program includes a one-week summer conference, a Special Session at the national meeting, a discussion network, ongoing mentoring, and a longitudinal study of early career mathematicians. A wide range of topics have been covered so far.

http://www.ams.org/programs/research-communities/mrc

Additional Undergraduate Education Activities of AMS