Glossary
Math Professor Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential math professor terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key math professor vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in math professor training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Abstract algebra
- Study of algebraic structures.
- Active learning
- Students working problems in class.
- Calculus
- Math of change.
- Developmental math
- Courses before college level.
- LaTeX
- Math typesetting system.
- Lemma
- A helper result.
- Linear algebra
- Math of vectors and matrices.
- Math anxiety
- Fear of math.
- Office hours
- Student help time.
- Postdoc
- Research position after a Ph.D.
- Problem set
- Homework.
- Proof
- Logical argument showing truth.
- Statistics
- Science of data.
- Tenure
- Permanent status.
- Theorem
- A proven statement.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Math Professor practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Math Professor training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.