Ferrini-Mundy earned a Ph.D. in mathematics education from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in 1980 and spent two years there as a postdoctoral associate.

One year later, she chaired the writing group for Standards 2000, a publication from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

In 2007, Ferrini-Mundy joined the National Science Foundation (NSF) as the director of the new Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources; she remained a faculty member at Michigan State until 2010.

[6] In 2000, Ferrini-Mundy was the recipient of the Association for Women in Mathematics' Louise Hay Award.

[11] The award recognizes her service to the mathematics education community spanning multiple levels, state, regional, national, and international and go well beyond the responsibilities of her jobs.