In 1900, she took the examination for teachers of French and English and received an overall score. Her performance qualified her to teach languages at schools reserved for girls, but she chose instead to continue her studies at the University of Erlangen.

 She received a Ph.D. degree from Erlangen in 1907, with a dissertation on algebraic invariants. She remained at Erlangen, where she worked without pay on her own research and assisted her father, mathematician Max Noether (1844–1921) for seven years. As one of the leading mathematicians of her time, she developed some theories of rings, fields, and algebras. In physics, Noether's theorem explains the connection between symmetry and conservation laws.