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University mathematics education and civic education through mathematics emphasise different aspects of the mathematical worldview. The present study qualitatively analyses 21 mathematics students’ mathematics-specific intrinsic motivation for choosing a mathematics study programme referring to different aspects of their mathematical worldview before the beginning of their study. The results show that many preservice teachers enjoy schematic aspects of mathematics, which does neither correspond to the type of mathematics taught at universities nor to civic education through mathematics. These findings contribute to explaining demotivation and frustration of preservice teachers with university mathematics as well as challenges for implementing civic education through mathematics in classrooms.