Adult Education Program Overview
Are you an education professional or practitioner looking to impact the lives of adult learners? Ashland’s M.Ed. in Adult Education will help you advance the practice of learning and teaching to increase adult achievement.
While there are 50 million youth enrolled in the U.S. K-12 education system, there are over 250 million adults who are increasingly seeking formal, lifelong learning related to:
- Health and wellness.
- Economic and workforce issues.
- Encore career development.
- Cultural and second language contexts.
You will learn how to design and implement a range of curricula and programs for adult learners and to provide solutions for adult learners facing challenges in educational growth and professional development. You’ll be able to help them redefine the boundaries of their potential and find their life's calling.
Curriculum
The M.Ed. in Adult Education is a 30-credit-hour program. The 15-hour graduate core meets the national standards for Graduate Programs in Adult Education.
View the Academic Catalog or the M.Ed. in Adult Education Program Checksheet for complete degree requirements.
Sample Courses:
- Methods of Teaching in Adult Education
- The History and Philosophy of Adult Education
- Adult Training and Development in the Workplace
- Program Planning and Management in Adult Education
- Adult Development, Continuity and Change
- Capstone Inquiry Seminar or Thesis Capstone
Customize Your Degree with a Cognate
In addition to the core 18 credits, students are required to complete a cognate area of specialization.
The 12-hour cognate of your choice allows you to personalize your degree. You can also design your own career-focused cognate with faculty advising.
Designed for any sector, communication is an important skill in every field.
Required:
- COM 510 Introduction to Graduate Studies in Communication
- COM 520 Data Informed Decision Making
Select six credit hours from the following:
- COM 620 Strategic Communication
- COM 640 Organizational Communication
- COM 650 Risk and Crisis Communication
- COM Elective courses
Designed for criminal justice professionals.
Select 4 from:
- CJ 510 Constitutional & Legal Issues
- CJ 520 Seminar in Criminology
- CJ 530 Critical Issues in CJ
- CJ 540 Ethics and Justice
- CJ 560 Criminal Justice Policy
Designed for Pre-K through 12 educators.
- EDCI 512 Networking & Tech Infrastructure in Schools (pre-req = EDCI 522)
- EDCI 522 Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century
- EDFN 507 Understanding Statistical Research
Select one from:
- EDCI 538 Designing and Implementing Professional Development for the Technology Leader
- EDCI 633 Organization and Transformational Change Through Technology
Designed for the business sector and sub-fields like training and development, human resource management and organizational change.
- MBA 501 Organizational Design, Development and Change Management
Select 3 from:
- MBA 503 Operations Management
- MBA 505 Financial Management
- MBA 507 Marketing Management
- MBA 511 Managerial Accounting
- MBA 540 Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship
Designed for RNs who want to complete or have already completed the School Nurse Certificate coursework combined with the M.Ed. Adult Education degree option.
- Health Determinants and Academic Indicators (SNP 518)
- Educational Strategies for Healthcare Providers (SNP 520)
- Healthcare of the School Community (SNP 525)
- Interprofessional Collaboration: The School Nurse and School Support Services (SNP 528)
- School Nurse Internship* (SNP 680)
* The amount of internship credit required is determined by verification of the type of previous experience as a nurse in a school setting.
Designed for the Christian faith-based sector.
Required courses:
- BSG 5501 Engaging Texts and Contexts
Select 3 courses from:
- CHS 5500 The Story of the Christian Faith
- CLD 6630 Leading the People of God
- CTH 5520 Christian Theology for the Kingdom of God
- MSS 5501 Kingdom Mission in a Global Community
- NTS 5511 Introduction to the New Testament
- OTS 5511 Introduction to the Old Testament (Part 1)
- OTS 5512 Introduction to the Old Testament (Part 2)
- SPF 5540 Spiritual Formation
Designed for the educational or business sector and leads to a Teaching English as a Second Language certificate in addition to the M.Ed.
- EDCI 534 Language Acquisition & Elements of Linguistics for Teaching English Language Learners
- EDCI 535 Integrated Teaching Methods for English Language Learners
- EDFN 533 Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Learners
- EDFN 646 Educational Assessment
Graduate work in other fields not listed above can be completed on a case-by-case basis.
Career Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that employment opportunities in adult education will increase by more than 21% through 2025 and beyond. This is linked, in part, to emerging trends in the U.S. that include:
- The need for adults to develop skills for encore careers due to technological and economic changes in society.
- The increasing migration of second language residents to the U.S., as well as U.S. adult populations migrating globally due to workforce issues.
- The emergence of health and wellness concerns related to the U.S. adult population that implicate rising healthcare costs.
Each of these trends is associated with the need for formal adult education and training programs and a necessary rise in the number of trained educators and education leaders in adult education work settings.
Can You Give Me a Glimpse of My Future?
Potential salaries may range from $50,000-$133,000 and above depending on your chosen career path. (PayScale.com)
Explore exciting career paths in the field of adult education!
- Instructional Designer - $50,000-$90,000
- Training Manager - $56,000-$107,000
- Training Coordinator - $41,000-$82,000
- Consultant, Learning and Development - $60,000-$140,000+
- Training Director - $71,000-$172,000
Whether you’re an educator, administrator or aspiring professional, discover exciting opportunities in the following sectors:
- Career-Tech Institutions and Universities
- Educational Service Centers and School Districts
- Workforce Development Agencies
- Corporate Training Departments in a Wide Array of Industries
- Other Non-Profit Organizations