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.
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.