Top Online Master’s Degrees in Adult Education

Ball State University’s Master in Adult and Community Education has a community focus to help students gain the skills they need to enter this area of the education field while helping organizations provide the training necessary to improve their workplaces. Since teaching adults is so different than teaching children, this program emphasizes adult learning concepts, practices, and program design evaluation along with strategies for teaching in adult learning environments. Students also learn about factors like the social, political, and economic systems influencing education. In addition to core and elective coursework, students must complete a research component. They can do this by either writing a master’s thesis based on original research or by participating in a seminar that covers education program evaluation, the grant process, or educational research methodologies. This 30-credit MA program is offered fully online and partially online.

Program Highlights:

Master in Adult and Community Education

• Credits: 30
• Length: 2 years
• Cost: $566/credit (resident); $781/credit (non-resident)
• Mode: Fully-Online and Partially-Online
• Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission (school); Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (program)

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To be admitted into Kansas State University’s adult learning and leadership master’s degree program, prospective students need a bachelor’s degree and a minimum GPA of 3.0 in the last two years of their undergraduate programs. Applications should include resumes to prove professional experience and statements of objectives describing career goals, candidate program fit, and reasons for obtaining a master’s degree. Students are admitted throughout the year, so they don’t have to wait for a specific term to begin their studies. Classes are offered in eight-week sessions that are completed entirely online. Coursework covers topics like the unique characteristics of adult learners, social issues associated with adult learning, education research methods, curriculum design, and adult literacy. When students finish their classes, they must submit an electronic portfolio that represents what they’ve learned throughout the program and pass a comprehensive final examination.

Program Highlights:

Master in Adult Learning and Leadership

• Credits: 33
• Length: 2 years
• Cost: $510.60/credit  
• Mode: Fully-Online  
• Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission (school); National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (program)

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The M.Ed. in Adult and Lifelong Learning at the University of Arkansas can be completed in two years and is designed to give advanced skills for handling the unique challenges educators face when teaching adults. Skills taught in this fully-online, 33-credit program include assessing adult learners in different environments, conducting educational research, taking leadership roles in organizations that provide education, and creating and evaluating programming for adult learners. Graduates work at nonprofit organizations, colleges, leisure learning facilities, and the military. This degree requires students to maintain at least a 2.85 cumulative grade point average throughout the program. In addition to coursework, students must complete a project where they identify and address a challenge in the adult learning field and propose solutions to that problem.

Program Highlights:

M.Ed. in Adult and Lifelong Learning

• Credits: 33
• Length: 2 years
• Cost: $437.54/credit 
• Mode: Fully-Online  
• Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission (school); Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (program)

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Admittance into Texas State University’s Master of Arts in Adult, Professional, and Community Education requires a bachelor’s from a regionally accredited school and a 2.75 minimum GPA. Students must also submit three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with their work performance and a writing sample discussing a problem in the adult education field. Although scores from standardized tests like the GRE are not required, students whose first language is not English are required to submit scores from the TOEFL or IELTS examination. Students in this 39-credit, partially-online MA program can concentrate on English as a second language or workplace, community, and continuing education. The ESL concentration focuses on the development and management of adult ESL programs and strategies educators use to teach ESL students. The workplace, community, and continuing education curriculum teaches students how to run adult education programs found in colleges and universities, community organizations, and private businesses. Both programs have a thesis and non-thesis option. 

Program Highlights:

Master of Arts in Adult, Professional, and Community Education

• Credits: 39
• Length: 2 years
• Cost: $777.10/credit (resident); $1,185.10/credit (non-resident)
• Mode: Partially-Online
• Accreditation: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (school); Teacher Education Accreditation Council (program)

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City University of Seattle offers a Master of Education in Adult Education and Instructional Design that prepares students for work in a variety of jobs, including as trainers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, training administrators, and instructors. The 36-credit curriculum emphasizes instructional design techniques for adult learning environments, learning theory, curriculum development, and education training programs for adults. All coursework is completely online through Blackboard. After completing their coursework, students participate in a capstone class that allows them to apply the knowledge and skills gained throughout the program to a project based on an educational modality. During the capstone process, students identify a real-world challenge in adult education and use their pedagogical knowledge to propose solutions.

Program Highlights:

Master of Education in Adult Education and Instructional Design

• Credits: 36
• Length: 2 years
• Cost: $540 per/credit  
• Mode: Fully-Online  
• Accreditation: Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (school)

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