Adult & Higher Education, M.Ed.

Mission: The mission of the M.Ed. in Adult and Higher Education is to provide comprehensive continuing professional development and pre-professional preparation in adult and higher education encompassing local to global perspectives.

The Program

The changing nature of higher education and the influx of adult learners into formal, informal, community, workplace, and institutional education programs have sparked the need for skills, insights and knowledge of the field of adult and higher education.

The School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development at the University of Houston-Victoria is responding to this need by offering a Master’s degree that prepares students to work in formal and non-formal education environments outside of the K-12 structure.

UHV’s program in Adult and Higher Education is unique among Texas institutions in that it combines coursework in both adult education and higher education administration. This program is designed to have broad appeal to students employed in a variety of fields. Students complete a core curriculum and choose from one of three tracks: Adult Education, Higher Education, or Discipline.

Who enrolls in this program?

This program has been designed to help individuals interested in the education of adults pursue their professional and educational goals. The Higher Education track is ideal for faculty, staff, advisors, student affairs professionals and administrators currently working in community colleges and other institutions of higher education who are seeking advancement or hoping to build their capacity for leadership that comes with having a master’s degree. Individuals pursuing the Adult Education track are generally educators who teach in community settings, health education, corporate training and development environments, or religious organizations. This program develops a valuable set of skills needed to accommodate the needs of and help overcome the barriers faced by adult learners. The Discipline track has been structured to help individuals who wish to teach at the undergraduate level gain both the content knowledge and the credentials they will likely need.

Degree Requirements:

In addition to completing the required core courses (15 credit hours), and the required research course (3 credit hours), students choose one of three areas of specialization: Higher Education (15 credit hours), Adult Education (15 credit hours), or a “Discipline” track (18 credit hours). Students are required to complete an Internship in AHED (3 credit hours) or an additional elective within the AHED course curriculum (AHED 6337 College Teaching is suggested as an elective for those in the Discipline track). Completion of the program requires successfully passing a comprehensive exam that includes three questions: two core course questions and one specialty area course question. Insufficient written responses may require a follow-up (oral or written) defense or further clarification

The breakdown is as follows:

Core:	15 Credit Hours
Research Core	3 Credit Hours
Specialty Area	18 Credit Hours for Adult Education or Higher Education 18 fCredit Hours in a single academic subject for Discipline Track
Comprehensive Exam	Pass/Fail
Total:	36 Credit Hours

Online

All students must take the 18 hours of core courses. Students then choose one of three available concentrations:

Adult Education	(36 total credit hours)
Higher Education	(36 total credit hours)
Discipline	(36 total credit hours)

Core Curriculum Requirements

Total: 18 s.h.

Adult Education

Total: 18 s.h.

Higher Education

Total: 18 s.h.

Discipline/Instruction

Students must complete 18 hours in a single discipline..
UHV offers 18 graduate credits in the following disciplines: Biology, Communication, Computer Science, Criminal Justice, English, History, Literacy, Management, Marketing, Math, and Psychology.

Note

The AHED program does not plan, advise, or coordinate courses offered outside the program. Students would accumulate these hours of their own advisement.

The “Internship in AHED” may be substituted with another specialty area course by students who currently work in the field of adult and higher education by submitting a letter from their employer and a resume. Approval of the waiver is granted by the AHED Program Coordinator.

The Discipline track requires that students complete 18 graduate-level hours in a single discipline (e.g., biology, management, psychology, etc.), which has traditionally been the “minimum requirement” of many colleges when considering the credentials for undergraduate instructors. Individuals wishing to pursue this track should check the requirements of the institution where they wish to teach. In addition, UHV limits the total number of credits that can be earned at another institution and applied to a UHV degree. Pursuing the Discipline track will require careful planning and consultation with the AHED Program Coordinator.

Total: 18 s.h.

Professional Coaching Certificate

The Professional Coaching series of three graduate online courses is intended for individuals seeking professional coaching distinction. The three courses are designed for adults in education and other professions who want to use a human development model for self-improvement and to develop the necessary coaching skills to improve interpersonal communication in a broad range of settings (for instance, educators, business leaders, and health professionals).

Students successfully completing this sequence of three graduate courses will be presented a University of Houston-Victoria Professional Coaching Certificate of Completion:

Note

Professional coaching is distinct from athletic coaching.

This series of three courses is not included as a programmatic requirement of the Adult & Higher Education Master of Education Program.