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 College of Education & Health Professions at the Texas A&M University-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.

TAMUV’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) 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
Specialty Area (choose one)	15 Credit Hours for Adult Education or Higher Education 18 Credit Hours in a single academic subject for Discipline Track
Comprehensive Exam	Pass/Fail
Total:	30 Credit Hours

Core Requirements -15 Semester Hours

Specialization - 15 Semester Hours

Students will select one of the following specializations: Higher Education, Adult Education, or a Discipline track.

Higher Education

Adult Education

Discipline/Instruction

Students in the Discipline Track must complete 18 semester hours of 6000-level coursework in a single academic subject. To fulfill the discipline requirement, one course will be replaced with AHED 6331.

Available disciplines are Biology (BIOL/BIMS), Computer Science (COSC), Criminal Justice (CRIJ), English (ENGL), History (HIST), Mathematics (MATH), Management (MGMT), and Psychology (PSYC).

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 consulting with their advisor. 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, A&M-Victoria limits the total number of credits that can be earned at another institution and applied to a A&M-Victoria degree. Pursuing the Discipline track will require careful planning and consultation with the AHED Program Coordinator.

Other Requirements

Master Comprehensive Exam must be taken within the final semester of program participation. See the Important Dates and Deadlines page for additional information.