Master's of Agricultural Education Degree (Distance Track)
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Master's of Agricultural Education Degree (Distance Track) |
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The Master's of
Agricultural Education degree (Distance Track) is a non-thesis
degree and is designed
for a wide array of individuals. This degree is a
broad based degree
designed for extension agents, agricultural teachers, community college
instructors and other related professionals in agriculture. The term
"Agricultural Education" encompasses both informal and formal education
in
agriculture. Some people may be confused by the title because they
associate it
only with high school instructional programs in agriculture. The USDA
uses the
term "Agricultural Education" to mean all instruction in
agriculture
including
collegiate instruction and extension education. This degree is based on
the USDA definition of
agricultural education. Individuals who might be interested in this degree are those who currently (or would like to) teach agriculture at the middle school, high school and/or community college level. It is also designed for people who currently (or would like to) work with the cooperative extension service or in other informal education settings such as the Peace Corps, international development, farm museums, rural development, USDA, agricultural missionary work, sustainable agriculture, nature centers, etc. This degree has enough flexibility to be custom designed to meet the needs of the students enrolled in the program. This degree program is 36 semester hours in length. This program is designed to be completed using distance education technologies. It is possible to complete the degree and never set foot on campus. This is a non-thesis degree. Students applying to this progam must take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). It should be noted that nothing on the diploma or transcript indicates that this is a distance education degree. As far as the university is concerned, this degree is identical to the degrees that are campus based. The requirements for the Master's of Agricultural Education degree (distance track) are: 1. Complete the core required courses (18-21 hours) depending upon your program emphasis
The electives
chosen are based upon the career goals of the individual. Students are
encouraged to take elective courses outside of
the department. In addition to courses in the technical aspects of
agriculture, one should consider courses taught by the Family and
Consumer Science faculty and the 4-H and Youth Development
faculty The student's graduate committee will provide advice
regarding which courses should actually be taken. As
a part of the quality control measures employed in the department and
for USDA and Graduate School evaluation purposes, all Master's students
are required to have a professional portfolio. This portfolio contains
examples of the student's work during the program and from work
settings for those who are currently employed in an informal education
setting. If one desires a North Carolina "M" teaching license,
the professional portfolio
will focus on teaching. If the focus of the graduate program is not
concerned with teacher licensure, your advisor will provide details
about the portfolio requirements. All students who graduate in the
Spring of 2009 or later are required to have a professional portfolio.
4. Complete the comprehensive Master's Examination There is 1 1/2 - 2 hour
oral comprehensive exam. This examination is based upon the student's
courses work and focuses on the ability to synthesize and apply the
information that has been taught. .
If desired, a student can receive a "M" (Master's level) teaching license to teach agriculture in North Carolina at the end of the program. However, one must first have the initial teaching license (the "A") before applying for the "M". If one does not have the "A" license it is possible to work on that license while in the graduate program. This is done by enrolling simultaneously in the NCSU LEAP program. In order to qualify for the advanced (M) teaching license in North Carolina, one must complete 12 hours of course work that can be classified as subject matter or technical courses. The Department of Agricultural and Extension Education defines subject matter courses to be those containing substantial content that could be taught to high school agricultural students. Therefore nearly any course taught in the traditional fields of agriculture such as Animal Science, Crop Science, Horticulture, Agricultural and Resource Economics, Entomology, Forestry, etc. fit this definition. There are some courses that are taught within the Department that also contain content that could be taught to high school agricultural students. The AEE courses that qualify as subject matter courses include:
A table comparing all five Master's degree programs offered by the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education can be found at http://www.ncsu.edu/cals/agexed/grad/masterschart.html. Return to the Graduate Degrees page |