Careers in Adult Education
Careers in Adult Education
Graduate degrees in Adult Education are among the most practical - and adaptable - in all of higher education.
The M.Ed. and D.Ed. are both practitioner degrees, preparing graduates to apply their expertise effectively in a variety of specialized settings.
The Ph.D. is a research degree, and prepares graduates to advance the theoretical foundations, empirical knowledge, and strategic role of adult education not only in the context of higher education, but in relation to national and international goals of building civil society and realizing human potentials.
Both of our doctoral degree programs offer a variety of collaborative, mentoring, or internship opportunities with our faculty, preparing graduates for real-world practice settings beyond the academy.
Students have the opportunity to work with faculty on organized research and outreach endeavors, which sometimes involve living outside the U.S. for several weeks at a time. Students may also co-author books, book chapters, journal articles, conference papers and presentations with faculty.
Examples of opportunities to assist faculty with research include:
- Initiatives of the adult and family literacy institutes at Penn State
- Engaging in community capacity building projects in West Philadelphia and Grenada
- Engaging in consciousness-raising projects with prisoners in central Pennsylvania
- Planning regional and national adult education conferences
- Assisting in teaching adult education courses online and in residence
Many graduates of our program become tenured faculty or administrators at one of numerous universities in North America with strong departments of adult and continuing education. Many others graduates choose work as educational planners, policy-makers, and consultants in such varied contexts as private business, government and public agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), non-profit organizations, churches and religious organizations, international organizations, and community-based groups or initiatives. Specialized areas of practice within the field of adult education include:
- adult basic education
- community education & organizing
- adult & family literacy
- professional and continuing education
- distance education
- human resource development
- workplace learning
- informal education
- educational outreach
- post-secondary education
- religious education
- social advocacy & action
Advanced practitioners with the Ph.D. or D.Ed. degree in adult education can also choose to work with people in diverse and fascinating places, not only in North America but on other continents. Our students have come to study, as well as accepted positions in numerous countries outside the United States, including: South Korea, Zimbabwe, Barbados, Turkey, Malaysia, Taiwan, China and Oman.
