Adult Education

A certificate in Workforce Education, Training and Development provides a wide range of professional opportunities including the fields of design, instruction, and organizational development. This graduate certificate is intended for students interested in planning, designing, implementing and evaluating adult learning programs in a variety of postsecondary and professional fields such as education, business and industry, military, continuing education, etc. Upon completion of this certificate, students are prepared to apply their knowledge in the education and training of adults in a variety of professional settings.

This program is offered on campus and online.

Application Deadlines:

• Spring 2025 admission: October 15

• Summer 2025 admission: March 15

• Fall 2025 admission: June 1

This certificate is designed to increase learners’ ability to teach and train within the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.. The Auburn University Adult Education program puts a major emphasis on the Alabama Cooperative Extension and supports the current and future ACES employees through this certificate and other Adult Education degree programs.  

This program is offered on campus and online.

Application Deadlines:

• Spring 2025 admission: October 15

• Summer 2025 admission: March 15

• Fall 2025 admission: June 1

Do you want to teach adult post-secondary language education in government and industry programs, either domestically or worldwide?

Our certificate program will help you develop and evaluate appropriate teaching practices, identify education policies to assist in developing language proficiency, identify the role of language and culture, and develop the ability to compare and contrast sociological, psychological, and physiological factors that characterize adult populations. When this certificate is added to an appropriate master’s program, it also provides the demonstrated competence in English language learning in U.S. intensive English language programs.

This program is offered on campus and online.

Application Deadlines:

• Spring 2025 admission: October 15

• Summer 2025 admission: March 15

• Fall 2025 admission: June 1

The field of training and workforce development provides a wide range of professional opportunities from assessment to design to instruction to organizational development. Trainers or talent developers design and present program focused on transferrable skills or technical skills that enhance professional development, leadership development, or work performance of adults in the workplace. Workforce development focuses on filling the gap between what potential workers can do and what industry needs for employees to do to be effective.

Undergraduate students who minor in Training and Workforce Development will:

• Be prepared for careers in corporate training or consulting, instructional design, professional development, and many other related areas in education, business, industry, government, military, and nonprofit organizations.

• Develop excellent leadership, team building and organizational skills.

• Understand the characteristics of adult learners and how to apply adult learning theories and appropriate technology to effective instructional design.

• Focus on techniques for maximizing engagement, motivation, and collaboration among adults in the workplace.

• Study strategies for determining training needs and developing workforces.

• Specialize in promoting organizational change through professional development

Discover the power of lifelong learning!

Our Master of Adult Education program equips you with the knowledge and skills to empower adults to reach their full potential in a variety of settings, including business and industry, the military and government, non-profit organizations, healthcare and post-secondary education, including higher education.  This program’s flexible design provides theoretical and practical foundations through rigorous coursework, hands-on experiences, and cutting-edge research that supports your career in the diverse practices of adult learning, instructional design, and organizational development. The M.S. degree requires a thesis.

This program is offered on campus only.

Application Deadlines:

• Spring 2025 admission: October 15

• Summer 2025 admission: March 15

• Fall 2025 admission: June 1

Discover the power of lifelong learning!

Our Master of Adult Education program equips you with the knowledge and skills to empower adults to reach their full potential in a variety of settings, including business and industry, the military and government, non-profit organizations, healthcare and post-secondary education, including higher education.  This program’s flexible design provides theoretical and practical foundations through rigorous coursework, hands-on experiences, and cutting-edge research that supports your career in the diverse practices of adult learning, instructional design, and organizational development. The M.Ed. degree is a non-thesis program.

This program is offered on campus and online.

Application Deadlines:

• Spring 2025 admission: October 15

• Summer 2025 admission: March 15

• Fall 2025 admission: June 1

The specialist program is a 30-hour degree that moves students to the next level of specialization after completion of a master’s degree program (in a variety of fields.) The program will enhance your skills as a practicing educational professional within a wide variety of adult education settings. These settings may include military instruction and leadership, corporate training and industry consulting, administration, college teaching, training and development, program and project management for community-based organizations, workforce development, athletics coaching, health education, and many other fields related to adult learning.

We focus on the development and application of inquiry skills at the advanced graduate level of study, combined with existing experience and continued study of adult education. In this program you will learn or continue to develop a strategic understanding related to a variety of adult learning theories and methods of teaching, instructional design and assessment.

This program is offered on campus and online.

Application Deadlines:

• Spring 2025 admission: October 15

• Summer 2025 admission: March 15

• Fall 2025 admission: June 1

The Ph.D. program is an advanced, scholarly degree that requires 60 credit hours of coursework beyond the master’s degree, as well as continued scholarly engagement and the completion of a doctoral dissertation study. The Doctoral dissertation consists of an original research study, a significant written manuscript, and oral examinations. 

The Ph.D. is designed to provide advanced scholarship experience, deep conceptual and philosophical understanding, and practical skills in the broad field of Adult Education. It is a mentor-based program, and students will work closely with program faculty to study specific areas of adult learning and to develop and produce scholarship that will serve both the field of practice and the academic discipline of Adult Education. 

This program is offered on campus only.

Application deadline

• March 1