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Extension Education Concentration in AEHS

Imagine a career in which you can make a positive difference in the community every day…

Extension helps people transform science and technology into everyday solutions that improve their lives. Extension careers are for people with a passion for serving people. Our graduate program will prepare you for a rewarding and challenging extension career, focused on identifying issues, researching solutions, and transferring results. With our Master’s degree, which you can obtain in-person or online, you will be equipped to deliver research and education to communities, economies, and families to create prosperity for all.

Teacher talking to students in a classroom.

Master of Science in Agricultural Education and Human Sciences with a concentration in Extension Education

In the M.S. program, students gain practical experience in conducting research. The M.S. option is ideal for students with an interest in pursuing a doctoral program or with a strong interest in research and program evaluation.

  • 36 semester hours
  • 24 hours of core courses
  • 6 hours of thesis research
  • 6 hours of electives
  • Complete and defend a thesis

The master’s thesis should be an original research paper that is suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed academic journal. The thesis topic should focus upon some aspect of their field that is (1) of interest to the student, (2) researchable in the published literature, (3)  manageable within the student’s graduate program time frame, and (4) agreed upon by the student’s adviser and all Graduate Committee members. Basically, the thesis should contribute new data,  insights, and/or information to the academy related to AEHS disciplines, and not merely take existing data, insights, and/or information and reorganize them into a new format. Additional information about the thesis formats and guidance can be found in Appendix B of the AHS Graduate Handbook. 

Students will form a graduate advisory committee that will help them develop a plan of study and will guide the thesis.

Master of Agricultural Education and Human Sciences with a concentration in Extension Education

The Master of Agricultural Education and Human Sciences with a concentration in Extension Education is designed primarily for those who currently teach agriculture at the middle school, high school and/or post-secondary level or who work (or desire to work) with Cooperative Extension.

  • 30 semester hours
  • 24 hours of core courses
  • 6 hours of electives
  • Complete a culminating project

Students must demonstrate a mastery of the theories, principles, and practice of extension education through a self-directed creative or research project. Follow the process for the culminating project:

  • Register for AEHS 693 or AEHS 620.
  • Present the results of the project to the AHS faculty and students at an end-of-semester seminar.

Distance education students can either use technology to present their projects or upload a video file to a file-sharing website to show to the class.

MR requirements are 3 hours of either: 

  • AEHS 620 – Special Problems in Agricultural and Extension Education (3 hours)
  • AEHS 693 – Master’s Supervised Research (3 hours)

Students will be assigned a temporary faculty advisor. After one semester, students select a permanent advisor. The advisor will help the student develop a plan of study and will guide the culminating project.