Doctor of Education in Adult, Higher and Community Education

Mission: The mission of the Adult, Higher and Community Education (AHCE) Doctoral Program is to prepare students for professions in a variety of educational, government, community, business and industry settings. The Adult and Community Major emphasizes developing skills in management, personnel development, program planning and evaluation, and teaching related to adult learners. The Higher Education Major emphasizes developing skills in higher education administration, organizational and policy development, teaching, curriculum development, and social justice advocacy related to post-secondary institutions. The Community College Leadership Major emphasizes developing administrative and teaching skills specifically for community college environments.

General Requirements: A minimum of 91 semester hours of graduate credit beyond the bachelor’s degree. At least 48 of the 91 hours, and at least half of required hours in the research requirement, the major, and the cognate must be completed at Ball State.

Degree Requirements: Students will earn 12 credits in the Core Courses, 21 credits in Research Courses, 24 credits in the Major Concentration (Adult and Community Education, Higher Education, or Community College Leadership), and a single cognate of 24 credits or two cognates of 15 credits each. Completion of the dissertation earns 10 credits.

Foundational (Core) Courses (12 hrs)

EDAC 631: Adult & Community Education	3 hrs
EDHI 610: Issues in Higher Education	3 hrs
EDCC 640: The Community College	3 hrs
And  one of the following courses:
EDAC 700: Advanced Seminar for Adult and Community Education Majors	3 hrs
EDCC 700: Seminar for Community College Leadership Majors	3 hrs
EDHI 700: Seminar for Higher Education Majors	3 hrs

Research Requirements (21 hours)

EDPSY 640: Methodology of Educational and Psychological Research	3 hrs
EDPSY 641: Statistical Methods and Educational Psychological Research	3 hrs
EDAC 710: Research Seminar in Adult, Higher, and Community Education	3 hrs
ID 705: Research Colloquium	3 hrs
EDST 650: Intro to Qualitative Research	3 hrs
EDST 660: Ethnographic Research	3 hrs
EDST 671: Evaluation of Educational Programs	3 hrs

Adult and Community Education Major Concentration (24 hours)
Three courses are required. Five other courses are selected in consultation with the Doctoral Committee.

The following  are Required Courses: 9 credits
EDAC 634: The Adult as a Learner	3 hrs
EDAC 635: Strategies for Teaching Adults	3 hrs
EDAC 780: Advanced Seminar in Managing Lifelong Education	3 hrs
Electives: 15 hrs (Select 5 courses from the following):	3 hrs
EDAC 629: Psychology of Adult Adjustment	3 hrs
EDAC 632: Organizing Adult and Community Education	3 hrs
EDAC 638: Program Planning in Community and Adult Education	3 hrs
EDAC 644: Collaborative Learning in Adult, Higher,  and Community Education	3 hrs
EDAC 646: Working with Volunteers in Community Agencies	3 hrs
EDAC 648: The Community Educator	3 hrs
EDAC 655: Continuing Education for Professionals	3 hrs
EDAC 698:Seminar in Adult and Community Education	3 hrs
EDAC 681 Managing Community  Education	3 hrs
EDAC 699: Internship in Adult and Community Education	3 hrs
EDCU 675: Evaluation of Educational Personnel to  Strengthen Curriculum	3 hrs
EDCU 680: Staff Development to Strengthen Curriculum	3hrs
EDCU 700: Seminar in Curriculum and Staff Development  and Evaluation	3 hrs
EDST 697: Grant Process	3 hrs

Higher Education Major Concentration (24 hours)
Four courses are required. Four other courses are selected in consultation with the Doctoral Committee.

The following courses are Required (12 hrs)
EDHI 601: Theories of College Student Development:Higher Education Application	3 hrs
EDHI 609: Preparing for the Professoriate Teaching in Higher Education	3 hrs
EDHI 613: Administration and Finance in Higher Education	3 hrs
EDHI 675: Legal Issues	3 hrs
Electives: 12 hrs (Select 4 courses from the following)
EDHI 600: Introduction to Student Affairs Administration	3 hrs
EDHI 602: American College Student	3 hrs
EDHI 611: Teaching and Curriculum Issues in Higher Education	3 hrs
EDHI 659: Independent Studies Higher Education	3 hrs
EDHI 698: Principles and Practices of Student Affairs	3hrs
EDFO 610: Women, Gender, and Education	3 hrs
EDFO 660: Comparative Education	3 hrs
EDHI 699: Internship	3 hrs
EDST 697: Grant Process	3 hrs

Community College Leadership Major Concentration (24 hours)
15 credits are required. Three other courses are selected in consultation with the Doctoral Committee

 

The following courses are Required (15 hrs):
EDCC 698	9 hrs
EDCC 641	3 hrs
EDAC 634	3 hrs
Electives 9 hrs: (Select from the following courses)
EDAC 635: Strategies for Teaching the Adult Learner	3 hrs
EDAC 648: Community Education	3 hrs
EDAC 681: Managing Community Education	3 hrs
EDHI 609: Preparing for the Professoriate	3 hrs
EDHI 611: Teaching Curriculum in Higher Education	3 hrs
EDHI 613: Managing and Finance in Higher Education	3 hrs
EDHI 675: Legal Issues	3 hrs
EDST 697: Grant Process	3 hrs

Community College Leadership Cognate (24 credits)

The doctoral cognate in Community College Leadership will serve a variety of doctoral programs across campus. In consultation with their cognate advisor, doctoral students will select the appropriate 24 credits from the required and elective courses below. When a doctoral student selects two cognates, whereby only 15 credits are required for each, they will be taken from the required course list below.

The following are Required Courses (18 hrs)

EDCC 640: The Community College	3 hrs
EDCC 641: Community College and Diversity	3 hrs
EDCC 698: Community College Leadership Seminar	9 hrs
EDAC 634: The Adult as a Learner	3 hrs
Electives: 6 hrs (Select 2 courses from the following)
EDAC 635: Strategies for Teaching Adults	3 hrs
EDAC 648: Community College Education	3 hrs
EDAC 681: Managing Community Education	3 hrs
EDHI 609: Preparing for the Professoriate Teaching in Higher Education	3 hrs
EDHI 611: Teaching Curriculum in Higher Education	3 hrs
EDHI 613: Administration and Finance in Higher Education	3 hrs
EDHI 675: Legal Issues	3 hrs
EDHI 697: Grant Process	3 hrs
EDAC 699: Internship in Adult and Community Education	3 hrs
EDHI 699: Internship in Student Affairs Administration	3 hrs

Dissertation (10 hrs) By completing the dissertation students earn the final 10 credits for the doctoral degree. A student may not register for dissertation hours until all coursework has been completed, the doctoral comprehensive exams have been passed, and the student's committee has approved the dissertation proposal.

Total Hours Earned May Vary Students may find it necessary to earn more than the minimum of 90 hours to meet all program requirements and meet their own individual requirements. Often students earn 100 or more graduate hours beyond the bachelors degree.

Transfer Credits At least 48 of the 90 total hours, and at least half of required hours in the research requirement, the major, and the cognate must be completed at Ball State. Because of these secondary restrictions, most students cannot transfer all 48 possible transfer credits. Courses earned while in a previously completed degree (usually a Masters degree) can be transferred into the doctoral program regardless of time. Courses taken that were not a part of a previously completed degree must have been earned within five years of the completion date of the doctoral degree. The current University Graduate Catalogue describes the transfer requirements in more detail.

Residence Requirements Students meet the residence requirements by earning a total of 15 semester hours of credit in two consecutive semesters. Summer semester can be one of those semesters. The residency requirement must be met after admission to the doctoral program. If previous graduate work was earned at Ball State prior to being admitted to the doctoral program it will not count toward the residency requirement.

Meeting Times Classes meet in the evenings, weekends or other times convenient to groups of students to reduce conflicts with typical scheduled work hours. A few courses are offered by distance learning, primarily over the internet.

Time to Complete the Degree All requirements for completion of the doctoral degree are to be completed within seven years from the time of enrollment in the first course after the student has been admitted. After admission the student has two years to begin courses. The director of the doctoral program serves as a student's adviser until the student establishes a doctoral committee. It is possible to complete up to nine hours in one registration as a non-degree student. A limit of 9 hours of credit earned as a non-degree student can be counted toward program requirements if the student is subsequently admitted to the program.

Graduate Assistantships Policy (PDF)