Educational Studies

Master of Arts in Executive Development for Public Service

An interdisciplinary and intercollegiate degree, the executive development program prepares graduates to provide educational services in a variety of social, industrial, health and human services, military, and governmental settings. A broad range of courses related to management and public agency administration are offered to prepare students to function in an executive, managerial, or supervisory capacity within government or not-for-profit agencies. The curriculum is not intended to prepare candidates for specific occupations. The master¹s degree program can also be used as a cognate or minor in preparation for entry into the doctorate in Adult, Higher and Community Education. The executive development for public service degree program courses are offered on campus in Muncie, online, and in the Indianapolis area through Ball State's School of Extended Education.

 

Online Information Session
Register for an online information session about our Master's in Executive Development for Public Service, held on Campus, greater Indianapolis area, Fort Wayne, or online. To view a past virtual information session, click on ACE and EXEC Dev M.A. Degree Pgms Virtual Info Session.

Admission to the Program
The applicant must be admitted to the Graduate School. Students must hold an earned bachelor¹s degree from an accredited higher education institution and meet one of the following criteria:

  1. An undergraduate cumulative grade point average of at least 2.75 on a 4.0 scale.
  2. A cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the latter half of the baccalaureate (the last two years)
  3. A 3.0 grade point average in 9 semester hours of graduate course work approved in advance as a probationary plan of study by the Chairperson of the Department of Educational Studies, and approved by the Dean of the Graduate School, and an acceptable score on the Graduate Records Examination. Acceptable GRE scores are greater than 900 (verbal and quantitative measures combined) or 1350 (verbal, quantitative and analytical measures combined). Such students will be considered probationary students until the conditions of their graduate admission have been met.

Degree Options
*A minor may be earned by successfully completing three additional courses or 9 hours. You must contact the other department and the graduate school for permission.

Master¹s Degree in Executive Development for Public Service Course Requirements
The M.A. degree program requires at least 30 hours of graduate course work. Students must maintain grade point averages of at least 3.0 on 4.0 scale. Students must take at least 2 courses from Adult Education and may take one course from four of the following eight categories of study:

  • Adult Education, Program Evaluation, and Staff Development
  • Business and Related Areas
  • Communication
  • Computer Science and Educational Technology
  • Educational Administration and Supervision
  • Gerontology, Health Science, and Wellness
  • Political Science
  • Psychology

It is highly recommended students choose one additional course from adult education, management, communication, political science or psychology courses to complement their skills and competencies and to sharpen their public service and non-profit organizational focus.

Students also must take a research course. And also are able to complete an internship for 3-6 credits if they wish.

Course Selection:
Courses for the Executive Development master¹s degree program may be selected from the following offerings:
Adult Education, Program Evaluation, & Staff Development

 EDAC 629 Psychology of Adult Adjustment 3 hrs   
 EDAC 631 Adult and Community Education (Internet) 3 hrs
 EDAC 632 Organizing Adult and Community Education 3 hrs  
 EDAC 634 The Adult as a Learner (Internet)  3 hrs
 EDAC 635 Strategies for Teaching Adults (Internet) 3 hrs
 EDAC 638 Program Planning for Adults 3 hrs
 #EDAC 697 The Grant Process and Research 3 hrs
 #EDCU 671 Evaluation of Educational Programs 3 hrs
 EDCU 675 Evaluation of Ed. Personnel To Strengthen Curriculum  3 hrs
 EDCU 680 Staff Development to Strengthen Curriculum 3 hrs

#Indicates course(s) available to fulfill the research requirement.

Business and Related Areas
Note: (No more than 15 hours may be taken from the College of Business) In order to obtain the Business Certificate, apply with the Grad school at point of admissions and take 12 credits of the following courses.

 ACC 501 Financial Accounting IHETS/ Fall  3 hrs   
 ECON 509 Survey of Economics IHETS/ Fall  3 hrs
 MGT 500 Managing Organizational Behavior IHETS/ Spring   3 hrs

 MKT 505 Survey of Marketing IHETS/ Spring 

 3 hrs
 ISOM 551 Operations Management  3 hrs
 MBA 601 Business Leadership 
 (Prereq MGT 500) IHETS/ Fall
 3 hrs

Click here to take the Business Essentials Certificate.

All Courses offered via IHETS Distance Ed TV or Webcasting through Continuing Education.

Computer Science and Educational Technology

 CS 500 Fundamentals of Computing  3 hrs   
 CS 501 Fundamental Programming Practices in Computer Science   3 hrs
 CS 502 Topics in Structures and Operations in
 Computer Science (Prereq: CS 501)
 3 hrs
 CS 514 Introduction to Programming 1  3 hrs
 CS 533 Computer Hardware Systems (Prerequisite: CS 502)  3 hrs
 CS 536 Database Design (Prerequisite: CS 501)
 IHET Distance Ed TV or Webcasting 

 3 hrs

 CS 540 Data Processing Techniques (Prerequisite: CS 501)  3 hrs
 CS 699 Readings and Honors (# Permission of Dept. Chair)  3 hrs
 EDTE 520 - Technology and Teaching Practice  3 hrs
 EDTE 552 ­ Multimedia Web Design & Development for Education  3 hrs
 EDTE 675 ­ Distance Ed. & Distributed Learning Tech
 (Permission of Dept. Chair)

 3 hrs

 


Educational Administration

 EDAD 600 Introduction to Educational Leadership 
 IHET Distance Ed TV or Webcasting
 3 hrs
 EDAD 630 Personnel Administration in Educational Institutions
 IHET Distance Ed TV or Webcasting

 3 hrs

 EDAD 640 The Educational Administrator and Public Relations
 IHET Distance Ed TV or Webcasting 
 3 hrs
 EDAD 684 Educational Finance IHETS Distance Ed TV or Webcasting   3 hrs
 EDAD 686 School Law IHETS Distance Ed TV or Webcasting  3 hrs
 EDAD 692 Inservice Workshop in Education-
 The Residential Leadership Seminar Saturday Format
 3-9 hrs  

Gerontology, Health Science, and Wellness

 GERO 515 ­ Technology and Aging Fishers/Greenfield  3 hrs 
 GERO 535 ­ Aging in Communities Fishers/Greenfield  3 hrs
 GERO 540 ­ Women and Aging Fishers/Greenfield  3 hrs
 GERO 605 ­ Aging Well: A Systems Approach Fishers/Greenfield  3 hrs
 GERO 630 ­ Health, Wellness, and Aging Fishers/Greenfield  3 hrs
 GERO 635 ­ Adaptations in Later Life Fishers/Greenfield  3 hrs
 WELN 625 ­ Community Collaboration &
 Service Learning in Wellness Mgmt 
 3 hrs
 WELN 635 ­ Wellness Coaching  3 hrs
 WELN 650 ­ Foundations of Wellness  3 hrs
 HSC 510 ­ Teaching and Learning in Health Education  3 hrs
 HSC 562 ­ Health Promotion in the Worksite  3 hrs
 HSC 568 ­ Consumer Health Issues  3 hrs
 HSC 569 ­ Health and Aging  3 hrs
 HSC 571 ­ Death and Dying  3 hrs
 HSC 572 ­ Women and Health  3 hrs
 HSC 581 ­ Stress Management Internet  3 hrs
 HSC 582 ­ Environmental Health  3 hrs
 HSC 585 ­ Community Health Methods  3 hrs
 
Political Science and Public Administration
 POLS 532 The American Chief Executive  3 hrs  
 POLS 554 Administration of Local Government Budgets  3 hrs
 POLS 555 Administrative Law  3 hrs
 POLS 537 - Gov and Politics in Indiana Fishers  3 hrs
 POLS 561 - Community Planning and Its 
 Administration Fishers

 3 hrs

 POLS 565 Labor-Management Relations in Government  3 hrs
 POLS 572 ­ Political Campaigns Fishers  3 hrs
 POLS 573 ­ American Political Parties Fishers  3 hrs
 POLS 615 ­ Western Political Theories Fishers  3 hrs
 POLS 633 - American Judicial System Fishers  3 hrs
 POLS 642 Problems in Public Policy  3 hrs
 POLS 648 Policy Analysis  3 hrs
 POLS 650 Public Administration  3 hrs
 POLS 651 Administrative Organization and Management  3 hrs
 POLS 652 Personnel Administration in Government  3 hrs
 POLS 653 Public Financial Administration  3 hrs

Psychology
 CPSY 610 Career Theories and Realities   3 hrs  
 CPSY 631 Introduction to the Study of Personality
 3 hrs
 EDPS 603 Psychology of Human Development Internet  3 hrs
 EDPS 611 Development of Creative Thinking Internet  3 hrs
 EDPS 629 Psychology of Adult Adjustment  3 hrs
 #EDPS 640 Methodology of Educational and Psychological  
  Research - Internet 
 3 hrs
  #EDPS 641 Statistical Methods in Educational & Psychological
  Research -Internet
 3 hrs
  PSYS 573 Industrial Psychology  3 hrs
  SOPS 610 Social Psychology  3 hrs
  SOPS 660 Contemporary Social Psychology  3 hrs
# Indicates that it fulfills the research requirement

Public Relations and Communication Studies
 PR 660 Public Relations: Theories & Applications Internet Option   3 hrs 
 PR 666 Public Relations Campaign  3 hrs
 COMM 610 Studies in Persuasion  3 hrs
 COMM 635 Interpersonal Communications  3 hrs
 COMM 640 Interpersonal Communications in Contexts  3 hrs
 COMM 651 Organizational Communication:
 Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Processes
 3 hrs
 COMM 652 Organizational Communication:
 Systems, Culture, and Critique
 3 hrs
 COMM 654 Group Communication  3 hrs

Research Requirements
In addition, in order to meet their research course requirements, students often elect one of the following courses on campus, online or in the Indianapolis area. The research requirement cannot be a transfer course from another higher education institution.
 EDPS 640 Methods of Educational and Psychological
 Research Online option
 3 hrs 
 EDST 697 The Grant Process and Research
 Indy option
 3 hrs
 EDCU 660 Ethnographic Research in Education  3 hrs
 EDCU 671 Evaluation of Educational Programs  3 hrs
 EDST 650 Introduction to Qualitative Research  3 hrs
 EDST 655 Introduction to Mixed Methods Research
 3 hrs
 EDPS 641 Statistical Methods is Educ. and Psych. Research
 3 hrs
Students may elect a 2 or 3 credit hour internship with a business or not-for-profit firm under the graduate course heading: 

EDAC 699-Internship in Adult and Community Education.
This field experience or internship is under joint supervision of the university (supervisor) and an experienced practitioner in an approved business or non-profit agency setting. Permission of the program director and/or department chairperson is required. 6 hours of credit may be earned.

For More Information Contact: 
Ruby Cain or Keri McCormick
Graduate Programs in Adult, Higher, and Community Education
Department of Educational Studies
Teachers College Room 825, Ball State University
Phone: 765-285-9126
Fax: 765-285-5489