Pennsylvania State University World Campus

Penn State's M.Ed. in Adult Education was challenging, team-oriented, pragmatic, and exactly what an online degree program should be. The nice part about this program is that it provides the fundamentals of the field of adult education (principles, research, the roots of adult education, etc.), and the projects that you complete can be chosen to meet your individual area of interest. You must learn to write academically and at a scholarly level. In my case, I work in distance education marketing, and devoted all of my projects to enhance my knowledge. When I completed my degree in 2005, my final paper was dedicated to the topic. After contacting several scholars, my research was picked up by one of the leading publishers in the field of education, and led to the co-authorship in the International Handbook of Distance Education that comes out this April (2008). My skills were developed in this program, and I was able to pursue my interests while still gaining a global perspective of the field of adult education. I also was impressed with the ability of the program to cater to my needs as an adult student. Two of my children were born while I was pursuing my degree, and I was able to stop and start my coursework following the semester schedule. The student services staff is always accomodating (Jane Ireland is a sweetheart), and I rarely had a problem with the technology, course work, or instructors. Penn State is a leader in higher education, and got it right with their distance education program.