Doctor of Education in Adult and Community Education
Doctor of Education in Adult and Community Education
91-97 credits
This is a doctoral degree program that prepares graduate students for professions in a variety of educational, governmental, community, business, and industrial settings. The adult and community education doctoral program emphasizes developing critical skills and conducting research in teaching and learning, program planning, leadership, continuing education, community organizing, organizational management, and evaluation using a social justice framework. Through the courses, learners understand how power issues, especially related to race and diversity, impacts decisions and policies within educational programs.
General requirements
A minimum of 91 graduate credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. At least 48 of the 91 credits, and at least half of required credits in the research requirement, the major concentration, and the cognate must be completed at Ball State. A master’s degree is required; previous graduate course work may be counted toward the 91 total credits required in the program. Exact requirements will vary depending on the concentration. Students will earn 57 credits in the core courses, research courses, electives within adult and community education program, or other areas as appropriate, in addition to cognate and dissertation courses.
Cognate requirements
The doctoral student must have either two cognate fields (or minors) consisting of a minimum of 15 credits each or a single cognate field consisting of a minimum of 24 credits. For the 15-credit cognate, 9 credits must be taken at Ball State University; for the 24 credit cognate, 12 credits of the must be taken at Ball State University. Cognates are offered in higher education; community college leadership; and adult and community education. Cognates are also available in all university major fields of study for the master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees.
Credits transferred from prior graduate study at Ball State University
At the discretion of the student’s doctoral committee, past graduate credits earned from Ball State University may be transferred into the core, research, cognate, and/or major concentration portions of the student’s curriculum. In some cases, this may include entire Ball State master’s-level programs, totaling up to 42 credits.
Dissertation
Each student is required to write a dissertation on a topic approved by their committee. Students register for DISS 799 for a minimum of 10 dissertation credits.
Doctoral committee
The student’s doctoral committee is appointed after the student has been admitted to study for the doctoral degree – usually near the end of the first year of doctoral work. Until the committee has been appointed, the director of the doctoral program or their designee will serve as the primary advisor for the student.
Degree Requirements
Adult and community education concentration, 91-97 credits
Core required courses, 24 credits
| EDAC 631 | Adult and Community Education | 3 |
| EDAC 634 | The Adult as a Learner | 3 |
| EDAC 635 | Strategies for Teaching Adults | 3 |
| EDAC 648 | The Community Educator | 3 |
| EDAC 655 | Continuing Education for Professionals | 3 |
| EDAC 700 | Seminar in Adult and Community Education | 3 |
| EDAC 780 | Seminar in Managing Lifelong Education Programs | 3 |
| EDST 697 | The Grant Process and Research | 3 |
Research requirements, 21 credits
| EDAC 710 | Research in Adult and Community Education | 3 |
| EDAC 730 | Practicum in Adult and Community Education | 2 TO 6 |
| EDPS 640 | Methodology of Educational and Psychological Research | 3 |
| EDPS 641 | Introduction to Statistical Methods | 3 |
| EDST 671 | Evaluation of Educational Programs | 3 |
| ID 705 | Research Colloquium | 1 TO 3 |
3 credits from
| EDST 650 | Introduction to Qualitative Research | 3 |
| EDST 660 | Ethnographic Research in Education | 3 |
Electives, 12 credits
Four courses are selected in consultation with the Doctoral Committee
| EDAC 629 | Psychology of Adult Adjustment | 3 |
| EDAC 632 | Organizing Adult and Community Education Programs | 3 |
| EDAC 638 | Program Planning in Community and Adult Education | 3 |
| EDAC 640 | Foundations of Adult and Community Education | 3 |
| EDAC 644 | Collaborative Learning in Adult, Higher, and Community Education | 3 |
| EDAC 646 | Working with Volunteers in Community Agencies | 3 |
| EDAC 681 | Managing Community Education | 3 |
| EDAC 698 | Seminar in Adult and Community Education | 3 |
| EDAC 699 | Internship in Adult and Community Education | 2 TO 6 |
| EDCC 640 | The Community College | 3 |
| EDHI 610 | Issues in Higher Education | 3 |
| EDST 655 | Introduction to Mixed Methods Research | 3 |
| EDST 660 | Ethnographic Research in Education | 3 |
Cognate(s) 24 or 30 credits
Dissertation course