An Exploration of Graduate Curriculum in Agricultural Extension Education

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2018-01-01
Authors
Sands, Kelsey
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Michael Retallick
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Agricultural Education and Studies
Abstract

Extension and outreach’s main focus is to educate the public which includes the surrounding community. The county Extension programs provided by land-grant universities are a longstanding source of reliable and unbiased information. There will soon be a shortage of trained Extension education professionals leaving the profession and although new Extension staff often have content expertise, they may lack training related to Extension education. Therefore there is a need to know which universities are offering a graduate degree in Agricultural Extension Education. A survey was conducted using the following process. Personalized emails were sent to graduate coordinators and department heads. Attached to the email was a short questionnaire regarding the program’s core courses, student demographics and career choices after graduation. Overall, there were 17 universities responded which offered a graduate degree or certification in Agricultural Extension Education. Students were provided the flexibility at most universities to choose between a thesis or non-thesis for their final examination, and two universities offered a course based program. Core credits differed across universities, but total credits were fairly consistent at 30 to 36 credits. The main career outcomes for graduates with an Agricultural Extension Education degree were Extension professionals and high school teachers. Additional research should be conducted to analyze the content of core courses required at each university to ensure Extension graduates are fully prepared for their careers.

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Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2018