Extension Education Program Details
The master’s degree in Extension Education prepares you with skills and knowledge to develop impactful programs and deliver educational resources in your role as community educator. You will learn to:
- Analyze the principles that guide extension work.
- Develop programs and community outreach initiatives.
- Customize instructional methods for various audiences.
- Develop evaluation strategies for programming.
- Gather, analyze, and communicate community-based research to various populations.
What Is Extension Education
The field of Extension Education focuses on “extending” university knowledge and resources to communities throughout the state. Extension offices serve as a community-based education hub where extension educators learn about their local community needs and help develop education programs to address them. Common initiatives are:
- Nutrition
- Food systems education
- Family consumer sciences
- Agriculture
- Horticulture
- Youth development
- Volunteer development
- Economics
- Natural resource management
Where Do Extension Educators Work?
Extension Educators work with a range of populations, including youth, adults, diverse communities, and various industries. They coordinate and mobilize efforts to address challenging situations by conducting fieldwork, providing workshops and trainings, and creating online informational resources.
Details on the Master’s in Extension Education
Extension Education Program Requirements
The Master of Extension Education is a 36-credit program that requires:
- 18 credits of core coursework.
- 9 credits of AGED, EDAE, HDFS, JTC or SOWK at the 500 level or above.
- 9 credits of disciplinary coursework at the 500 level or above. Disciplines must be approved by an academic advisor, and may include areas such as youth development, horticulture, agriculture, animal science, and others.
- An extension education internship in a county or state extension office or other advisor-approved setting. An internship requires 45 hours of work per credit.
Visit CSU Online for the most up-to-date and detailed list of all requirements for this degree program.
Extension Education Course Electives
Course electives are considered the “Disciplinary Coursework” component of the MxEd program. Choose courses that reflect your interests and needs both professionally and academically. Extension Educators are often encouraged to develop and pursue program areas of interest and passion. Use the elective coursework time to stretch and learn as much as you can about what matters to you most as it relates to your success as an Educator. Talk with your Advisor about your ideas on what electives you would like to pursue.
Extension Education- Plan C Details
Plan C master’s degrees generally require only coursework
- No thesis, project, or final examination is required.
- Designed for professional degrees
- At least 24 credits must be earned at CSU
- Includes courses completed both prior and after admission to the Graduate School
- Of the courses earned at CSU, at least 21 credits must be earned after admission to the Graduate School
- Of the courses earned at CSU, at least 21 credits must be in 500 or higher level courses (at least 20 credits for the MCS degree). Of this number, at least 12 credits must be in 500 or higher level regular courses
- Course numbers with the last two digits between 82-99 (i.e. PSY 784, JTC 690) are considered non-regular courses
- Includes courses completed both prior and after admission to the Graduate School.
In general, Plan C Master’s Degrees have an additional requirement: no independent study, research, internship, supervised college teaching, or practicum credits may be credited toward the degree unless one or more of these are required by the program, as approved by the University Curriculum Committee. Workshop, seminar, and group study courses may be credited towards the degree.
Contact Us
Kellie Enns
Assistant Professor
Agricultural Education Graduate Program Director
kellie.enns@colostate.edu
Dessa Watson
Instructor
Extension Education
dessa.linsley@colostate.edu