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Best Master's in Adult and Continuing Education Administration Programs by Degrees Awarded

Edited by Zoe MacDougall, BS in Psychology

Published ·Last updated

Ranked by the number of master's degrees awarded each year, the most established programs. The top 10 out of 10 programs reviewed from the IPEDS database.

  1. 1

    University of Phoenix-Arizona

    Phoenix, AZPrivate for-profitOnline available

    • 138Master's/yr
    • $59,180Metro teacher pay
    • Master of Arts in Education - Adult Education and Training
    • Higher Learning Commission (HLC)-accredited
    • Online
    About the program

    The University of Phoenix offers a Master of Arts in Education in Adult Education and Training, a 34-credit online degree accredited through the Higher Learning Commission. The program is engineered for convenience and predictability, moving through flexible five to six week courses that most students complete in roughly sixteen months, with tuition locked from enrollment through graduation. It is explicitly a non-licensure path that does not prepare students for professional certification or state teacher credentials, so its value lies in workplace and adult-learning contexts rather than K-12 classrooms. The focus on adult education and training suggests a degree built for corporate trainers, instructional staff, and professionals who teach adults on the job. Its structure reads as a practical, career-aligned option for working learners balancing school with employment. It is a master's degree in adult and continuing education administration at the master's level, based in Arizona.

    Why it ranks here

    Master's programs are judged differently here. Undergraduate stats do not apply, so the ranking looks at whether the program is established, the pay its graduates walk into locally, and how the university stands behind it. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 138 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort. Its graduates step into Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ, where elementary teachers earn a median $59,180, roughly $57,281 once local cost of living is factored in, a real-world read on what the credential is worth in that market.

    Area teacher pay: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025, adjusted for local cost of living via U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities. A location figure, not this program's graduate earnings.

    School site
  2. 2

    North Carolina State University at Raleigh

    Raleigh, NCPublicOnline available

    • 38Master's/yr
    • $60,170Metro teacher pay
    • Master of Education in Adult and Community College Education
    • SACSCOC (regional)-accredited
    • Online
    About the program

    North Carolina State University offers a Master of Education in Adult and Community College Education, delivered fully online and accredited through SACSCOC. The program is built for professionals who teach and lead in adult and postsecondary settings rather than K-12 classrooms, and it does not lead to teacher licensure. Students choose among concentrations in Adult and Continuing Professional Education, Community College Teaching, and Health Professions Education, letting them align the degree with the sector where they already work. Its non-thesis design, which substitutes a supervised internship for a research project, signals a program oriented toward applied practice over academic scholarship. With no GRE required for admission, the M.Ed. reads as an accessible, career-focused path for working educators moving deeper into adult and community college teaching. This program offers a master's degree in adult and continuing education administration in North Carolina.

    Why it ranks here

    A master's degree earns its rank on program-appropriate signals, not undergraduate ones: established scale, local teacher pay, and institutional strength. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 38 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort. Its graduates step into Raleigh-Cary, NC, where elementary teachers earn a median $60,170, roughly $61,300 once local cost of living is factored in, a real-world read on what the credential is worth in that market.

    Area teacher pay: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025, adjusted for local cost of living via U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities. A location figure, not this program's graduate earnings.

    School site
  3. 3

    East Carolina University

    Greenville, NCPublicOnline available

    • 23Master's/yr
    • $55,490Metro teacher pay
    • Master of Arts in Education, Adult Education
    • Online
    About the program

    East Carolina University offers an online Master of Arts in Education in Adult Education whose breadth of concentrations makes it a flexible hub for professionals across adult-learning settings. Students can specialize in community-based education, community college instruction, education in the healthcare professions, instructional design in adult education, student affairs in higher education, or workplace training and development, letting the degree map onto very different career paths. The structure signals a practice-first orientation, with no GRE or GMAT required, an optional thesis recommended mainly for doctoral-bound students, and an internship suggested for those without adult-education work experience. A cumulative portfolio required for graduation ties the coursework together as evidence of professional growth. Spanning a minimum of 36 semester hours over roughly 2.5 years part-time, the program suits working adults advancing within their fields. This program offers a master's degree in adult and continuing education administration in North Carolina.

    Why it ranks here

    For a graduate program we set aside undergraduate figures and weigh three things instead: how established it is, the local market its graduates enter, and the institution's standing. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 23 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort. Its graduates step into Greenville, NC, where elementary teachers earn a median $55,490, roughly $62,770 once local cost of living is factored in, a real-world read on what the credential is worth in that market.

    Area teacher pay: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025, adjusted for local cost of living via U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities. A location figure, not this program's graduate earnings.

    School site
  4. 4

    Northern Illinois University

    Dekalb, ILPublicOnline available

    • 12Master's/yr
    • M.S.Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs
    • On-campus
    About the program

    Northern Illinois University offers an on-campus M.S.Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs that moves students through coursework together in a cohort, building the professional network that matters in campus-based careers. A minimum 120-hour internship grounds the degree in the actual work of student affairs, giving candidates supervised practice in the offices and programs they hope to lead. A three-year part-time option with late-afternoon and evening courses opens the program to those already working in higher education while they study. Housed in the Department of Counseling and Higher Education, this program now serves as the active offering for students formerly drawn to the university's adult and continuing education administration listing. The cohort structure and heavy practicum emphasis characterize a program built to prepare hands-on student affairs practitioners. As a master's degree in adult and continuing education administration, it adds to the master's-level adult and continuing education administration options in Illinois.

    Why it ranks here

    A master's degree earns its rank on program-appropriate signals, not undergraduate ones: established scale, local teacher pay, and institutional strength. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 12 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort.

    School site
  5. 5

    University of Arkansas

    Fayetteville, ARPublicOnline available

    • 10Master's/yr
    • $61,010Metro teacher pay
    • Master of Education in Adult and Lifelong Learning
    • Online
    About the program

    The University of Arkansas offers an online Master of Education in Adult and Lifelong Learning designed for professionals who teach and lead in adult, workforce, and literacy settings. The non-thesis structure across 33 credit hours, along with a GRE and MAT exemption and a completion window of roughly 1.5 to 3 years, marks it as a practice-oriented degree tailored to working adults rather than a research track. Coursework prepares graduates for both instructional and administrative or leadership roles, reflecting the varied careers of adult educators who often teach and manage programs at once. An optional Arkansas Adult Education Licensure pathway lets graduates serve as instructors in state-approved adult education and literacy programs. Delivered fully online, the program fits the schedules of the mid-career professionals it aims to advance. This program offers a master's degree in adult and continuing education administration in Arkansas.

    Why it ranks here

    A master's degree earns its rank on program-appropriate signals, not undergraduate ones: established scale, local teacher pay, and institutional strength. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 10 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort. Its graduates step into Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR, where elementary teachers earn a median $61,010, roughly $66,785 once local cost of living is factored in, a real-world read on what the credential is worth in that market.

    Area teacher pay: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025, adjusted for local cost of living via U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities. A location figure, not this program's graduate earnings.

    School site
  6. 6

    North Carolina A & T State University

    Greensboro, NCPublicHBCU

    • 10Master's/yr
    • Master of Science in Adult Education
    • On-campus
    About the program

    North Carolina A&T State University offers an on-campus Master of Science in Adult Education that prepares graduates for the full range of roles in the field, from teaching to program development to administration. The curriculum follows the standards of the Commission of Professors of Adult Education, giving the degree a professionally grounded foundation, and it readies students to work across community colleges, four-year institutions, nonprofits, and businesses. That span of settings characterizes a program built less around a single job title than around the versatile skill set adult educators carry between sectors. Admission requires no GRE, GMAT, or MAT, lowering the barrier for working professionals returning to graduate study. Accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the program equips graduates to teach, evaluate, and lead in adult and continuing education. It is a master's degree in adult and continuing education administration at the master's level, based in North Carolina.

    Why it ranks here

    For a graduate program we set aside undergraduate figures and weigh three things instead: how established it is, the local market its graduates enter, and the institution's standing. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 10 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort.

    School site
  7. 7

    Carroll University

    Waukesha, WIPrivate nonprofit

    • 6Master's/yr
    • Master of Education in Adult, Community and Professional Education
    • On-campus
    About the program

    Carroll University offers a Master of Education in Adult, Community and Professional Education, a 33-credit program taught through its Center for Graduate Studies. Everything about the schedule points to working adults, with evening, weekend, and summer courses designed to fit around full-time careers. Students concentrate their study through emphases in Adult and Continuing Education, Curriculum and Instruction, or Health Education, letting practitioners tailor the degree to the field where they teach and train. The combination of a flexible calendar and applied emphases reads as a program for professionals expanding their expertise in adult and community learning settings. It positions graduates to design and lead instruction across workplaces, community organizations, and health education contexts. This program offers a master's degree in adult and continuing education administration in Wisconsin.

    Why it ranks here

    Master's programs are judged differently here. Undergraduate stats do not apply, so the ranking looks at whether the program is established, the pay its graduates walk into locally, and how the university stands behind it. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 6 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort.

    School site
  8. 8

    Central Michigan University

    Mount Pleasant, MIPublic

    • 5Master's/yr
    • Master of Arts in Education, Training and Development concentration
    • Online
    About the program

    Central Michigan University offers an online Master of Arts in Education with a Training and Development concentration aimed squarely at corporate and organizational learning rather than K-12 classrooms. The absence of any certification or licensure requirement, combined with positioning toward corporate training, human resources, and adult-education leadership, marks this as a career-advancement degree for professionals who design and deliver workplace learning. The 30 to 33 credit program runs ten core courses with new eight-week starts six times a year, a flexible cadence that lets working learners begin and progress on their own timeline. With no thesis or practicum required, the coursework itself carries the program, including an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion in adult-learning program design. It is one of two concentrations under the Education M.A., alongside Curriculum and Instruction. It is a master's degree in adult and continuing education administration at the master's level, based in Michigan.

    Why it ranks here

    Master's programs are judged differently here. Undergraduate stats do not apply, so the ranking looks at whether the program is established, the pay its graduates walk into locally, and how the university stands behind it. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 5 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort.

    School site
  9. 9

    University of Central Oklahoma

    Edmond, OKPublic

    • 5Master's/yr
    • Master of Education in Adult and Higher Education
    • On-campus
    About the program

    The University of Central Oklahoma offers a Master of Education in Adult and Higher Education, taught on campus through its College of Education and Professional Studies. Structured as an educational-administration major, the program carries an Adult and Continuing Education Administration concentration built around coursework in the organization and administration of adult and higher education. Students can shape the degree through tracks in Higher Education Leadership, Talent Development and Workplace Learning, Lifelong and E-Learning, or Interdisciplinary Studies, reflecting the varied settings where adult educators practice. The administrative framing and leadership emphasis suggest a degree aimed at professionals preparing to manage programs and departments in colleges, workplaces, and community organizations. Offered without an online option, it centers on the in-person, cohort experience of graduate study. As a master's degree in adult and continuing education administration, it adds to the master's-level adult and continuing education administration options in Oklahoma.

    Why it ranks here

    A master's degree earns its rank on program-appropriate signals, not undergraduate ones: established scale, local teacher pay, and institutional strength. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 5 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort.

    School site
  10. 10

    Coppin State University

    Baltimore, MDPublicHBCU

    • 2Master's/yr
    • Master of Science in Adult and Continuing Education
    • On-campus
    About the program

    Coppin State University offers an on-campus Master of Science in Adult and Continuing Education that pairs a shared professional core with a chosen specialization, letting students tailor the degree to distinct career directions. An 18-credit core is followed by one of three tracks, Administration and Supervision, Gerontology, or Family Counseling, so a single program can prepare a future adult-program administrator, an educator focused on aging populations, or a family counseling practitioner. Practicum experience is built into the core, and the Family Counseling track adds a substantial six-credit practicum, signaling an applied orientation across concentrations. A graduate research seminar taken after 21 credits gives the program a capstone rhythm. Housed in the Department of Instructional Leadership and Instructional Development, the degree reflects the leadership and instructional focus of adult and continuing education. It is a master's degree in adult and continuing education administration at the master's level, based in Maryland.

    Why it ranks here

    For a graduate program we set aside undergraduate figures and weigh three things instead: how established it is, the local market its graduates enter, and the institution's standing. On the first, it is clearly established, turning out 2 master's degrees a year, a steady if smaller cohort.

    School site

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