Agricultural Education MS Online: Info and Application

This degree deepens expertise in agricultural teaching and learning while preparing you to serve an increasingly diverse industry.

Transfer Credit

Transfer credit units must be ≤ 5 years old, agriculture-relevant, and are vetted in your first semester before they can replace electives.

Steps to Complete the Application Process

1. Apply Online
   Graduate students apply through Cal State Apply and submit official transcripts from every college attended since high school to the Office of Graduate Studies.
2. Look for Enrollment Notice
   Accepted applicants receive an enrollment notice from Chico State and a course enrollment notification from the Office of Professional and Continuing Education. During this process, you will receive a Chico State email address and access to your portal account. Monitor your new Chico State email for admission and enrollment instructions.
3. Meet with the Graduate Coordinator
   Schedule and advising appointment so you can choose the roadmap that matches your situation. The only variables are whether you enter with 9 transferable graduate units and whether you must keep six-unit semesters for loan eligibility. Petition transfer units where appropriate.

Culminating Activity

Completion and final approval of a thesis, project, or comprehensive examination as specified by the student’s graduate advisory committee.

Student Learning Outcomes

Foundations and Philosophy

Graduates will apply knowledge of philosophical and historical foundations of agricultural education to develop personal philosophy statements that guide components of agricultural education programs.

• Identify philosophical influences upon agricultural education.
• Identify historical foundations to agricultural education.
• Identify components of successful agricultural education programs.
• Design personal philosophical statement.

Curriculum Design

Graduates will create relevant, challenging and integrative agricultural curriculum. Graduates will recognize and adapt curriculum to meet curricular goals and objectives using a variety of educational theories and models.

• Identify learning theories and models.
• Analyze learners to identify curricular needs.
• Apply agricultural education theory to design appropriate curriculum.

Instructional Practice

Graduates will demonstrate effective teaching characteristics while utilizing a wide variety of teaching and learning strategies. Graduates will use appropriate practices to teach essential agricultural concepts, problem solving, skills of inquiry, communication, and collaboration.

• Identify effective teaching theories and characteristics.
• Identify instruction needs for formal and non-formal educational environments.
• Apply characteristics of effective teaching to lesson facilitation.

Assessment and Data Use

Graduates will develop, administer, and analyze formal, informal, and performance assessment techniques to monitor and evaluate student learning and guide modification.

• Identify assessment components of learning theories.
• Apply knowledge of effective assessment theories to develop formal, informal, and performance assessments.
• Analyze assessment data.
• Utilize assessment data to modify instruction.

Research Methods

Graduates will demonstrate the ability to collect, analyze, and share data related to agriculture as informed consumers and producers of educational research.

• Describe research methodology.
• Apply research methodology to design a research study.
• Demonstrate effective application of research methodology through collecting and analyzing statistical data.

Cultural and Global Awareness

Graduates will apply knowledge of diverse learners to create optimal learning environments. Identify characteristics of diverse learners.

• Identify educational needs of diverse learners.
• Apply knowledge of diverse learners to create optimal learning environments.