Cultivate Creativity
Empower Through Education
Lead with Learning
Fuel the future
Be an Agricultural Educator
Learn by Doing
Have you ever wanted to ...
- have positive community impact?
- inspire others?
- educate others about vital infrastructures like agriculture and natural resources?
- empower others?
- teach a skill set?
- connect with others about something you are passionate about?
- working with youth?
...if any of the above struck a cord with you, you might want to consider pursuing a master's degree in agricultural education!
What does agricultural education look like?
Agricultural education embodies a lot! It combines leadership development, experiential learning, and teaching instruction to teach others the importance of agriculture, food, and natural resources. Agricultural educators teach (both formally and informally) these subjects using a variety of content areas such as science, communication, leadership, math, and technology.
What types of jobs do agricultural educators enter?
A person who receives a degree in Agricultural Education is not solely locked into teaching at the junior high, high school, or college level. Potential occupations also include lobbyist, professional facilitator, industry communication director, literacy coordinator, and Extension work.
Who can be an agricultural educator?
Anyone with a desire to learn and to educate others about agriculture, natural resources, and/or environmental sciences! You do not need to have a specific academic background or prior experiences in the previously listed disciplines in order to enter the program, just a passion for those areas and a desire to connect with others. If you want to Teach Agriculture, there are multiple routes. To learn more about Pathways to Agricultural Education, click here. Check out our current cohort to see what they enjoy about the program!
Where does agricultural education take place?
Everywhere! Agricultural education doesn't solely occur in a classroom setting. It takes place in county Extension offices, during professional workshops, crop field days, speaking with consumers, commodity expos, outdoor schools, political settings, and many more. Agricultural education occurs both formally (in the classroom) and informally (in the field), both of which are needed in today's world.
Why agricultural education at Oregon State?
Our accelerated one-year master's degree in agricultural allows students to receive a quality education with the opportunity to quickly head back into industry or the classroom.
We also offer students the opportunity to:
- create a professional educator portfolio (with the help of our expert faculty) to help market your skill sets
- receive a master's degree along with a teacher licensure
- a 45-credit master's degree (lesser the credits, the sooner you get to enter the professional field, not to mention costs saved on courses)
- cohort-styled classes, which creates a collaborative environment for peer-to-peer learning, plus lifelong friendships!
- network with new and experienced educators at Oregon Agricultural Teachers Association events, Early Teacher Career Workshop, Summer Agriculture Institute, Extension conferences, and more
- to choose between a non licensure option (thesis vs non thesis) and a licensure option (thesis vs no thesis)
- to have close relationships with your professors
- learn from a program that has been creating agricultural educators for over 100 years!
Questions?
Email the Director of Agriculture Teacher Education, Dr. Josh Stewart, at [email protected] or stop by 108 Strand Agriculture Hall to set up a meeting. Dr. Stewart would love to help you decide how educating others about agriculture and natural resources can fit into your personal and professional goals.
I want to positively impact the lives of others and be an agricultural educator, what should I do next?
That is great! Check out this page to learn more about the application process. Applications are due the third Friday of February each year. Upon acceptance, the program starts the following August.
The Program in a Snapshot:
- one-year, 45-credit master's program
- cohort model which starts in August
- 4 weeks of fall student teaching
- fall and spring coursework
- 11-12 weeks of winter student teaching
- graduation in June
- go and do GREAT things in the world!
Grad School Learning Outcomes:
Conduct research or produce some other form of creative work
Demonstrate mastery of subject material
Conduct scholarly or professional activities in an ethical manner
Program Learning Focus Areas:
The Learner and Learning
Content Knowledge
Instructional Practice
Professional Responsibility