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CTE Degree Information
- Email Nicole Hampton, or call 928-523-2560
Advising for Current Students
- Email Gina Davies, or call 810-875-9344
Career and Technical Education, Master of Education
This flexible master's degree offers you an opportunity to design a customized program of study, in consultation with an advisor, to meet your individual educational needs. This degree program is designed to prepare you for a career in career and technical education. Our graduates are CTE administrators, educators, and training and development personnel in secondary, post-secondary, and business and industry settings. The diverse course options can be chosen to meet the future goals of many diverse students. Your advisor can assist you putting together (and approving) a customized program of study that will prepare you for your growth in your current career or to meet your future goals.
Please note that this is not a secondary education certification program. If you are interested in secondary education certification in CTE, please explore the Master of Education, Secondary Education - Certification programs.
Requirements Accordion Open
To receive a master’s degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses from one or more subject areas, consisting of at least 30 units of graduate-level courses. (Many master’s degree programs require more than 30 units.)
You must additionally complete:- All requirements for your specific academic plan(s). This may include a thesis.
- All graduate work with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0.
- All work toward the master’s degree must be completed within six consecutive years. The six years begins with the semester and year of admission to the program.
Read the full policy here.
Overview Accordion Closed
In addition to University Requirements:
- Complete individual plan requirements.
| Minimum Units for Completion | 30 |
| Additional Admission Requirements | Admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required. |
| Thesis | Thesis may be required by chosen emphasis or offered as an option. |
| Comprehensive Exam | Comprehensive Exam may be required by chosen emphasis or offered as an option. |
| Oral Defense | Oral Defense may be required by chosen emphasis or offered as an option. |
| Research | Individualized research may be required by chosen emphasis or offered as an option. |
| Some online/blended coursework | Required |
| Progression Plan Link | View Program of Study |
| Accelerated Undergraduate/Graduate Plan | Optional |
Purpose Statement
The Master of Education, Career and Technical Education is distinctive, and addresses the emerging need for practitioners and occupational trainers with knowledge specifically in Career and Technical Education; especially as it relates to the latest educational teaching and occupational training practices. The program is designed to prepare professionals in education and business including community college employees, corporate trainers and others in corporate educational positions for growth in their current positions or to meet future goals in career and technical education. CTE graduates will have the knowledge and ability to (a) be advocates for the important role career and technical education has in society, (b) identify and creatively solve critical issues in the field, and (c) be catalysts for evolutionary growth.
Student Learning Outcomes
- CTE graduates will have the knowledge and ability to
- Be advocates for the important role career and technical education has in society.
- Identify and creatively solve critical issues in the field.
- Be catalysts for evolutionary growth.Student will be able to provide legal definition for Career and Technical Education and other key terms in current federal legislation.
- Student will be able to articulate a clear personal philosophy of Career and Technical Education and to describe the changes/growth in their philosophy while in the program.
- Student will be able to cite a historical timeline of major legislative acts affecting VTE/CTE including the name, year, financial support, and major provisions/societal implications of each.
- Student will be able to articulate current critical issues within the field.
- Student will be able to articulate purpose and importance of strong school and community relations including formal and informal methods of core communication skills and involvement of various stakeholder groups.
- Student will identify and describe different communication tools used between the school and community and convey their application and benefits to both program promotion and advocacy.
- Student will define/explain terms common to the field of research/experimentation and design, various research methodologies, and various data collection techniques.
- Student will become a skilled research consumer as demonstrated by reading and critiquing professional education research reports and a skilled researcher as demonstrated by preparing a four-chapter research prospectus.
- Student will identify and describe topics relevant to instructional management; drawing conclusions and making inferences to their relevant applications for delivery and instruction in CTE.
- Student clearly articulates a professional development plan for staying current in CTE beyond the program and identifies relevant professional organizations and journals that would be appropriate for staying current in CTE.
- Student will gain competence in the use a wide variety of multimedia technology tools.
Details Accordion Closed
Additional Admission Requirements
- Admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.
- NAU graduate online application is required for all programs. Details on admission requirements are included in the online application.
- Undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution.
- Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A"), or the equivalent.
- Admission to many graduate programs is on a competitive basis, and programs may have higher standards than those established by the Graduate College.
- Transcripts.
- For details on graduate admission policies, please visit the Graduate Admissions Policy.
- International applicants have additional admission requirements. Please see the International Graduate Admissions Policy.
Individual program admission requirements include:
- Responses to specific essay questions
Master's Requirements
This Master’s degree requires 30 units distributed as follows:
- Career and Technical Education Course Requirements: 15 units
- Select a Concentration with your faculty advisor, which includes a thesis or coursework option: 15 units
- Concentration Electives: 9 units
- Thesis or Coursework option: 6 units
Take the following 30 units:
Career and Technical Education Course Requirements (15 units)- CTE 591, CTE 691, CTE 692, CTE 696 (12 units)
- Select one course from: EDF 670, EDF 671, EDF 672, EDF 677 (3 units)
- A concentration, from either CTE courses or advisor approved interdisciplinary courses that comprise a coherent area of study which may include 3 units of EPS courses and up to 6 units of CTE 699, for the research, writing, and oral defense of an approved thesis (15 units)
Concentration (15 units)- Select a Concentration with your faculty advisor which includes a thesis or coursework option (15 units).
- Concentration Electives: 9 units
- Thesis or Coursework option: 6 units
Areas from which you may select a concentration include but aren't restricted to curriculum and instruction, higher education, educational technology, human resource development, and CTE Administration. Note that a concentration in CTE Administration does not lead to any type of administration certification. Consult with your plan advisor for the courses suggested in these areas of concentration.
If you choose the thesis plan, you can only count 6 units of thesis credit toward your degree. However, you may end up taking more units because you must enroll for CTE 699 each term while you are working on your thesis.
If you choose the extended coursework plan rather than the thesis plan, you must pass a final oral exam administered by the faculty, in addition to the coursework listed here. The exit oral exam covers content in the four core CTE courses (CTE 591, CTE 691, CTE 692, and CTE 696).
We offer courses for this plan via web-based delivery only. There are no other delivery methods for this program.
Additional Information
Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.
This program is available as an Accelerated Undergraduate/Graduate Plan wherein a student may start a Master's degree while simultaneously completing their Bachelor's degree.
Program Highlights
- Prepares career-ready graduates for career and technical education related careers
- Provides continued growth and development for those already employed in career and technical education fields
- All degree requirements completed online
- GRE not required
- No thesis required to graduate from the program
This program is ideal if you:
- want to train others or are currently training others in the technologies of your field
- have occupational work experience or prior college credits
- want a masters degree so you can pursue career and salary advancement
- want to teach your occupational area to others in HRD, trade schools, or community colleges
- are a community college employee, corporate trainer or in a corporate educational position
- want your master's degree to come from a highly regarded institution known for outstanding education programs throughout the State of Arizona