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Adult & Continuing Education

A program that prepares individuals to teach adult students in various settings, including basic and remedial education programs, continuing education programs, and programs designed to develop or upgrade specific employment-related knowledge and skills. Examples: [Workforce Training and Development Instruction]

Types of Degrees Adult & Continuing Education Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Adult & Continuing Education may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	4
Master’s Degree	759
Doctor’s Degree	138

What Adult & Continuing Education Majors Need to Know

Programs in Adult & Continuing Education build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Adult & Continuing Education graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Adult & Continuing Education emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 2.8 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Communications and Media — Importance 2.7 / 5; level 2.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Adult & Continuing Education program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Adult & Continuing Education careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Adult & Continuing Education graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.6 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.5 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Getting Information	4.0 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.8 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Adult & Continuing Education professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Adobe Photoshop	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Adobe Dreamweaver	Web page creation and editing software	—
Hypertext markup language HTML	Web platform development software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Adobe Acrobat	Document management software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Adult & Continuing Education graduates include:

• Instructor
• Teacher
• Voice Instructor
• Chef Teacher
• Foreign Language Teacher
• Ceramics Teacher
• Water Safety Teacher
• Scuba Instructor
• Flute Teacher
• Culinary Art Teacher
• Enrichment Instructor
• Flying Instructor
• Sign Language Teacher
• Firearms Instructor
• Instrumental Music Teacher

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Adult & Continuing Education graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	41.6%
Master’s degree	20.9%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	11.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	11.6%
Postsecondary certificate	9.8%
Some college courses	2.0%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.9%
Post-doctoral training	0.4%
Post-master’s certificate	0.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Adult & Continuing Education?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 71.3% of Adult & Continuing Education degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	642	71.3%
Men	259	28.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Adult & Continuing Education graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	545	60.5%
Asian	26	2.9%
Hispanic or Latino	101	11.2%
Black or African American	133	14.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native	4	0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	4	0.4%
Two or More Races	29	3.2%
Race Unknown	22	2.4%
International Students	37	4.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Adult & Continuing Education Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Adult & Continuing Education graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$44,857
4 years	$43,846
5 years	$48,879

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $48,879 — roughly 9% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Adult & Continuing Education Programs

Fully online options is reported by IPEDS for Adult & Continuing Education. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	3	0
Master’s	23	10
Doctoral (Research)	6	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Adult & Continuing Education Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Adult & Continuing Education graduates earn a median of $43,846 four years after completion — roughly 15% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	108,054
Elementary Education and Teaching	42,205
Secondary Education and Teaching	10,594
Educational/Instructional Technology	8,879
Teacher Education, Multiple Levels	8,732
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, Other	6,573
Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching	2,976
Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching	2,616
Bilingual and Multilingual Education	932
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Methods	399
Multicultural Education	329
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education, Other	326

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.