The Career and Workforce Education MA program prepares students pursuing leadership and administrative positions in career and technical education (CTE) as well as workforce education, talent development, and corporate/industrial training. This program is designed for individuals whose goal is to become a manager, coordinator, director, curriculum specialist, dean, or lead faculty in career and workforce education programs in various disciplines located in the following institutions: secondary and post-secondary schools (technical centers, community colleges, state colleges, and universities); vocational rehabilitation colleges; corporations and industry; military; and professional associations and organizations.
The six Career Education Core classes combine to provide students with an in-depth analysis of career education from its inception to future trends. These courses will provide a solid foundation in career and technical/workforce education. With 18 credit hours (six courses) in career education graduate courses and 18 credit hours (six courses) in a discipline-specific field of study, the student will be considered a subject matter expert in career and technical education AND a subject matter expert in a discipline-specific field.
This program provides the flexibility of choosing electives for subject matter expertise in Career and Workforce Education (CWE) or other discipline-specific graduate courses that allows for a personalized degree program.
CTE Graduate Program Vision Statement: All CTE leaders are academic scholars.
CTE Graduate Program Mission Statement: To provide opportunities for system leaders to critically analyze career and workforce history, programs, issues, and trends.
Our Goal: The Career and Workforce Education graduate programs place an emphasis on the students' development of academic research and scholarly writing that contribute to strong leadership skills in their individual fields of study.
The Career and Workforce Education MA program requires a minimum of 39 credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree, including 18 credit hours of career education core courses and 18 credit hours of advisor-approved courses focused on specialization within a discipline. The program also requires an internship/directed-field experience course (3 CH) OR a research report course (3 CH). Passing a comprehensive examination at the end of the program is a graduation requirement.
Total Credit Hours Required: 39 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Bachelor's Degree
Please note: Career and Workforce Education (MA) may be completed fully online, although not all elective course options or course prerequisites may be offered online. Newly admitted students choosing to complete this program exclusively via UCF Online may enroll with a reduction in campus-based fees.
This program is not an initial teacher professional education certificate program.
International students (F or J visa) are required to enroll in a full-time course load of 9 credit hours during the fall and spring semesters. Only 3 of the 9 credit hours may be taken in a completely online format. For a detailed listing of enrollment requirements for international students, please visit UCF Global.
UCF is authorized to provide online courses or instruction to students in all states. Refer to State Authorizations for current information.
Program Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution recognized by UCF with a 3.0 GPA or above. Experience in workforce development or career and technical education programs is preferred- but not required.
Degree Requirements
Required Courses - Career Education
18 Total Credits
- Complete the following:
- ECW5561 - Student Guidance in the Career/Workforce Program (3)
- ECW6067 - History of Career Education in the United States (3)
- ECW6105 - Career Education Curriculum Planning and Implementation (3)
- ECW6268 - School, College, and Career Readiness (3)
- ECW6666 - Issues in Career Education (3)
- ECT6791 - Research in Career Education (3)
Elective Courses in Specialization
18 Total Credits
- Complete all of the following
- Choose six courses (18 CH) from the following list (any combination) or add a graduate certificate to focus on an area of specialization. Area of specialization may include career and technical education (CTE), health, technical training, corporate training, adult education, business education, graduate certificates, or another area approved by the advisor. Please note: Courses shown in the elective list may also apply to either the Local Director of Career and Technical Education Graduate Certificate or the Leadership in Workforce Development Graduate Certificate. Consult with the academic program coordinator to discuss options and complete the Graduate Plan of Study.
Career and Workforce Education (CWE) Elective Courses for Specialization- Earn at least 18 credits from the following:
- ECW5265 - Experiential Learning in Career and Workforce Education Programs (3)
- ECW6695 - School/Community Relations for Career and Technical Education Programs (3)
- ECW6205 - Administration of Local Career Education Programs (3)
- ECW6206 - Supervision in Local Career and Technical Education Programs (3)
- ECW5208 - Workforce Development and Training Management (3)
- ECW5207 - Management of Career Education Programs (3)
- ECW6667 - Workforce Development Theory to Practice (3)
- ECT6792 - Research Applications for Workforce Development (3)
- BTE6935 - Seminar in Business Education (3)
Research Report/Internship Option
3 Total Credits
- Complete 1 of the following
- The research report course is an option for students who wish to go onto to a doctorate program. The course consists of further study into research and scholarly writing. The internship course is a learning and observation activity that takes place in a face-to-face or web-based authentic setting in which students must apply, reflect upon, and refine knowledge and skills acquired in the program.
Research Report Option- Earn at least 3 credits from the following:
- ECT6909 - Research Report
Internship Option- Earn at least 3 credits from the following:
- ECT6946 - Graduate Internship (0 - 99)
Grand Total Credits: 39
Application Requirements
Application Deadlines
Financial Information
Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see the College of Graduate Studies Funding website, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.
Fellowship Information
Fellowships are awarded based on academic merit to highly qualified students. They are paid to students through the Office of Student Financial Assistance, based on instructions provided by the College of Graduate Studies. Fellowships are given to support a student's graduate study and do not have a work obligation. For more information, see UCF Graduate Fellowships, which includes descriptions of university fellowships and what you should do to be considered for a fellowship. Please note that the CWE programs do not directly offer fellowships.
The program's core courses are fully online. Students may choose the fully online track (core and elective courses) or a combination of online core courses and face-to-face elective courses.
