The Postsecondary Adult and Continuing Education (PACE) Program at Portland State University advances students’ knowledge and professional skills for a wide variety of careers in higher education, community and non-profit organizations, and training and development sectors across private businesses and public agencies. The 45 credit master’s degree can be completed in 18-24 months with Hybrid and Fully On-Line (synchronous or asynchronous) course/degree options. As such, the PACE learning community includes students not only from all parts of Oregon, but from across North America, allowing for collaborative learning and shared professional experiences with diverse individual expertise, organizations, and communities.
Students can begin the program any academic term with part-time or full-time enrollment. The CORE classes (16 credits) provide foundational research, conceptual frames, and content knowledge in adult learning and organizational understanding based on educational values of responsive leadership, equitable capacity-building, and social justice advocacy. Students select from one or more THEMATIC SPECIALIZATIONS (25 credits) that are aligned and cross-counted with optional graduate certificates: Student Affairs in Higher Education; Teaching Adult Learners; Service-Learning and Community-Based Learning; Training and Development. Students, in advisement with faculty, can also create their own thematic specialization and enroll in Independent Study and/or Practicum/Internship credit. A final capstone course, PACE Comprehensive Project (4 credits), is a culminating theory-to-praxis experience demonstrating learning, leadership, and advocacy for educational and equity-centered change.
Check out the courses to take to complete this degree!
| Program Coordinator | Admissions Advisor |
|---|
Ramin Farahmandpur
askcoe@pdx.edu
503-725-4619 | Stefanie Randol
askcoe@pdx.edu
503-725-4689* *You can text me! |
The PSU motto is “Let Knowledge Serve the City” which is operationalized by the PACE faculty in the curricular content, learning interactions, community-based service and research experiences, and scholarship for social justice. The faculty are nationally and internationally recognized educational leaders in Student Services, Service-Learning, Adult Learning, Organizational Policy, and Training and Development. PACE students are often working professionals (full or part-time) who are pursuing the knowledge and skills needed to advance their careers in higher, adult, and continuing education. The PACE learning community also includes adult career-changers and recent undergraduates who are ready for the academic and professional challenges of a master’s degree program. Faculty work closely with each student to outline an Academic and Professional Plan of Study in meeting individual needs and interests.
PACE Guiding Principles
The PACE master’s specialty and graduate certificates are guided by a specific set of principles and values that are incorporated into course content and interactions:
- A commitment to social justice and equity advocacy
- The empowerment of change agents and agency
- The integration of theory, research, assessment, and practice
- The promotion of sound educational, social, economic, cultural, and environmental leadership and decision-making
- The development of reflective practitioners
- The fostering of life-long learning within inclusive, interdependent communities
- The utilization of appropriate and contemporary resources and technology
- Leveraging of multiple paradigms and perspectives to inform decision-making and action for the collective good
PACE Learning Outcomes
All PACE graduates (degree and certificate students) are expected to demonstrate competence in the following FIVE areas based upon PACE Core and Specialty Courses:
LEARNER UNDERSTANDING: Knowledge and Critical Analysis of Research Literature and Theoretical Concepts
- Understand and critically analyze foundational research and theoretical concepts regarding individual learner educational access and professional success across intellectual, emotional, experiential, and cultural dimensions.
LEARNER FACILITATION: Application and Praxis of Theory to Professional Practice
- Apply research and theoretical concepts of epistemology, pedagogy, and performance to educational and professional practice in supporting and advocating for equitable learner development.
LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: Knowledge and Critical Analysis of Factors, Forces, Policies, and Organizations
- Understand and critically analyze foundational factors and forces (historical and contemporary) that influence systemic and organizational policies, procedures, and educational formats that affect learner access and professional success.
LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS: Praxis and Implementation of Equitable Practices, Policies, and Programs
- Apply research and theoretical concepts in the creation of equitable practices, policies, and programs within organizations and across communities that affect learner educational access and professional success.
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS: Pedagogically and Culturally-Contextualized
- Effective written and oral communication and research, assessment, and technological skills applied to educationally-just and professionally equitable practices.
Alumni Spotlight
“I was a first generation college graduate. I grew up in a single-parent household. My mom immigrated from the Philippines at age 15. In high school, I went through IB [International Baccalaureate], a program geared toward academic preparation for college. My high school had one counselor and there was no one who helped me with scholarships, financial aid or where to apply to college. It was a mixed experience. “After getting my bachelor’s degree at the University of California Irvine and working there for three years after graduation, I came to visit Portland a few times and I just loved it..." Read Kelly's story >> |
“My current work is really focused on preparing educators and counselors to be agents of social change in their respective professions.” ~ Kelly Novahom, 2019 PACE alumna |
PACE graduates advance to a wide-variety of professional careers:
- Student and academic support services in colleges
- Workplace education and professional training in public and private organizations
- Higher education, student affairs and academic affairs centers and offices
- Adult learning settings and continued education programs, including schools, nonprofits, government, and businesses
- Community change organizations focused on educational, health, social, and environmental support resources
Alumni Spotlight
“The PACE program was a major transition in my life [...] Having studied physics, astronomy and philosophy, I had yet to encounter the psychological and sociological perspectives on the nature of how people learn.” ~ J. Bryan Henderson, 2006 PACE alumnus | Prior to the PACE program, Henderson had been teaching college physics. “I started reading about some interesting new pedagogies used to teach science. It was very different from how I saw classrooms being orchestrated when I was a science student.” Dr. Henderson discovered a new approach while in the PACE program at PSU. “Being in a community of learners that was more focused on a social science approach to things, it was a very new experience for me in terms of my intellectual development,” he says. Read Bryan's story >> |