Master of Extension Education

In the video below Dr. Melissa Leiden Welsh provides an overview of our Extension Education program.

Topics discussed include:

• Overview
• Required Courses
• Thesis vs Non-thesis option
• Elective Courses
• DC Consortium availability
• Transfer Credits
• Contact

About

The Master of Extension Education offers a thesis and non-thesis option.

• Thesis Option: For the thesis option, 6 credit hours must be in AGST 799, "Master’s Thesis Research." The thesis should be completed towards the end of the student's coursework. The thesis must be approved by the Thesis Examining Committee, which consists of three members of the graduate faculty. The chair of the committee should be the student’s thesis advisor.

• Non-Thesis Option: For the non-thesis option, a minimum of 6 credit hours must be from courses numbered 600 and above. Instead of a thesis, students should submit one professional article in publication ready format or present an individually created research based creative component (curricula, professional training design, learning media product, etc.) to the Non-Thesis Review Committee, which consists of three members of the graduate faculty. The chair of the committee should be the student’s advisor.

For a list of additional approved courses for the Master of Extension Education, visit the Academic Catalog.

These faculty members have committed to advising students in the Master's of Extension Education Program. Feel free to reach out to whomever matches your field of interest:

Student Committee Advisors	Contact Information	Work Focus
	Alex Chan, Ph. D., LMFT   alexchan@umd.edu Symons Hall 1208 Symons Hall College Park, Maryland 20742	Family & Consumer Science Specialist Farm Stress Management Maryland Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Relationship Education Family Relations and Health Mental Health Youth Development Healthy Dating Identity Development
	Diana Cochran Ph. D. cochrand@umd.edu Plant Science & Landscape Architecture 2133 Plant Sciences Building 4291 Fieldhouse Drive College Park, MD 20742	Assistant Clinical Professor Horticulture Commercial Crop Production Crop Diversification Relationship Between Plants and Environmental Variables Sustainable In-season Crop Management Practices
	Anna Mae Glenn amglenn@umd.edu  Frederick County Extension 330 Montevue Lane Frederick, MD 21702	4-H Agent, Frederick County Global agriculture Global citizenship Cross-cultural teaching Positive youth development Agricultural literacy Urban agriculture agricultural entrepreneurship Volunteer management Animal sciences
	Nicole Fiorellino, Ph. D. nfiorell@umd.edu Plant Science & Landscape Architecture 2124 Plant Sciences Building 4291 Fieldhouse Drive College Park, Maryland 20742	Assistant Professor & Extension Agent Specialist  Agronomic Crop Production Agriculture Extension Producer-driven Research
	Darren Jarboe jarboe@umd.edu University of Maryland Extension Agriculture & Food Systems 2115 Symons Hall 7998 Regents Drive College Park, MD 20742	Assistant Director & Principal Extension Agent  Assistant Director and Agriculture and Food Systems Program Leader Agribusiness Management Agricultural Production Bio-renewables Entrepreneurship Technology Commercialization
	Andrew Kness   akness@umd.edu  Harford County Agricultural Center 3525 Conowingo Rd. Suite 600 Street, Maryland 21154	Senior Extension Agent Agronomy Plant Pathology Pasture Management Diseases of Field Crops Soils Agricultural Science
	Neith Little nglittle@umd.edu University of Maryland Extension Office in Baltimore City 6615 Reisterstown Road Suite 201 Baltimore, Maryland 21215	Extension Agent Urban Agriculture Soil Science Small and Beginning Farms
	Luke Macaulay, Ph. D. lukemac@umd.edu Wye Research and Education Center 124 Wye Narrows Dr, Queenstown, MD 21658	Extension Agent Specialist Wildlife Resources Wildlife Management
	Bill Phillips, Ph. D. billii@umd.edu Plant Science & Landscape Architecture 2102 Plant Sciences Building 4291 Fieldhouse Drive College Park, Maryland 20742	Assistant Clinical Professor Agronomy Field Crops Crop Science Plant Science and Technology Weed Science Crop Ecophysiology Seed Germination and Emergence
	Fereshteh Shahoveisi, Ph.D. fsh@umd.edu Plant Science & Landscape Architecture 2110 Plant Sciences Building 4291 Fieldhouse Drive College Park, MD 20742	Assistant Professor Plant Pathology Epidemiology Genetics of Host Resistance Machine Learning and Remote Sensing Nematology Turfgrass disease management
	Kurt Vollmer  kvollmer@umd.edu Wye Research and Education Center 124 Wye Narrows Drive Queenstown, MD 21658	Extension Agent Specialist Weed Management
	Xuan Wei, Ph.D. xuanwei@umd.edu Clarksville Facility 4240 Folly Quarter Road Central Maryland Research and Education Center (CMREC) Ellicott City, MD 21042	Extension Specialist, Urban Farm and Agribusiness Management Urban Agriculture Agricultural Business Consumer Behavior Experimental Economics Economic Impact Analysis Specialty Crop Marketing

Mentoring

For more information on mentoring, please see our Statement of Mutual Expectations for Mentoring document. 

Course Advising

Each semester, please meet with your faculty advisor, Dr. Melissa Leiden Welsh (drmwelsh@umd.edu) or Dr Colby Silvert (csilvert@umd.edu), to go over advising for coursework requirements. After you meet, send an email to aeedgradadvising@umd.edu including your UID# and listing the classes you plan to take the following semester. Either  Dr. Leiden Welsh or Diana (with permission from Dr. Welsh or Dr Silvert) will lift the advising block. Students should meet a minimum of once each semester with their committee and thesis advisors. 

As you sign up for classes each semester you'll find that you have an advising block. In order for these to be lifted we'll need from AEED students:

• Written confirmation from your advisor that you are cleared to register for the next semester. Please see 'Tips' below for format.

• Your UID#; we need this to access your account.  

• An updated Plan of Study, if applicable. If we are missing any other forms from you we will let you know.

• In your first semester of enrollment, we recommend that you take one of the AGST core courses (605, 606,630, 640) for the Master of Extension degree.

Tips

• Before registering for classes you must meet with your faculty advisor to confirm your progress towards completing your degree. Either your advisor can email directly on your behalf or you can email a statement and CC your advisor such as the one below:

  • With this email I confirm that I have met with my faculty advisor and/or committee, [INSERT NAME] who is included in this email. No modifications have been made to my Plan of Study. 

• My faculty advisor has approved that I register for courses for the upcoming semester. My name is [INSERT NAME] and my UID number is [INSERT UID #].

• Updates: If any modifications need to be made to your Plan of Study please update the plan and send the latest version by email. It is of the utmost importance that your Plan of Study is updated as these changes will be made into uachieve.umd.edu which is used by the Graduate School at the time of your graduation. 

• Again, always copy your faculty advisor when emailing regarding lifting advising blocks.

• Important: Please remember that it is your responsibility to keep track and understand the deadlines and implications of not meeting them. There are financial implications when the deadlines are not met.

  • Academic Deadlines 

  • Explanation of Schedule Adjustment Period

    • It is important to read through this page. Modifying your schedule may result in financial penalties that become your responsibility. 

      • We would like to avoid you getting charged for modifying your schedule after the first day of classes. Graduate students do get a financial charge if they drop and add courses on different days and that do not equal in credit hours. 

        • You must drop before classes begin or make adjustments according to the policy.

        • During the Schedule Adjustment substitutions must occur on the same day, and 

        • Substitutes must be equivalent in credits.

Graduate School Information and Deadlines

Deadlines for admissions, class registration, fellowship and award, thesis, dissertation and graduation can be found on the Graduate School's website.  

University academic deadlines (drop/add, credit level changes, withdrawal, etc.) can be found on the Office of the Registrar's Academic Deadlines page.

• Admissions Deadlines

• Doctoral Degree Completion Checklist

• Fellowship Deadlines

• Graduation Deadlines

• Master's Degree Completion Checklist

• Registration Deadlines                                                                                                                  

Reminder: It is the responsibility of the student to comply with the various deadlines.  In many cases, exceptions will not be granted.

Graduate Student Registration

Please remember that it is your responsibility to keep track and understand the deadlines and implications of not meeting them.  There are financial implications when the deadlines are not met. 

 Academic Deadlines    Explanation of Schedule Adjustment Period             

Graduate School Forms

Click below to access graduate school forms including:

• Fellowship and Financial Forms

• Petitions, Requests, and Waivers

• Thesis and Dissertation Forms

• Approved Program Forms (M.S. only)

• Graduation Forms

• General Forms (GA, TA, and RA Statement of Mutual Expectations)

• Faculty and Staff Forms

Graduate School Forms

AEED Forms

If you fill out a form this may require the signature of the Graduate Director. Please include the Graduate Director, Dr. Melissa Welsh, when submitting these forms to the Graduate School.

SOP |  How To: Fill and Sign Graduate forms using Adobe Acrobat for Internal Department Use 

All internal forms must be digitally signed and submitted. Please use Adobe Acrobat (desktop app or online cloud) as detailed above.

Be sure to send these forms to the Instructional Programs Office at aeedgradadvising@umd.edu.

• Plan of Study/Semester Update(File sent prior to advising session with your advisor each semester)

• Appointment of Advisory Committee(File sent after completing first semester, update as needed)

• Thesis/Final Project Update Form(File sent after completing first semester, update as needed)