My Student Experience: Applied Education Studies Program Prepares Graduates for Careers Outside the Traditional Classroom

As Alex Paugh’s career as an active member of the U.S. Marine Corps began to near its end, he wanted to enroll in a degree program that could help him transition his military experience into a role in education and training. 

Having developed a passion for teaching, mentorship and instructional design during his time as a Marine recruiter and leader, Paugh discovered the NC State College of Education’s Applied Education Studies program and knew the program would be exactly what he needed. 

“The program is giving me the theoretical foundation and digital tools to pair with my practical military leadership and training experience,” he said. “Every course I’ve taken so far has prepared me to understand the life and responsibilities of an educator, instructor and public leader.”

The Applied Education Studies program is designed for undergraduate students like Paugh who are interested in working in education but plan to take on roles outside the traditional classroom. These include positions such as instructional designers for higher education, government, military or industrial sectors, or entrepreneurs of educational services and products..

Drawing on the field of learning design and technology—including interdisciplinary foundations across education, psychology, communications and design—students in Applied Education Studies learn to apply what is empirically understood about how people learn in order to effectively design, develop, implement and evaluate instructional resources to improve learning and performance. 

“When I discovered the Applied Education program, I felt as though it was perfect for me,” said Ashley Bertles ’23, ‘24MED, who always loved creating websites and presentations on topics that interested her. “As soon as I read about the major and how it prepared you to become an instructional designer, I had an ‘aha’ moment for the first time about what I wanted to do with my life and realized that this was my dream career.”

Bertles now works as an instructional designer and training coordinator for a mortgage company, developing training materials for multiple departments and designing instructional videos, job aids and employee handbooks using a variety of technological tools. Additionally, she serves as the administrator for her company’s learning management system, which delivers and tracks mandatory training across the organization. 

Bertles said she uses the skills she developed during her time in the Applied Education Studies program—including website development, HTML coding, video development and how to use tools in the Adobe Creative Cloud—every day in her role. 

“When designing any type of learning material, I begin by establishing what the purpose of creating it is and what learners will take away. I guide this practice through the application of learning theories, which is a topic greatly covered throughout the program,” she said. “As I transitioned into my full-time career, I felt very prepared to carry out my position due to the preparation this program gave me.”

Bertles said she also felt she had a competitive edge when she entered the workforce because she was able to leave the College of Education with both her bachelor’s and master’s degree as part of the Applied Education Studies accelerated bachelor’s to master’s option. This option allows undergraduate students to begin taking graduate-level courses during their senior year before transitioning to full-time graduate student work, enabling them to receive both degrees in as little as five years.

It’s an option that was especially valuable to students like Paugh, who didn’t enroll in undergraduate coursework immediately after high school because of his military career. The accelerated program, he said, will allow him to move more quickly into the instructional design roles he seeks, both in the military and, eventually, civilian education. 

As one of only five Marines across the country selected in 2024 for the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer Degree Completion Program, which allows officers to earn a degree through full-time college study while receiving their regular pay, Paugh will graduate in December 2025 and immediately begin a 36-month role as a curriculum developer at the Marine Corps University in Virginia.

“Thanks to this program, I will be putting my degree to use immediately after graduation,” he said. “There have been many highs and lows [in my life], but everything I’ve gone through has led me to NC State. Being here as a student is one of my proudest achievements, because it reflects both how far I’ve come and where I’m headed next.”