Mars Hill University Adult and Graduate Studies offers five undergraduate degree programs, as well as licensure and certification opportunities, to working adults and non-traditional students. MHU-AGS students are a vibrant part of the Mars Hill community, taking evening classes on the main campus and at the Asheville Center for Adult and Graduate Studies in Arden. Providing unparalleled adult education in western North Carolina for almost 50 years, MHU-AGS has open and rolling admission for fall, spring, and summer semesters.
Adult Studies classes are offered on campus, online and in Asheville and Burnsville, NC. Enrollment may be for one course or for several each semester. Some classes are offered in a short term format (9-week terms), while others meet throughout an entire semester (16 weeks).
Mars Hill University is the oldest educational institution on its original site in Western North Carolina. It was founded in 1856 by citizens to serve the people of Western North Carolina. The University cultivates values and builds on a rich heritage of liberal arts education. As early as 1901, the college ran a teacher-institute to provide in-service training for public school educators. In 1934, it pioneered the “pastor’s school” to give ministers structured periods of study, and in 1970, it launched the Career Opportunities Program (COP) to provide teacher assistants with classes leading to baccalaureate degrees. In 1974, the Continuing Education Program, an inspired creation of the COP was launched. The ACCESS program (Accelerated Credit, Continuing Education, and Summer School) served many career-minded professionals for decades. With the launch of the college’s first graduate-level program, the Master of Education, the program was reintroduced as Adult and Graduate Studies (AGS). August 2013 marked the date that the institution as a whole transitioned from Mars Hill College to Mars Hill University.