Forum Discussion
Instructional Design Master's or Graduate Certificate Programs
Hi everyone!
People reach out to me all the time asking which Master's or graduate degree programs they should enroll in to become an instructional designer. With so many programs out there—and many of them offering virtual options now—it can be hard to choose.
I'd love to hear from those of you who have gone that route so I can point them to some real-life feedback. What program did you do? Did you find it helpful (either from an instructional and/or career perspective)? What did you like and dislike about it?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Hi all,
My route to becoming an instructional designer involved earning a graduate level certificate from the University of Georgia. They offer an M.Ed. in Learning, Design, & Technology–Instructional Design and Development and graduate certificates–one in eLearning Design and one in Online Teaching and Learning. All of these can be fully completed virtually. Earning the eLearning Design certificate helped me land my first instructional design job and equipped me with the theoretical knowledge and technological skills necessary to excel in this role.
It's a wonderful program with great faculty. They also partnered (and may still) with Articulate and provide students opportunities to expand their skills using the software while working on authentic, real-world projects. I was able to complete the certificate mostly for free since I was a UGA employee at the time, but I would have gladly paid the tuition for the quality education I received. I'm happy to answer any other questions anyone may have.
I also completed the UGA Instructional Design and Development certificate. I already had over 15 years of experience, but I had no formal training. I learned a lot and it was a good item to have on my resume.
I eventually completed an online MS in Instructional Design and Technology from Georgia State University. For those who don't want to invest the time and money in a degree, GSU also offers a five-course certificate program; students take the same courses as those pursuing the MS. At GSU, you can tailor your curriculum to K-12 or adult learning (my field). The curriculum is a good balance between theory and practice. I only had one professor who was less than stellar (she has since retired).
One of the reasons I pursued the MS rather late in my career was that I noticed most job postings stated "master's degree preferred." I was simply not getting as many interviews as I thought my experience warranted. I finally landed an excellent contract position with a Fortune 500 company during my last semester. Since then I've moved on to a full-time role with another large company where I'm doing the sort of job analysis and performance improvement work that I've always wanted to. I'm quite sure I never would have had this opportunity had I not gotten my degree.
Regarding the time zone problem for international students: I was able to keep up with my synchronous classes while visiting the UK. Other students logged in from India. Check with the program you're interested in to see what time their classes are offered - you may be able to make it work.
I completed this program and highly recommend it. Dr. Jill Stefaniak is an amazing person to connect with if you are interested in learning more.
Hi everyone!
As I read all the responses below, I am amazed as to how many universities are out there that offer a graduate degree program for Instructional Design. My path into this field was unusual, but I am so excited to be here and am looking forward to what I can do in the future with this degree!
I am currently a graduate student in the Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning (OPWL) program at Boise State University and I actually found out about this program through the U.S. Coast Guard. I was an officer in the Coast Guard for six years and sought an opportunity to be sponsored to attend a master's program in Human Performance Technology and the Coast Guard's recommended school was Boise State. Even though I wasn't selected to obtain my degree through sponsorship, I determined that it was still a path that I wanted to take, so I separated from service and have been enrolled in school ever since. Boise State's Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning offers a Master's degree and graduate certificates in Workplace Instructional Design, Workplace E-Learning Design and Development, and Workplace Performance Improvement.
There are several amazing things about this program, and one that makes this program so accessible to its students is that it is completely online. It has actually been offering courses online since 1989, which is really amazing to think about! Another thing that this program does, which has helped me greatly, is how it has used the combination of theory and project based courses to help students really learn and the apply the material. Then to add on top of that, when we have a project based course, we get to work with real clients and go through the process, just like we would when we become instructional designers. So not only are we learning the material, but we are also practicing and becoming instructional designers before we enter the workforce.
One last thing that I would like to mention which has helped me professionally is my current involvement in two labs within the OPWL department. I am a current member of the Marginalized and Cross Culture Research & Design Learning tech group (MarCC) and the Process Management Lab (PML). Both labs focus on two different aspects of the human performance field, but I am gaining knowledge, insight and wisdom from two amazing professors and other students and graduates that are involved! I think that anyone looking to getting a graduate degree or certificate should definitely look and consider the OPWL program at Boise State!
Hi, all!
Like Chantel, I'm currently enrolled in Boise State University's Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning (OPWL) program. I'm currently pursuing my M.S. in OPWL and certificates in Workplace E-Learning Design and Development and Workplace Instructional Design. The program is fully online, which not only makes it possible for me to learn from my home base of Houston, TX, but also provides great insight into what it's like to be an online learner and to practice collaborating with peers remotely.
I found my way into the program when I decided I wanted to shift from being a training facilitator at a Fortune 500 FinTech to an instructional designer. I was considering several programs, but when the VP of our division told me he "would never hesitate to hire someone with an OPWL degree from BSU," I was sold. The program has definitely lived up to its accolades. It is incredibly well-designed with professors who are excellent online learning facilitators. It also includes a great mix of theory, practical tool knowledge, networking, learning application through projects with real clients, personal portfolio development, and opportunities for additional research and practice. As an added bonus, the community of professors and learners is impressively strong for a distance learning program: I have had an incredible amount of support at all points in my journey. This experience and the OPWL community have boosted my experience, my confidence, and my credibility in the field. (I've now been an instructional designer at the same Fortune 500 company for 2 years.)
In short: I highly recommend Boise State's OPWL program - especially if you hope to work with online and distance learning.
I totally agree with what Carissa and Chantel have said about the OPWL program at Boise State. I'd like to add to their points that there are different graduate learning options depending on your goals and background. Since I already have a master's degree in another field and have years of experience creating instructional materials in an educational setting, I decided to pursue their graduate certificate in instructional design. Of all the programs I looked at, this seemed the most efficient and practical way to develop skills in areas such as storyboarding, scenario-based e-learning, and using authoring programs like Articulate. I love how the courses provide a lot of practical experience combined with theory on best practices. For example, the course that covered Articulate Rise and Storyline provided a lot of opportunity to delve into multimedia principles, accessibility, and forward-thinking topics like exploring how we can make e-learning more immersive through audio.
One more thing that really stands out about this program is how much they care about their students. I applied to one local program as well, and this other institution couldn't answer questions about when the classes I needed to take would be offered. On the other hand, Boise State sent me a full schedule to consider the timeframe in which I could complete the degree. Similarly, there is a great focus on helping students in their career searches by developing their portfolios.
It's been a great experience in Boise State's OPWL program.I gotta say it sounds like BOISE STATE has really UP'd their game! In 2009 I thought I was going after their MS in IT & PT. I took Foundational Instructional Technology and Performance Technology.
I kid you not. It was a Lotus Notes Discussion board. You got a .swf of the lesson to watch, and then were expected to perform an activity/exercise based on it. It felt really detached from itself. I felt no sense of community. Just "watch-this, do-this, review-these-3-peoples' work", one week at a time. (eg. Here's Learning Objectives. And here's how you do it with the ABCD method. Now YOU write 3 learning objectives based on ABCD method. And NEXT!)I wound up doing a blended M.Ed program at Penn State (at the Great Valley Graduate School). And I think I turned out. Ok. :)
Although I've started looking around at post-Masters educational opportunities. Like, if I have a MEd in Instructional Systems Design, and the non-profit that employed me nuked their entire learning department, what's the NEXT thing to do? Are Graduate Certificates worth it? Or are those for Bachelor degree people who don't want to do a whole Grad school stint?
wow. I found it quite meaningful and shared it with a few friends and thanks for all.
As we don't have any specific programmes for instructional design here in New Zealand - I'm keen to see what online program folks recommend.
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Thanks for sharing @Shannon! It's nice to know that the University of Georgia program is a good one.
And thanks for reaching out @Helen and @Lauren! I'm interested to see if anyone has any advice about courses that could work for people outside the US.
I attended online at University of Houston for M. Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction - Learning, Design & Technology
I enjoyed that most of the classes were project based and allowed me to learn about a variety of different edtech solutions. The only downside was that some classes tended towards K-12 topics, though I was teaching when I started the program so had that background.
University of Houston also offers a Master of Science in Human Resource Development. I'm not sure if it's available online, but includes classes like instructional design and e-learning design.
Thanks for sharing, Sydney! It's great to get an inside look at the Houston program.
Thanks Allison for kicking this conversation off - I'm based in the UK and I'd love to hear what courses and programs other ID professionals have been on!
I pivoted to ID from K-5 Education by getting a Master's degree in Educational Technology (now known as Learning Deign and Technology, which is more appropriate, IMO), from from Texas A&M University. I see that they were ranked #9 by the 2021 US News and World Report on Educational/Instructional Media Design Programs.
What I liked best about the program was its clear emphasis on the science of multimedia learning, and the science of learning, in general.
What I wished we would have spent more time doing is learning how to use the authoring tools, but I get it from a logistical standpoint.
Before I even graduated, through contacts, I was asked to do a review on a Fortune 500's e-learning modules (one of the company's sites), which I did using Clark and Mayer's Principles. After that, they contracted me to create modules. They told me my master's degree was why they hired me, but I think I might have sold them if I would have had a really good portfolio and could explain how each aspect relates to multimedia and/or other learning principles.
Thanks for hsaring, Shirley! Super interesting.
I earned my M. Ed. in Learning Design and Technology at Winthrop University. The program is 100% online and prepares you for both the Educational environment and the Corporate Training Environment. I was very pleased with the program and am now working as an Instructional Designer with a Fortune 100 company.
I completed the M.S. Training and Human Resource Development at UW-Stout!
A comprehensive Training and Development program. When I completed this program it was all in-person co-hort. It appears they have moved the program to online.
Today I can appreciate the OD components of the program as well as the exposure to wide exposure to human resource development. My co-hort had peers from HR, Talent management, Leadership development, and Technical development. I know we all benefitted from learning about each other's business needs.
https://www.uwstout.edu/programs/ms-training-and-human-resource-development
