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.

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.

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. Notice of Legal Status and Confidential Information: This electronic mail message and any accompanying attachments may contain information that is privileged and CONFIDENTIAL. If you are not the intended recipient you are advised that any use, review, dissemination, distribution or reproduction of the information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this document in error, please notify the sender immediately and destroy the message.

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.

Instructional Design Master's or Graduate Certificate Programs

KerriCrowley
Community Member
4 years ago
Hello,

I am furthering my education at Harvard University Extension School. It started with me pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Learning Design and Technology. I loved the program so much that I ultimately chose to pursue a second Master's Degree - ALM in Digital Media Design. I adore the program for so many reasons, but especially because I have skills in so many areas now: film production/editing, web design, UI/UX, graphic design, instructional design, emerging technologies, app development, VR, programming... and so many more! By the time I'm finished in May 2023, I will also have earned a second Graduate Certificate in Front End Web Development. I stay abreast of current technologies, approaches, and research.

Feel free to reach out with any questions you have. The Harvard name didn't hurt either when I finally made the jump from K-12 education to my dream job as a full time Instructional Designer.
JamesBennett-23
Community Member
4 years ago
Great idea for a thread, and it's interesting to read about other people's experience in higher/further education.

Not quite an instructional designer course but I'm currently enrolled on the Digital Education MSc Programme at The University of Edinburgh. It's been a great course that's exposed me to the approaches that universities take to educating adults (where as all my professional experience is in the corporate world).
JakeKennell
Community Member
4 years ago
I received a Master's Degree in Industrial/Organizational Behavior Management from Western Michigan University in the US. There are several courses in the program that are dedicated to Training and Development, Computer-Based Instruction and Instructional Design.

WMU's I/OBM program is a 10/10 and has prepared me excellently for the workforce.

The faculty that run the program are intellectual giants and very talented instructors themselves. The courses are all rooted in the science of behavior, so you do not walk out of there with bad ID/Training practices.
bjacobsoJacobso
Community Member
3 years ago
After being an elementary classroom teacher with a Master's Degree in education, and not being able to land a stable teaching position, I transitioned to E-Learning and Online Teaching, through the University of WI, Stout. Great online program. Learned a lot! Thought I'd use it to teach but there weren't many full-time teaching opportunities for me. Wish I'd done the ID route instead. I'm almost positive Stout offers that as well.

I currently work for the State of MN in the Department of Agriculture and we are just now beginning to create online trainings for our inspectors utilizing Articulate.
SheaWalters-095
Community Member
3 years ago
Has anyone completed the master's program in Instructional Design at Virginia Tech? I'm considering that program since it's near where I live, but I'm also interested in starting out with a graduate certificate from a university like Purdue that would count towards a master's if I wanted to commit to that later. I already have a masters in English which I fortunately received full funding for, but I discovered ID while in the program and decided that's what I want to pursue.
ShambhuNair
Community Member
3 years ago
Is there any standard certification program for eLearning Developers and Instructional Designers to become certified professionals like the Microsoft Certification, Cisco Certification, or Oracle certification, etc.?
AmandaWhisen
Community Member
3 years ago
Hello, I've been working in HR for almost a year now and I'm really interested in transitioning my career into instructional design, as I'm very passionate about teaching and inspiring others. Ideally, I would like to be a corporate trainer, and eventually work freelance. I'm thinking of enrolling in a certificate program at a school that also has a masters program that I could potentially enroll in after. Does anyone have recommendations??

The cert. program I'm primarily interested in right now is Boise State, as their admissions process does not require letters of recommendation (I have been out of school for about 2 years now and my current employer does not know about my interest in transitioning out of general HR work, so I'm hesitant to ask her for a rec). I'm located in San Diego and was looking at SDSU and CSU Fullerton, but they both only offer Fall entry dates (I'm looking to start ASAP). Any suggestions other than Boise?

Also, can anyone tell me the difference between ID and e-Learning? I have seen certificate programs for both at the same institution, but the descriptions sound very similar? birdman
LeilaRao-bd8206
Community Member
3 years ago
Hi, all. University of Baltimore County, Maryland (UMBC) has a great graduate program MA, Learning Performance Technology as well as a Graduate Certificate program in ISD: https://professionalprograms.umbc.edu/learning-and-performance-technology/master-of-arts-in-learning-and-performance-technology/

Chuck Hodell, was a professor at UMBC and he has written many books that universities use to teach their students instructional design.
MoniqueMuro
Community Member
3 years ago
Oooh this is such a great thread, I’ve googled this stuff in the past. So great to read up on what programs people have taken! Thank you for posting this, Allison!

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PS: Follow along as I share weekly tips on digital course creation, just reply or send me a message with "I'm in".
NicholeHeck
Community Member
3 years ago
I recently received my M.Ed in Learning and Technology from Western Governs University. They also have an Instructional Design program. Both courses have ID courses. The difference is L&T includes technology courses while ID includes measurement and evaluation courses.

HIGHLY recommend WGU. I had a wonderful experience and finished in about 10 months (this is a competency based program), many people finish in 1 term (6 months).

This degree aided me in obtaining my current position as an Instructional Designer. Myself and the other ID are both WGU alum.

Here is my refer a friend link: https://mbsy.co/3ZGptj

Link to ID Masters: https://www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degrees/instructional-design-education-masters-program.html

Link to Learning and Technology Masters: https://www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degrees/technology-education-masters-program.html