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!
74 Replies
The University of Southern California has an MEd in Learning Design and Technology. This is 100% online and provides flipped instruction. Highly recommend!
Any ideas for people in the UK would be appreciated, especially those new to the area with no current degree.
Umcg is available worldwide I believe. They have a few different degrees.
I attended ATD's Master Instructional Design certificate program virtually. There were people from around the world in class with me. I have been in Learning and Development for more than 10 years and I learned a lot in this program.
I'm currently pursuing my M. Ed. in Educational Technology and Design at the University of Saskatchewan, entirely online. I'm finding the program content to be of great practical relevance to my work in educational program development and ID.
Great to see your stuff, Could you also let me know what is the scope of M.ED ? I need some information. Thanks
I am almost finished with my Master's in Educational Technology through Boise State University. I have to say I'm pleased with the balance of theory and practice offered there (many of the courses are project-based, and you graduate with a Portfolio) and the overall value. The program is 100% online, and while not completely focused on Instructional Design, I find some of the topics very relatable.
They also have some interesting online Graduate Certificates such as Educational Games and Simulations or Designing Accessible Online Education.
I'm in an Instructional Design Graduate program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. They offer Graduate Certificate programs in three focuses, Training and Development, K-12 Education, and Online Education. They also offer a M. Ed. program with similar tracks. It's 100% distance learning and I'm very impressed with the coursework and instruction. Charlotte Program for the M. Ed.
The Certificate programs are linked here.
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.
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?
Carissa Schaffer
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. Car Games 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.
wow. I found it quite meaningful and shared it with a few friends and thanks for all.
I highly recommend the Master of Education - Learning Design and Leadership at University of Illinois. Top of the line faculty working with custom LMS that you wont see anywhere else. The program is completely relevant to the ever-changing landscape of ed tech and builds knew pedagogical approaches based off a solid understanding of adult learning theory. It can be completed 100% online as well!
Hi,
Do you know some program in spanish?
Thanks
