Interested in growing your skills in the expanding instructional design and learning technology field? You’re not alone–careers in learning and development are expected to grow faster than the average. In addition to this growth, instructional designers and learning technology professionals are being asked–more than ever–to upskill in key areas (e.g., foundations of instructional design, working with emerging technologies, producing content and assessments in dynamic ways, and leadership) and have master’s level credentials for positions. This is where the Master of Science in Instructional Design and Learning Technology can help.
Program Description
The Master of Science in Instructional Design and Learning Technology program empowers professionals to design state of the art learning experiences and lead innovation in an ever-changing field.
On your way to earning the degree, you’ll be able to personalize your program by choosing three out of the four available certificates.
Foundations of Learning Design
Emerging Technology for Digital Learning
Producing Effective Learning Experiences
Leadership in Instructional Design and Learning Technology.
Each certificate is comprised of three courses-all designed by experts in the field for aspiring or current learning professionals to prepare you for the wide-ranging roles and demands commonly associated with the field of technology-rich instructional design.
The program consists of 30 credits, of which 27 are chosen from three of four certificate programs. After you complete three of the four certificates, you are eligible to take the capstone course to earn your Instructional Design and Learning Technology Master’s Degree.
The capstone was designed to help students develop a career plan and apply what they have learned throughout the program to their future work.
Certificates can be earned as stand-alone credentials if a student does not wish to earn the M.S. Degree.
Career Opportunities
This program prepares instructional designers for employment in educational, corporate, and governmental settings. The production certificate prepares candidates for employment in media production for online learning. The leadership certificate prepares current instructional designers to take on managerial and leadership roles in the unit.
The program objective for the MS in Instructional Design and Learning Technology is to prepare future professionals who are skilled in designing and implementing digital learning experiences, such as online instruction, and other instructional modes integrating digital tools. The program has been designed to strategically align with current instructional design and learning technology literature, professional organizations, and employer needs.
By the end of this program, students completing the degree will:
Design effective learning experiences, considering learner needs, applying foundational design principles, and identifying technologies that support learner success.
Produce effective learning experiences that leverage technology to meet organizational and learner needs.
Integrate emerging technologies to increase learner success, identifying needs, implementing the technology, and evaluating the technology’s effectiveness.
Lead organizational learning technology initiatives, designing and implementing assessment systems to ensure quality in instruction and developing project plans with budget and resource allocation.
In addition, three key employability skills will be addressed in the program. Upon completion of the program, students will:
Work with diverse populations and skill sets to create and deliver high-quality instructional materials.
Apply effective oral communication, writing, and interpersonal skills to coach, mentor, support, and collaborate with others involved in creating effective learning experiences.
Demonstrate critical and creative thinking skills in solving problems that arise in learning design and emerging technology.
Admissions
To ensure a high quality graduate student group, all MS in Instructional Design and Learning Technology students must have a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution and meet graduate admission criteria.
If you do not meet the graduate admission criteria, please email us to determine if you could be admitted on a conditional basis.
International students must meet additional criteria and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has been offering online classes for 25 years. This early entry means that our process for developing engaging, rigorous courses has been well refined.
With UW-Whitewater Online, you will have passionate faculty experts who deliver a transformative online learning environment. You will experience easy collaboration with your instructor and classmates and work with a simple to understand calendar that automatically fills in deadlines and important dates for all your classes; meaning you can spend less time organizing and more time pursuing your passion. Add to this the fact that UW-Whitewater is home to Wisconsin’s largest business school and that we produce more licensed teachers per year than any other university in the state, and you will find that Whitewater may be exactly right for you.
