Instructional Design and Technology- Design and Development Specialization, M.Ed. -Onsite

Instructional Design and Technology graduate student

About

The University of Cincinnati on-campus/blended graduate program in Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) offers a Master’s of Education (M.Ed.) with a specialization in design and development. Through this program, students gain critical knowledge and skills in designing cutting edge media and technologies such as mobile apps, gaming and simulations, interactive video, and other multimedia to optimize learning across a variety of contexts.

Through the IDT graduate program, students become versatile content creators who can leverage their expertise to design innovative learning solutions to help solve instructional problems in a range of professional settings, including corporate training centers, educational media production companies, classrooms, health institutions, publishing companies, museums, the military, and non-profit research organizations. Graduates may also find themselves developing video games for college-level online classrooms or designing interactive media for corporate training, among other possibilities.

UC IDT students take courses from world class professors in the areas of media and technology, design, and evaluation, all while participating in a flexible, blended learning environment that capitalizes on UC’s highly ranked CECH School of Education and its state-of-the art media and gaming lab facilities. Focusing on a well-rounded, interdisciplinary educational experience, students examine current and projected trends in educational technologies while gaining hands-on practice with eLearning tools and completing project-based assignments. Students enrolled in this program complete professional field experiences that provide them with the opportunity to actively apply what they are learning and design digital instruction in real-world settings.


Program Objectives

  • Apply learning theories and sound pedagogical practices to the instructional design and development process.
  • Apply a systematic process to design instructional strategies that meet identified learning contexts and needs.
  • Create authentic, technology-mediated learning experiences.
  • Evaluate learning technologies and strategies using a variety of methods.
  • Analyze current research and emerging trends in the area of learning technologies.
  • Create an educational game prototype using instructional design principles.
  • Create instructional plans for mobile learning using instructional design principles.
  • Develop multimedia products using multimedia design principles.
  • Design blended and fully online learning environments based on theory and best practices.
  • Integrate theory and practice through field experiences.

Scholarships in the form of Graduate Incentive Scholarship Awards (GIA) are available to incoming and returning students based on merit. If awarded, students can use GIA funding to cover part of their tuition. Application forms for GIA support scholarships will be sent to students after they have been officially accepted into a program.  GIA funding is an annual award. A new application must be submitted each year. For more information regarding GIA scholarships, please contact Jill Altus.

View all required coursework for the Instructional Design and Technology: Design and Development Master's Degree. 

Benefit for International Students

This program meets all requirements for students with F and J visas and also classified as a STEM program for international students (13.0501). This designation allows international students to apply for up to 3 years of Optional Practical Training work authorization after graduation. Here’s additional information: https://www.uscis.gov/opt.  Students with F and J visas can apply either to Fall or Spring semester but are encouraged to apply for Fall to be part of a cohort.