Master of Education in Instructional Design and Technology

Admission Requirements

The applicant must meet the School of Graduate Studies’ current minimum general admission requirements as published in the graduate catalog.

  1. An overall undergraduate grade point average of 2.75 or a junior/senior year grade point average of 3.00 for the Master of Education and Master of Science degrees, and for the certificate programs.
  2. A 3.5 or better grade point average for all graduate work.
  3. Satisfy the School of Graduate Studies’ English Language Proficiency requirements as listed in the Graduate Academic Information section of the graduate catalog.
  4. Two essay questions as part of the application process.

Provisional admission may be considered for students whose academic performance does not meet these criteria. Whether such consideration is given will depend on the circumstances and the judgment of the admissions faculty.

A basic knowledge of the microcomputer and substantial skill in using standard applications to produce work products (word processing, spreadsheet, drawing/painting, graphing, and other common applications).

Degree Requirements

Students seeking the MEd degree at the University of North Dakota must satisfy all general requirements set forth by the School of Graduate Studies as well as particular requirements set forth by the IDT program.

  1. At least one-half of the credits must be at or above the 500 level.
  2. A maximum of one-fourth of the credit hours required for the degree may be transferred from another institution.
Required Courses
Core coursework in IDT9
Additional coursework in IDT area of emphasis6
Foundations coursework in education or psychology6
Scholarly tools/research 3
Electives6
Internship2
Scholarly Project/Independent Study2
Total Credits34

The IDT degree options are based on the same set of program components:

  1. Program core component: New courses presenting IDT content.
  2. Research component: Development of research skills.
  3. Foundations component: Fundamental background in psychology.
  4. Area of Emphasis in IDT: Opportunity for area or skill specialization within IDT.

The IDT course requirements are organized within a major, foundations area, research/scholarly tools area, and area of emphasis. The major consists of the IDT core and the area of emphasis in IDT. Students in the MEd degree program will be required to complete 15 credit hours of coursework in IDT subject matter. This requirement includes:

Core Coursework
IDT 500Survey of Instructional Design3
IDT 520Instructional Systems Analysis and Design3
IDT 525Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of Instructional Materials3
Area of Emphasis
Select four of the following:12
Theories and Models of Instructional Design
Special Topics in Instructional Design and Technology
Readings in Instructional Design and Technology
Research in Instructional Design and Technology
Directed Studies in Instructional Design and Technology
K-12 Emphasis
Technology-Based Instruction: Applications and Methods
Digital Media and the Internet in Schools
Corporate Emphasis
Instructional Design Consulting
Human Performance Technology
Computer- and Web-Based Instruction
Introduction to Computer-Based Instruction
Advanced Computer-Based Instructional Development
Instructional Simulations and Games
Introduction to Web-Based Instruction
Foundations
PSYC 501Psychological Foundations Educ (Or any EFR Foundations course above (excluding) 500)3
EFR 500Introduction to the Foundations of Education3
Scholarly Tools
EFR 509Introduction to Applied Educational Research3
Internship
IDT 584Internship in Instructional Design and Technology2-4
Scholarly Project
Select one of the following:
IDT 995Scholarly Project2
IDT 997Independent Study2
Total Credits36-38

Degree Delivery Options

The IDT master’s and certificate programs are available for on-campus and distance delivery, making it possible to attain these degrees via distance delivery, on-campus attendance, or a combination of both. Online students and on-campus students are peers in the same class sessions and experience the same educational opportunities. Courses typically have a few synchronous (live) class sessions, where students may attend on-campus in the actual classroom or they may participate through our distance delivery system. In this manner, class lectures, discussion, presentation, and collaboration are done seamlessly, in a nearly identical fashion to traditional classes.

Asynchronous sessions (those done at the time and place of the students’ choosing each week) are handled through a course management system. Students use these tools to read material loaded by the teacher, turn in assignments, communicate through message boards, participate in discussions through threaded discussion tools, take tests, and receive their grades. There are assignments and participation activities every week, whether the class meets live or not. In this way, students get the best of both worlds: the flexibility of online learning and the personal contact and connection of face-to-face instruction.

PhD Area of Emphasis in IDT

IDT also offers a doctorate through the Teaching and Learning PhD program, in which IDT is an area of emphasis. For details on this option, see the Teaching and Learning PhD program section in the graduate catalog.