Instructional Design and Technology Master's Requirements

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.

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:

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.