Instructional design masters program
I am writing this blog post, as I have just finished my masters degree from Ohio State in instructional design (well, they call it learning technologies but you know what I mean). It seems like when I look around various ID blogs, the question of whether to get a masters degree in instructional design comes up a lot. If I had to give an answer on this, I would probably come down on “yes” — easy for me to say, I just finished, right? But I’m only saying yes for the reasons that I’m listing below.
First, you meet a lot of people that you wouldn’t otherwise. Whether it be in an in-person, online, or hybrid format, you will make plenty of connections. The most valuable of these are your classmates, who will soon be in the same job market as you. Think of how beneficial this is, especially in a time where more and more work is online - you could “know” someone from a time zone away, and that does not necessarily keep you from working with that person in the future.
Second, you do learn plenty that you probably wouldn’t in another environment. Obviously, it’s an academic setting, so you will be learning the theory. People seem to frame theory as if it cannot be applied to a job. I have utilized the theory that I’ve learned in my classes over and over, so I don’t really get where that’s coming from. In addition to the theory, I took a few courses where I was able to play around with some tech tools. We were able to do this since the school had the licenses to these tools. These experiences were extremely beneficial to me. Now, yes, you can probably get much of this from looking around on the Internet, but personally, I learn better when it’s in a formal curriculum and I’m being taught by experts in the field.
Finally, for better or worse, employers like seeing it. This is especially true in academic settings. The impression I’ve gotten is that in the private sector, academics can be more than made up for with experience. Universities do like seeing the degree, though. A masters certainly doesn’t mean that you’re a pro at it, but it does demonstrate a willingness to learn both the application and theory.
I’ll be honest: There are many instructional design jobs that you can do without a masters degree (probably the vast majority). For me, though, the decision to pursue the degree made a lot of sense for the time in my life, and my career goals. As someone who continues to apply what he has learned in the program, I am very grateful for my decision.