Master of Arts in Educational and Instructional Technology Program Requirements

In the Master of Arts in educational and instructional technology in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research and Technology at Western Michigan University, students will complete a planned program of study consisting of 30 to 33 credit hours of coursework with an overall grade point average of 3.0 or better. The degree coursework requires a 15 credit hour major technology core. The major technology core builds a strong set of technology skills and background. The coursework also requires a nine hour minor technology core that is related to the technology career goals of the student and approved by an academic advisor. The minor core must be different from the major core and have at least two of the three courses at the 6000 level.

Summary outline of course requirements

I - Major technology core—select 15 credits

  • EDT 5410: Foundations of Instructional Technology, three credits, online
  • EDT 6420: Design and Development for Learning, three credits, online
  • EDT 6440: Advanced Instructional  Technologies, three credits, online
  • EDT 6450: Technical and Operational Issues, three credits, online
  • EDT 6480: Professional Development in Technology, three credits, online
  • EDT 6490: Instructional Technology Leadership, three credits, online

II - Technology minor elective core—nine credits

  • Select nine hours of elective courses related to the technology career goals of the student and approved by an academic advisor, of which three credits must be at the 6000-level, and the other six credits may be at the 5000- or 6000-level.
  • You may choose online or traditional courses, or a combination of both, to fulfill your technology minor elective core.

III - Educational research course—three credits

  • EDLD 6300, EMR 5400, or an equivalent course.
  • There are both online and traditional courses available to fulfill this requirement.

IV - Culminating learning activity

  • Capstone research project (EDT 7100) three credits or
  • Master's thesis (EDT 7000) six credits
    • The capstone or master’s thesis is done in individual consultation with your assigned educational technology academic advisor.

Degree total: 30 to 33 hours

The culminating learning activity allows students to demonstrate their comprehensive knowledge of educational technology in either a research study in the development of a curriculum or instructional technology product. Students seeking advanced degrees beyond the master's level are encouraged to complete a master's thesis; see graduate catalog for master's thesis guidelines. Other students will elect the capstone course with an advisor-approved technology research, application or curriculum development project that includes a minimum of 120 hours of effort; contact educational technology program advisor for capstone course guidelines.

When planning your educational and instructional technology master degree courses, please remember that to graduate you need to successfully complete at least 15 hours of 6000 or higher level WMU coursework.

Graduation forms and information