Turn expertise into engaging and effective learning with online instructional design
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This certificate program builds instructional design expertise you will use right away in K-12, higher ed, or training and development, and your work will strengthen instructional materials across your learning environment. While it is not a graduate degree, students accepted to the Instructional Technology & Learning Design master's program or the Information Technology in Education doctoral program may apply all 15 credits as transfer credits.
A program of interest for stronger learning outcomes, confident use of learning technology, and professional growth that meets real training needs.
Career opportunities in the field of instructional design appear on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, including Instructional Coordinators.
Applications are accepted year round. Admission requires a bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent in any area with a recommended undergraduate GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale. The bachelor's degree must be from an accredited academic institution.
The application process supports clear enrollment planning, and graduate admissions can guide you through questions tied to the graduate, timelines and next steps.
Your application includes:
Coursework builds instructional design expertise in digital learning environments through Universal Design for Learning, learning theories, and instructional design principles, then electives let you tailor instructional design online to your goals.
You will gain the skills to:
Project-based coursework produces portfolio-ready work that shows instructional systems thinking, AI applications, and online delivery.
You will complete 15 credits total, with 9 credits of required courses and 6 credits of electives.
Choose electives from options that include digital communication and social learning, game-based instruction, project management in digital integration, methods for using information technology in education and digital visual application for instruction.
While I am not currently working on anything related to instructional design, I'm still very happy I received my certificate! Someday I hope to use my instructional design certificate to create online content related to mental health care (my main career). I had a great experience in the program and would recommend it to anyone! It was really fun!
Paris Nuñez
My experience earning the ITLD graduate certificate helped me obtain employment as a learning designer at Boston University Virtual. It was truly empowering to study both foundations and currents in the field—I utilize the knowledge I gained from you every day in my professional endeavors.
Matthew King
You will learn from experienced faculty members who lead work in instructional design, educational technology, AI applications and research methods. Because the coursework stays project-based, you will finish with portfolio-ready artifacts that translate to real roles and real responsibilities, not just course completion.
The Online Graduate Certificate in Instructional Design and Technology at the University of Nevada, Reno is a fully online 15-credit program focused on online learning design, instructional design theory and Universal Design for Learning.
Classes taught by University of Nevada, Reno faculty
Access to a Carnegie® R1 research university
Choose from accessible, fully online programs
Continue your education from anywhere in the world, free from a fixed schedule