For Digital Learning Institute Certificate Graduates
You’ve Built the Skills.
Now Build the Career.
You know how to design learning. The MS in Learning Design and Technology is where you learn to lead it. Go further with the strategic frameworks, research depth, and faculty mentorship a master’s degree adds.
A Master’s Degree Built Around What Employers Actually Want
The MS in Learning Design and Technology (MS-LDT) is ideal for professionals like you who already know how to design learning and are ready to lead it. Your completion of the Professional Certificate in Digital Learning & Instructional Design proves that you have developed critical hands-on skills in instructional design and multimedia development. University of San Diego’s MS-LDT gives you the opportunity to build on that foundation with what comes next: the strategic leadership, research-driven program evaluation, and legal and accessibility depth to shape learning strategy at an organizational level.
Many employers look for a graduate degree as a marker of that next level of readiness, especially for roles with more strategic or leadership responsibility. If you’re ready to grow beyond applying best practices to helping set them, this program is a natural next step.
If you graduated from Digital Learning Institute’s Professional Certificate in Digital Learning & Instructional Design within the past 3 years you qualify to skip the first two courses in the MS-LDT curriculum.
Why Learning Designers Choose University of San Diego
A Curriculum Built to Go Beyond the Basics
Every course you’ll take in the MS-LDT builds on what you learned in your certificate program. The instructional design and multimedia skills you developed there don’t stop being used. You’ll apply them again and again throughout the degree, in more advanced contexts: leading a learning strategy, evaluating whether a program actually works, and applying legal and accessibility standards to real projects.
Dedicated Faculty Who Are Practitioners First
The MS-LDT instructors were intentionally selected based on their experience across K-12, higher education, corporate L&D, curriculum design, and educational technology. These are not university-wide instructors who teach across a variety of disciplines. These are professionals who have worked in the field, and have the expertise to coach and mentor you toward your goals.
Outcomes That Arrive Before Graduation
Graduates frequently land new roles in instructional design and corporate learning, often before completing the program. The skills you develop in the MS-LDT program are immediately applicable, and employers notice.
A Degree of Distinction from a Prestigious Private University
Some institutions measure achievement by volume; we measure it by impact. A University of San Diego degree is a distinct signal. It tells employers that you chose to learn in an intimate, high-stakes environment where your ideas were tested, your name was known, and your potential was cultivated.
Radical Hospitality: The USD Way
From registration to graduation, you are paired with a dedicated program coordinator who guides your entire journey. Rare in graduate education, this white-glove support—known as The USD Way—ensures you never feel like a number and never navigate your degree alone.
at a Glance
MS in Learning Design and Technology (MS-LDT)
6
Transfer Units
17
Months*
$735
Per Unit
100%
Online
*The normal program length of 20 months is shortened with your Digital Learning Institute transfer credit. You’ll skip the entire first term.
Start Your MS-LDT Journey Today!
MS-LDT Course Listing
7 courses plus a capstone
Throughout the program, you’ll produce learning artifacts such as eLearning modules, program plans and online courses that will become part of your professional, peer-reviewed portfolio, which you will complete during your capstone project. Read more about the courses you’ll take to complete your degree below.
LDT 520 – Advanced Learning Theory and Evidence-Based Instructional Design
This course examines advanced topics in instructional design, including needs assessment, learner characteristics, alignment of learning objectives, instructional strategies, and formative and summative assessments. Students engage with generative AI tools as professional design partners to support instructional ideation, scenario development, and activity design, while learning to critically evaluate AI-generated outputs using evidence from learning science. Students will explore critical theories of learning and motivation and the ethical responsibility of instructional designers to analyze and dispel common myths and misapplication of these concepts, including those that may be introduced or amplified by AI systems. The course emphasizes the application of sound design principles to plan, design, evaluate, and refine inclusive learning experiences that are grounded in research and responsive to real-world contexts.
LDT 530 – Designing for All Learners: Legal and Ethical Digital Design Standards
This course explores the artistic and technical aspects of creating engaging and accessible digital media for diverse learners. Students examine research-based and ethical approaches to multimedia design to develop ADA-compliant learning artifacts. Students will apply appropriate federal and state laws guiding accessible design requirements, and explore professional guidelines such as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. Students leverage generative AI as an industry tool to streamline professional workflows and create accessibility resources used in the field, while critically assessing AI outputs for correctness and quality. Design decisions are evaluated through a Learner Experience (LX) design rubric to ensure effective, equitable, and professional information delivery.
LDT 535 – Curating Digital Assets and Artifacts
This course explores the lifecycle of digital assets and artifacts within instructional systems, from initial needs assessment to final implementation. Students analyze assets as critical system inputs–ranging from tangible media and AI-generated content to intangible learner prior knowledge. A significant portion of the course is dedicated to the legal and ethical landscapes of instructional design. Students will navigate the complexities of U.S. Copyright law, the TEACH Act, and Creative Commons, with a specific focus on the emerging intellectual property challenges posed by generative AI. Through case studies and hands-on design, students conduct needs assessments to evaluate assets for pedagogical alignment, accessibility, and technical feasibility. The course further examines the shift toward authentic assessment and the disruptive impact of generative AI on learning. By the conclusion of the course, students will be able to craft ethically sound, comprehensive design plans that balance the risks and liabilities of copyright with the innovative potential of modern instructional tools.
LDT 540 – Strategic Leadership in Digital Learning
This course establishes the foundations for ethical leadership within the digital learning landscape. Students develop essential skills for leading cross-functional remote teams, managing complex project delivery, and navigating the requirements of regulatory bodies (e.g., Accreditation, Accessibility, and GDPR). Students will use generative AI as a strategic tool to enhance research, facilitate project management tasks, and streamline professional communication. Through a user-centric lens, students map learner journeys and synthesize their expertise into a comprehensive business plan for an online program.
LDT 550 – Applying Educational Research Methods
This course prepares students to critically engage with educational research to inform effective, evidence-based decisions in learning design and instructional technology. Students will identify a real-world problem of practice, conduct a scholarly literature review, and design an actionable research proposal to address it. Through scaffolded assignments and collaborative peer feedback, students will analyze current research, develop well-aligned research questions, and explore appropriate methodologies, ethical considerations, and data presentation strategies. Throughout the course, students will engage with generative AI tools as analytic and reflective supports, using them to interrogate ideas, surface assumptions, and refine scholarly reasoning. By the end of the course, students will not only produce a comprehensive research proposal but also reflect on how educational research shapes their professional identity and strengthens their ability to justify design decisions grounded in data and theory.
LDT 555 – Emerging Technologies in Learning Design
Designed as a dynamic exploratory lab, this course explores the rapidly evolving landscape of learning technologies with content that continuously adapts to reflect the latest industry advancements. Students evaluate the value and practical application of cutting-edge tools in creating high-impact learning activities for diverse learning and development contexts. Students will actively engage in the applied use of generative AI to create diverse training content, such as animated training videos and AI-powered chatbot tutorials, aligned with the specific learning needs of their Capstone project. By assessing real-time learning design trends and the ethical implications of rapid tech adoption, students learn to move beyond the hype and make responsible, research-based recommendations for technology deployment in the modern workforce.
LDT 560 – Capstone Project: Professional Portfolio and Online Course Design
This Capstone course is the culminating assessment of the Master of Science in Learning Design and Technology. In this course, students will demonstrate all program learning outcomes through an instructional design portfolio project that showcases their knowledge, skills, and abilities in the field. They’ll complete a two-module online course that reflects their ability to apply learning theories, instructional design processes, and technology integration to address a specific instructional need for a target audience. Additionally, students will engage in peer evaluation to demonstrate critical evaluation skills against ethical, quality, research-based, and professional standards in learning design and technology. Throughout the online course design process, students are encouraged to collaborate with AI systems, assess output accuracy, document transparent use, and justify the strategic application of AI as a professional tool of the trade.
Your Portfolio is Your Most Powerful Career Asset
In the field of Learning Design, your portfolio is your most powerful asset. As an MS-LDT student, you’ll build a body of work that proves you can solve real-world problems.
Your MS-LDT journey culminates in LDT 560: The Capstone Project, where you synthesize your skills into a showcase for current or future employers:
- Build a Functional Online Course
Using an LMS system of your choice, you’ll build an online course with a minimum of two-modules from the ground up. - Master AI as a Design Tool
Collaborate with AI systems to accelerate your design process, learning to justify and document AI-augmented decisions, a critical skill in today’s market.
- Meet Industry-Standard Benchmarks
Your work will be rigorously peer-evaluated against ethical and research-based standards. - Publish a Live Digital Portfolio
As part of your capstone course, you’ll publish a live digital portfolio featuring professional digital artifacts created in your courses.
Student Testimonials
The Big Question
Why Do You Need a Master’s in Addition to Your Certificate?
Lead, not just execute.
Build the business case, lead cross-functional teams, and navigate the regulatory and organizational side of a learning program.
Prove a program works.
Learn the research methods and evaluation frameworks to show, with real data, whether a learning initiative is actually succeeding.
Handle legal and accessibility standards with confidence.
Apply ADA, UDL, and accessibility law to real design work as a full course, not a side topic.
Demonstrate your leadership readiness.
Employers use a graduate degree to identify who’s ready for strategic and leadership-level responsibility.
Your Credit Transfer Path
From Digital Learning Institute Certificate to Master’s Degree
Because you’ve already done the work, you start ahead. Here’s exactly how your DLI certificate becomes part of your MS-LDT degree.
DLI Certificate Completed
You earned “Pass with Distinction” in all courses of the Professional Certificate in Digital Learning & Instructional Design, and the certificate was awarded by DLI within 3 years of your intended start term in the MS-LDT.
Transfer Credits Applied at Enrollment
USD officially recognizes your Digital Learning Institute certificate and applies 6 graduate units to your MS-LDT transcript, allowing you to skip the first two foundational courses (LDT 500A and LDT 500B).
Complete 24 Remaining Units
You’ll complete just 24 more units (8 classes) to earn your master’s degree. Those classes will each be 7 weeks long and you’ll take just one course at a time. In about 17 months, you’ll earn a Master’s degree and build a career-ready portfolio.
Start Your MS-LDT Journey Today!
About Digital Learning Institute
The Digital Learning Institute is a global provider of professional qualifications in digital learning design, instructional design, and learning technology. Its programs are internationally accredited, university credit-rated, and trusted by over 800 leading organizations worldwide. DLI’s qualifications are designed to equip digital learning professionals with the practical skills and credentials to build, deliver, and lead outstanding digital learning experiences.
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