Teachers: Take Your Classroom Experience to New Heights
Pivot to a High Growth Career in Instructional Design with a Master’s in Learning Design and Technology
Move Beyond The Classroom Without Leaving Education Behind
You’ve spent years mastering the art of engagement, curriculum planning, and student outcomes. But if you’re looking for better work-life balance, higher earning potential, and the flexibility of remote work, Instructional Design is the natural next step.
👉Scale Your Impact: Instead of reaching 30 students at a time, design systems that educate thousands across global organizations.
👉Combat Burnout: Shift from the high-pressure daily classroom environment to a strategic, creative role.
👉Remote & Flexible Work: Many ID roles offer 100% remote or hybrid schedules, giving you back your time.
👉Higher Earning Potential: Entry-level instructional designers often see a significant salary increase compared to traditional teaching roles.
“I’m a teacher, and a lot of the strategies and theories that we were learning in the MS-LDT program I was implementing in my class pretty much right away. I was able to work throughout the whole program, and it was really flexible. My goal is to either continue teaching and hopefully bring improvements to my school and my district, or transition into a learning design role and hopefully help bridge the gap between high school classrooms and the future of learning.”
– Nick Burnett, MS-LDT Graduate
Ed Tech Director & Former High School Teacher
An Online Master’s Degree Designed for Working Educators
Built for versatility, the University of San Diego’s MS in Learning Design and Technology gives you the tools to transform your current teaching practice or pivot quickly into a new career in corporate or higher-ed instructional design. Our curriculum provides the professional edge you need, bridging the gap between classroom instruction and the high-demand technical competencies sought by today’s leading organizations.
- 100% Online & Flexible: Continue teaching while you earn your degree. Our 7-week course format allows you to focus on one subject at a time while balancing your professional and family priorities.
- Portfolio-Ready Capstone: Graduate with more than a diploma. You’ll build a professional digital portfolio showcasing your work to prospective employers.
- Industry-Leading Faculty: Learn from practitioners who are currently leading L&D teams in a variety of sectors, and know what it takes to grow and exceed in this exciting field.
- Fast-Track Success: You’ll develop applicable skills as soon as your first class, and complete your degree in just 20 months.
Program Snapshot
Priority Application Deadline
March 6
Program Length
20 Months
Total Units
30
Format
100% Online
Your Teaching Background is Your Competitive Edge in Instructional Design
The corporate and higher education worlds are looking for people who actually understand how people learn. Your “on-the-ground” experience means you already possess the most critical LDT skills:
- Curriculum Mapping: You know how to take complex concepts and break them into digestible modules.
- Learning Theory: You apply Bloom’s Taxonomy and differentiated instruction every day—now, apply them to digital platforms.
- Empathy for the Learner: You understand the roadblocks students face, making you a superior User Experience (UX) designer for learning.
- Adaptability: You’ve mastered the art of “pivoting” mid-lesson; that same agility is essential for modern Learning & Development.
“I enrolled in University of San Diego’s MS-LDT program because I wanted to start a new career as an instructional designer. This program is amazing because within the first semester I already felt like I had gained invaluable foundational knowledge and skills in the field. It gave me the confidence to apply for an instructional design job with a large consulting firm, and I was offered the position! The interviewers specifically said I had an impressive fundamental understanding of the instructional design process. This is all thanks to the immersive and purposeful design of the courses in this program.”
– Rowan Shartel, Instructional Designer at Booz Allen
What You’ll Learn: The Teacher-to-Designer Toolkit
We transform your classroom intuition into a technical powerhouse. Our curriculum focuses on the exact competencies corporate and higher-ed recruiters are looking for:
- The ADDIE Model & Instructional Frameworks Move beyond daily lesson plans. Learn to master the full instructional lifecycle—Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation—to create scalable training programs for any industry.
- Expertise in Articulate 360 & Industry Tools Get hands-on experience with the “gold standard” of the industry. You will learn to use Articulate Storyline and Rise to build interactive, professional-grade e-learning modules that command attention in your portfolio.
- Learning Experience Design (LXD) Apply user-centered design principles to education. You’ll learn how to prioritize the learner’s journey, ensuring that every digital interaction is intuitive, engaging, and purposeful.
- Digital Literacy & Authoring Skills Master the technical side of the house. From managing Learning Management Systems (LMS) to understanding multimedia production, you’ll gain the fluency needed to lead in a tech-driven workplace.
- Emerging Technologies Stay ahead of the curve by exploring how AI, gamification, and virtual reality are reshaping the way we learn and work.
- Strategic Leadership & Project Management Learn to lead high-stakes projects and manage stakeholders. We prepare you to transition from a classroom leader to a strategic partner who can drive organizational goals.
- Facilitating High-Impact Digital Teaching Translate your “teacher magic” to the screen. Master the art of facilitating synchronous and asynchronous learning that keeps adult learners engaged and motivated.
Ready to Design Your New Career?
The transition from teacher to designer is closer than you think. Join a community of educators who have successfully redefined their professional lives.
“I am grateful to USD for the thoughtful design of its MS-LDT program. The structure provided short, targeted classes tuned to the needs of working adults. Each course integrated seamlessly with prior courses, building my proficiency by leaps and bounds. With an emphasis on real-world applications, I created projects that were meaningful to me and my style while receiving individualized feedback and quality suggestions from my professors. I particularly respect the weight given to ethical design practices; from respecting copyright to accessibility, the theme of responsible course design was woven into every aspect of the program. By graduation, I had developed my personal brand and produced a portfolio to be proud of.”
– Andrew Poso, Instructional Designer at Living Spaces
Why Choose University of San Diego?
Academic excellence, top-ranked university
Aside from attending a prestigious university with a long history and a great reputation, you’ll enjoy a practical, immediately relevant curriculum geared toward advancing your career.
High-caliber faculty; experienced learning designers
Our world-class faculty has expertise in curriculum design, teaching and educational leadership, corporate training, digital media and graphic design, educational technology, learner experience design and more.
A career-building master’s degree portfolio
For your Capstone project, you’ll build a peer-evaluated portfolio that showcases your technology and design skills and that you can share with prospective employers.