Master of Arts (M.A.) in Learning, Design, and Technology

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Learning, Design, and Technology

Design the future of learning

Today’s evolving world calls for researchers and practitioners who can help schools, nonprofits, companies, and governments design engaging, learning experiences that draw on the most current learning technologies and pedagogies. The M.A. in Learning, Design, and Technology (LDT) will equip you with the hands-on design experience, interdisciplinary knowledge, and technical skills you’ll need to respond to that call.

At a Glance

How many courses?

The M.A. is a 10-course, 30-credit program that can be completed part-time or full-time.

How long will it take?


Students pursuing the degree full-time can complete it in one year, while part-time students typically complete the program in two years.

When can I start?


Students can begin the program in the fall, spring, or summer.

How much does it cost?


To estimate your total program cost, multiply the number of credits required in your program by the tuition cost per credit.

Why Learning, Design, and Technology?

35,400

projected job openings in the U.S. each year through 2032

Bureau of Labor Statistics

$72,520+

median annual pay for educational training and development specialists in 2023

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Program Pillars

Learning Sciences

Learning science is an interdisciplinary approach that studies how people learn, seeking to improve learning environments with cognitive and social processes. You will develop methodologies to become learning scientists, who can design and study learning experiences in a variety of settings.

Whole Person Approach

Education begins with an understanding of the learner. This program is distinguished by its formative approach, which views the learner in a social context, as a whole person with intellectual, emotional, civic, moral, and spiritual dimensions.

Iterative Design Process

The iterative design process is a cyclical methodology that involves asking questions, creating prototypes, testing, analyzing, and refining them to continuously improve a process or product. You will engage in all aspects of the iterative design process and apply it to learning experience design.

Project-Based Learning

You will directly apply the skills, theories, and models they learn in the classroom to hands-on and/or real-world settings, creative projects, or independent or directed research. Your studies will culminate in an applied experiences project for a chance to practice your skills in a hands-on setting.

Community of Inquiry

Graduate study extends beyond coursework, immersing you in a supportive community of inquiry through resources like the department colloquium and the DevTech Research Group seminar series. Graduates will stand out for their capacity to critically analyze and address core issues.

Curriculum

Throughout the program, you’ll develop the expertise and imagination you’ll need to design learning experiences that dynamically engage learners’ interests, passions, and prior knowledge.

Requirements


  • Courses: 10
  • Credits: 30
  • Applied Experience Course

Program Overview

The M.A. in Learning, Design, and Technology is a 10-course, 30-credit program that can be completed part-time or full-time. Students must take seven core courses offered primarily by members of the Lynch School faculty and must choose two elective courses from specially selected courses on the topic of learning, design, and technology, and one elective from a wide variety of disciplines across Boston College, such as curriculum and instruction, research methods, and business and management.

Core Courses

CourseCourse TitleCredit
LREN7101

Introduction to Learning Sciences

This course introduces the content and skills needed to thrive as systematic designers of learningexperiences, environments, and technologies. It focuses on four themes: (i) how people learn –cognitive processes involved in learning and social, cultural, physical, affective, and otherprocesses that work alongside those to influence what is learned; (ii) how to foster or promotelearning -- what we know about the help learners need to engage and participate at their best andultimately to become more knowledgeable and capable; (iii) designing for learners andanalyzing those designs -- how to apply what you are learning to the design and analysis oflearning experiences, environments, and technologies; and (iv) integrating learning technologiesto provide support for learning -- imagining the roles they might play and the functions they needto have to play those roles well. Examples come from across disciplines, developmental stages oflife, a variety of learning venues. It sets students up to know what they need to learn more deeplyto become masterful designers of learning experiences.

3
LREN7102

Foundations of Learning Technologies

This course explores issues of designing and using technology to support learning. Students will become familiar with the affordances of various technologies and how activities can be structured around those for learners. Course meetings and projects are structured to help students think imaginatively about how technology can contribute to engaging and equitable learning experiences.

3
FORM7210

Design, Innovation, and Formative Experience

This course explores the role that design and innovation can play in the development and implementation of technology-rich formative learning experiences in different settings such as schools, non-formal educational environments, community-based organizations, and museums. Students will read materials from a variety of disciplines such as design thinking, entrepreneurship, developmental psychology, learning sciences and artificial intelligence and will be exposed to expert guest speakers. In addition, students will gain design skills. Working on a final project of their choice to be determined in consultation with the professor, students will create a prototype, test it, evaluate it and revise it to meet the needs of the identified setting.

3
FORMXXXX

Educating the Whole Person

The dominant approaches to education are narrow, instrumental, and fragmented. Thinking is separated from doing/making and then reduced to a narrow set of skills. Aspects of our humanity beyond the intellectual are trivialized if not entirely ignored. Study is driven not by the felt need to understand self and world, but simply in order to climb the credentialing ladder. To challenge this attenuated vision of education, we will turn to texts that offer a more capacious vision of self-cultivation and restore questions of meaning and value at the center of the educational conversation. Topics include: moral and civic education, aesthetic and spiritual awakening, education for understanding and self-knowledge, and formative education as the search for meaning and purpose.

3
FORMXXXX

Research Design in Formative Education

This course will explore design-based methodological approaches that can be used in the study of new learning environments. This includes covering the merits of the experiment (e.g., randomized control trial design), quasi-experimental designs, measurement validity, qualitative research methodology, and design-based research. The content will therefore balance an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of various research approaches with the practical knowledge of implementing them. In so doing, examples will be provided from research on topics related to formative development in educational contexts, such as the development of meaning, purpose, virtue, thinking and reasoning as well as research on learning environments and technologies.

3
FORMXXXX

User Experience for Learning

This course teaches students the fundamental principles of User Experience Design (UXD) with a focus on education and technology applications. It uses an immersive and human-centered pedagogical approach to teach students the fundamentals of the three-stage UXD process that is widely used in the software, e-learning, technology, and gaming industries. In the first stage, students will learn how to understand their potential users by conducting research into their backgrounds, behaviors, and goals. Next, they will learn how to use customer insights to develop scenarios and conceptual models. Finally, they will use their software and programming skills to create a prototype UX design and evaluate it.

This project-based course will help students develop skills in design research and ideation, project and journey mapping, and prototyping and iterative design. It uses a hands-on approach that will prepare students for roles in software, elearning, technology, and game development. Students will finish the course with a prototype deliverable.

3
FORMXXXX

Applied Experiences in Learning, Design, and Technology

The Applied Experiences in Learning, Design, and Technology capstone is an experiential course that allows students to get hands-on practical experience with companies, products, and research. This capstone project can take the form of conducting research, creating a learning environment, or designing a product in which students apply a whole person approach, iterative design, and/or user design explored throughout the coursework.

With guidance from the course instructor, students will collaborate with a “client” to produce a culminating LDT project with deliverables. Milestones and final deliverables will be determined by the course instructor, “client,” and student and may include defining a problem of practice, literature review, assessment and evaluation, preliminary and final prototypes, and/or a final report or presentation. The final deliverable(s) will serve as the master’s comprehensive exam for the program.

Students may work with their advisor to select an alternate course.

3

Elective Courses

The M.A. program has been designed to provide flexibility and customization opportunities for students. Students have the option of selecting electives from the four groupings below, with a minimum of two electives taken from Group 1: Learning, Design, and Technology. To emphasize the cross-disciplinary nature of the program, elective courses are offered across the Lynch School, the Carroll School of Management, Woods College of Advancing Studies, and the School of Social Work.

Our Impact

Faculty

Tuition & Aid

Education should level the playing field. We feel the same way about financial aid.

The Lynch School of Education and Human Development provides more than $11.4 million in financial aid to students each year. As a result, the quality of 51’s instruction, the benefit of our alumni network, and the impact a 51 degree will have on your employment options is both affordable and invaluable.

Careers

Employers

  • Schools, districts, colleges, and universities
  • Museums, zoos, aquariums, and national parks
  • Businesses ranging from startups to large corporations
  • Nonprofits and foundations
  • Social service and community agencies

Job Responsibilities

  • Designing the next generation of educational technology
  • Developing online, hybrid, makerspace, and active-learning environments
  • Constructing technology-enhanced curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment
  • Creating employee training and consumer education programs

Positions

  • Learning Engineers
  • Learning Experience (LX) and User Experience (UX) Designers
  • Instructional Designers and Evaluators
  • Curriculum Developers
  • Educational Technology Consultants
  • Corporate Training and Development Managers

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Application & Deadlines

A non-refundable application fee of $75 is required. The fee iswaived for select applicants.

DeadlinesFall 2025:

  • Priority Deadline: January 7
  • Rolling Admission: Until July 15

Resume

To be uploaded to your online application.

In addition to your academic history and relevant volunteer and/or work experience, please include any licenses currently held, any social justice-related experience, any language skills other than English, and any research experience or publications.

Personal Statement

To be uploaded to your online application.

In 1,000-1,500 words, describe your academic and professional goals, any experience relevant to this program, and your future plans, expectations, and aspirations.

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation are required, with at least one preferably coming from an academic source. Applicants may submit one additional recommendation of their choice.

Transcripts

Transcripts from all college/university study are required.

Applicants who have received degrees from institutions outside the United States should view the ""International Students"" section for additional credential evaluation requirements.

Please begin your online application before submitting your transcripts. Details on how to submit transcripts and international credential evaluations can be founon. In order to ensure your transcript reaches our office, it is important to review and follow the instructions.

Standardized Tests

Submitting GRE test scores is optional for this program. If you wish to send GRE scores, the Lynch School GRE code is 3218.

Please view the "International Students" section for information on English Proficiency test requirements.

Writing Sample

Not required.

International Students

Applicants who have completed a degree outside of the United States must have a course-by-course evaluation of their transcript(s) completed by an evaluation company approved by the . Submission of falsified documents is grounds for denial of admission or dismissal from the University.

Applicants who are not native speakers of English and who have not received a degree from an institution where English is the primary language of instruction must also submit a TOEFL or IELTS test result that meets the minimum score requirement.

Please click the link below for full details on these requirements.
Requirements for International Students

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gsoe@bc.edu
617-552-4214