The Master of Arts in Educational Technology and Learning Design (Ed Tech) is an interdisciplinary program designed for individuals from diverse backgrounds, where faculty and students engage in authentic learning activities using educational and artificial intelligence technologies. Through the program, the participants explore innovative educational technologies, creating dynamic personal and networked learning environments. Students engage with emerging tools that support personalized learning experiences, including AI-enabled applications, alongside established tools for networking, communication, immersive environments, simulations, games, resource sharing, multimedia content creation, and collaborative projects.

This program is appropriate for current instructional designers or those pursuing instructional design careers in college, school, or professional organization training environments. K-12 teachers seeking professional certification benefit from this program's integration of innovative tools and teaching methodologies. Community College faculty and those who are interested in expanding their understanding of instructional technology and learning design, engage in this program for increased specialization. Additional options are available for artists, arts educators, and those interested in Science, Math, Technology, and Engineering focus, including AI applications in these domains. Students join a community of practice that models innovative interactions and creative, problem-based activities enabled by educational technologies and AI tools, preparing them for the evolving landscape of technology-enhanced learning. 

Program Delivery and Tuition Rate

While most of this program is delivered online asynchronously, some courses may have a small number of synchronous (same-time) supplemental learning opportunities via webinars or virtual environments to help promote student community. Instructors will make an effort to schedule these activities at times that work for their students. In addition, due to the nature of some courses, students may be required to access or acquire additional software and/or hardware for some course activities. Students will be notified of additional requirements in a course’s full syllabus. This program is billed at the non-MBA tuition rate.

Admission Overview 

Admission to the Master of Arts in Educational Technology and Learning Design program is selective. This program enrolls new students in the Fall and Spring terms. 

Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and demonstrate readiness for graduate‑level study in instructional design, learning technologies, digital pedagogy, and the creation of effective, inclusive learning environments. 

Application Requirements 

Applicants must submit the following materials for admission consideration: 

• Official transcripts from all previously attended colleges and universities 
• Personal Statement 
• Resume 
• $50 nonrefundable orientation fee 

Applications are reviewed only when all required materials have been received, including all official transcripts. 

How Applications Are Evaluated 

Admission decisions are based on a holistic review of: 

• Academic history and GPA 
• Quality and clarity of the Personal Statement 
• Demonstrated alignment with program’s mission, including an interest in designing effective, equitable, and technology-enhanced learning environments. 

Start Terms 

This program admits new students in the: 

• Fall 
• Spring 

Deadlines 

Applications are reviewed regularly throughout the year, but only when all required materials—including all previous college transcripts—have been received. To guarantee review for the term of your choice, all application materials must be submitted before the posted general deadline.   

Applications submitted by the priority deadline will be reviewed first. Applicants who complete their materials early may receive an admission decision sooner and have a better chance of securing a seat in their preferred term. 

If an application becomes complete but space is no longer available, the applicant will be considered for the next available term.  Application deadlines do change from term to term. For specific deadlines, please see the Graduate Admissions Deadline page. 

How to Apply 

To apply, visit the SUNY Empire application portal and select Graduate: https://www.sunyempire.edu/application.html 

Complete the online application, upload required documents and arrange for all official transcripts to be sent to SUNY Empire. Applications are reviewed only when all required materials have been received.  SUNY Empire alumni and current students do not need to request their Empire transcript. 

International Applicants 

This program is 100% online. International applicants are eligible to apply. In addition to the listed above, international applicants must submit: 

• A NACES‑member course‑by‑course evaluation (e.g., WES) for all non‑U.S. transcripts 
• Proof of English language proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS), unless exempt 

Additional Information 

Please see the Graduate Admission section of this catalog for a complete listing of materials required to complete a graduate application.  

The M.A. in Educational Technology and Learning Design program offers a 30-credit professional-focused curriculum. Students will be required to take five core courses (15 credits), four elective courses in their area of concentration (12 credits), and one capstone course (3 credits). Students can choose to embed a certificate program for the electives or individualize the electives to support the capstone study.

Program Curriculum

Students choose from a variety of electives in a special area of interest to fulfill the 4 elective courses required of the degree. With advisement, students may choose individualized electives or complete the required courses of the following advanced certificates and receive the additional certificate upon completion:

• STEM Education and Emerging Technologies (12 credits)
• Instructional Design and Emerging Technologies (15 credits)
• Teaching and Training with Technology (15 credits)
• Emerging Media and Technology for the Arts (12 credits)

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
EDET 6005	Learning with Emerging Technologies: Theory & Practice	3
EDET 6010	Media Literacies in Emerging Technologies	3
EDET 6015	Instructional Design for Online Learning Environments	3
EDET 6020	Issues and Ethics in the Post-Digital Age	3
EDET 6080	Evaluation Assessment and Data Driven Learning Design	3
EDET 7020	Capstone Project	3
Four Electives (12 credits)		12
Total Credits		30

Enrollment Sequence (30 credits)

A typical part-time course sequence is outlined below for a fall term start.

Plan of Study Grid

First Year
Fall		Credits
EDET 6005	Learning with Emerging Technologies: Theory & Practice	3
EDET 6015	Instructional Design for Online Learning Environments	3
	Credits	6
Spring
EDET 6010	Media Literacies in Emerging Technologies	3
AND
EDET 6020	Issues and Ethics in the Post-Digital Age	3
OR
Elective (3 credits)
	Credits	6
Summer
EDET 6080	Evaluation Assessment and Data Driven Learning Design	3
Elective		3
	Credits	6
Second Year
Fall
EDET 6020	Issues and Ethics in the Post-Digital Age	3
OR
Elective (3 credits)
AND
Elective		3
	Credits	6
Spring
Elective		3
EDET 7020	Capstone Project	3
	Credits	6
	Total Credits	30

Electives

Students can choose individualized electives, or they may embed one of the certificate programs below into their degree plan to satisfy its electives component. Degree program planning should begin before you enroll in electives.

• Advanced Certificate in Instructional Design and Emerging Technologies
• Advanced Certificate in Teaching and Training with Technology
• Advanced Certificate in STEM Education and Emerging Technologies
• Advanced Certificate in Emerging Media and Technology for the Arts

Students must apply to a certificate program separately.

Degree Program Planning

To begin planning your degree program, think about your long- and short-range goals and your area of focus. Your academic advisor can assist you in thinking through these goals/interests and the ways in which they can be made into appropriate electives. If you are considering doctoral study, you also should investigate the requirements of programs that interest you so that you can incorporate their requirements into your Master of Arts degree.

Degree program planning should begin before you enroll in electives.

Capstone

The last term of the program offers an opportunity for students to work collaboratively or individually on their capstone project. The capstone allows students to design a specific project, a small program, or a creative endeavor that would meet a clear need in their educational, community, or work environments.

Capstone projects must be completed and demonstrated using the instructor-approved student’s choice of online or emerging technology(ies), and must have a well-articulated statement of need, rationale, literature review and project design strategies (including a description of formative and summative evaluation techniques to be employed).

Upon completion, the Capstone documentation must include a written and video reflective statement on the design process and on the results of evaluation components. Capstone projects may be made accessible through a resource repository, at the student’s discretion, for the benefit of future students, thereby advancing knowledge in the field. Using a Creative Commons license is suggested. At the conclusion of their capstone, students present their projects at the Virtual Showcase.

The three credit capstone course is typically offered in the spring and fall.

In what ways do specific tools help us as learners demonstrate not only what we know, but our capacity to create, interact and collaborate across multiple settings? Understanding these new dynamics requires complex communicative understandings and collaborative skills.

Upon successful completion of this program, student should be able to:

• Consider the social, ethical and legal impacts of new technologies on our lives, individually and collectively.
• Explore the multiple, unfolding political and economic impacts of digital media as a transformative agent in the global civic and market arenas.
• Develop an understanding of how people learn in technology-mediated environments.
• Examine and evaluate learning that occurs in technology mediated environments, and the impact of digital tools, resources and learning design methods in these settings.
• Acquire the skills and capacity to identify, employ and evaluate technologically supported tools and learning design methodologies.
• Conduct original projects both individually and in collaborative faculty-student teams in order to expand knowledge in the field.