POTSDAM — SUNY Potsdam has just launched its latest addition to the College's growing list of virtual graduate programs, with the new fully online Master of Science degree program in instructional design and educational technology.

The instructional design and educational technology program (IDET) prepares students for positions in the public and private sector that focus on designing instructional materials to support technology-rich teaching and training environments.

The program places emphasis on instructional design, emerging learning technologies and online learning. Students will engage in hands-on, minds-on learning in courses that are designed around research and applied best practices from a variety of fields. Electives give students the freedom to focus on developing skills associated with their individual career aspirations. All theory is coupled with real-world application and examples, and students implement and evaluate their designs in authentic learning environments.

The new IDET program was developed in response to demand from students who were interested in instructional design, but didn't want to pursue professional certification as K-12 educators in the field -- something that is offered in the College's Master of Science in Education degree program in educational technology specialist, which leads to New York State certification. No initial certification is required for admittance to the IDET program.

Courses are offered fully online, and include asynchronous, synchronous and extended reality interactions among the students and faculty. The program is jointly administered by the Department of Business Administration and the Department of Advanced Studies in Education.

The instructional design and educational technology program is 30 credits, and students can study full-time or part-time. Admission is on a rolling basis, and students can start in either the spring, fall or summer semesters. To find out more, visit www.potsdam.edu/idet.