Professional Certificate in Instructional Design
Gain the hands-on analytical skills to design and develop impactful learning experiences
Develop Learning Solutions with a Lasting Impact
Online education is experiencing unprecedented growth, with worldwide revenue projected to reach $239.3 billion by 2027. As the world moves further into the digital age and the needs of the workforce change, the demand for skilled instructional designers who can create effective online learning experiences is only expected to grow.
Developed by Emeritus, a world-class leader in online learning and instructional design, the Professional Certificate in Instructional Design program draws on the abundant, real-world expertise of our own design team, giving participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in a rapidly growing field whose principles remain relevant across education and business even as technology continues to evolve.
50%
82,477
$86,789
The Emeritus Advantage
At Emeritus, instructional design is our forte. Leveraging the knowledge of our instructional design professionals, the Emeritus Instructional Design Institute, and our unique model that blends state-of-the-art technology, curriculum innovation, and hands-on instruction, our programs help individuals learn new skills and make a lasting impact on the greater global community. We are committed to teaching the skills of the future by making high-quality education accessible and affordable.
Positive Career Impact
94 percent of our learners report a positive impact on their career and professional development.
Our Global Learner Base
Emeritus's learner base spread across 153 countries, is a testament to the wide-reaching impact of our future-focused programs.
Renowned Partner Institutions
We collaborate with more than 50 top-tier universities across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India, and China to make world-class education globally accessible.
Learn From The World’s Best
Emeritus collaborates with more than 80 top-tier universities to make high-quality education accessible and affordable worldwide.
Who Is This Program For?
Whether you develop instructional materials for an education system or a corporation, this program is designed to help you build a foundation in instructional analytics and design. At the end of this program, you will come away with hands-on skills to create impactful learning solutions that set learners up for success.
This program is ideal for:
K-12 teachers and educators who want to transition to instructional design to better identify knowledge or skill deficits and create impactful instructional solutions that help people learn
Recent graduates and early-career instructional design professionals looking to expand their knowledge of instructional design and launch or accelerate their career in this field
HR/learning development teams who have instructional design needs to develop skill or knowledge-based training programs and high-quality learning materials for employees
Professionals working in customer/sales enablement who want to learn and apply instructional design to identify performance gaps and help their teams improve their performance
This program will help you prepare for the following roles:
Course Developer
Instructional Designer
Learning Team Manager or Director
Learning Experience Designer (LXD)
Chief Learning Officer (CLO)
*There are no prerequisites for this program.
Key Takeaways
Cultivate the analytical skills necessary to identify performance problems, learning needs, and learning objectives.
Learn the fundamentals of instructional design, including scope of practice, key learning theories and design models, and your role in ensuring accessibility.
Design and create instructional materials such as guided practice, assessments, instructional inputs including video and audio lectures, readings, and other non-video assets, and identify the best format for delivery.
Develop and assemble instructional materials to create coherent instructional modules and module sequences for high-quality learner experiences, agnostic of the tool or platform.
Program Highlights
Develop the core analytical skills necessary to develop high-impact learning solutions.
Gain real-world insights from Emeritus' own industry experts, who bring first-hand knowledge and organizational best practices to the program.
Create a professional portfolio highlighting a sample of your design work, along with supporting documentation, to share with potential employers.
Learn with a global cohort of instructional design peers who you can source for ideas and networking.
Program Topics
The program curriculum focuses on the principles of instructional design, equipping participants with the knowledge and analytical skills needed to develop engaging, goal-oriented learning materials for a constantly evolving business environment.
Explore what an instructional designer does on a day-to-day basis. Then, dive deeper into learning science, examine the applications of learning theory in the workplace, and learn how to adapt design models to your learners’ needs.
Module 1: What Is Instructional Design?
Module 2: Theories of Learning
Module 3: ID Models
Discover how analytics can be leveraged to identify performance gaps, assess potential learning solutions, and understand what your learners really need. In addition, see how learning outcomes and skills hierarchies fit into the design process.
Module 4: Performance Analysis
Module 5: Task, Goal, and Content Analysis
Module 6: Getting To Know Your Learners
Module 7: Learning Outcomes
Module 8: Skills Hierarchies and Course Prerequisites
Learn the essentials of module development, including content planning, sequencing instructional material, and testing. Then, explore best practices for designing learning solutions that facilitate accessibility and inclusion.
Module 9: Assessment and Relevant Practice
Module 10: Content Derivation
Module 11: Module Development
Module 12: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging (DEIAB) for Online Learning
Module 13: Sequencing
Module 14: User Testing
Identify and select procedures that will help your course achieve ideal course characteristics and meet quality standards. Then, explore the dynamics of delivery and create delivery documentation for the course you have designed.
Module 15: Course Procedures
Module 16: Presentation and Filming
Module 17: Course Improvement
Discover how to choose the best tools to produce your course, explore learning management systems, and practice building out a module in an authoring tool. In addition, learn best practices for data visualization and visual design to create charts and graphs that effectively represent data.
Module 18: Instructional Design Technology
Module 19: Visual Design and Data Visualization Basics
Module 20: Professional Skills
Combine the modules you have designed throughout the program into a deliverable course. Then, build out one of your modules using an integrated learning platform, and annotate your process to highlight significant design components.
Module 21: Capstone
Get a complimentary 1-year subscription worth $299 to the Emeritus Insights app when you enroll in this program
What does Emeritus Insights offer?
Access to a state-of-the-art library of over 5,000 condensed lessons and short lectures
Exploration of complex disciplines such as Data Science, Marketing, Leadership, Strategy, Business Communication, and more
Career Preparation and Guidance
Success in instructional design requires both hard and soft skills. This program offers you guidance for navigating your career path, from crafting your elevator pitch to perfecting your interview skills. The program support team includes program leaders who help you reach your learning goals. The primary goal is to give you the skills necessary to be prepared for a job in this field; however, job placement is not guaranteed.
Career preparation you will receive in this program includes:
Over 250 hours of technical training
Nineteen hours of career development activities
Eight hours of optional career support activities
One-on-one sessions with experienced industry practitioners to understand the field, career paths, and the day-to-day on the job
Six career-guidance assignments to prepare you with employer expectations
And more!
*Participant experience levels prior to taking our programs may vary.
Faculty Director
Director, Global Design and Learning Excellence, Emeritus Institute of Management
Dr. Karen Mahon specializes in synthesizing instructional/learning experience design, technology, strategy, and leadership into practical learning solutions. At Emeritus, she ...
Contributing Instructors
Members of our instructional design team bring additional expertise and key insights to the program, including:
Senior Associate Director of Design, Emeritus
Driven by a passion for creating order out of chaos, Susan has helped shape many processes related to Instructional Design at Emeritus. Her experience includes two decades of ...
Senior Associate Director of Design, Emeritus
At Emeritus, Traci Roth has developed a variety of online executive education courses, oversees teams of instructional designers, and interacts with partner schools. Traci sta...
Senior Associate Director of Design, Emeritus
Brook Corwin has worked directly with university faculty to design, deliver, and support fully online, asynchronous courses since 2010, with a focus on integrating instruction...
Associate Director of Design, Emeritus
Nolan Williams started his career teaching and developing curriculum and behavioral intervention plans for children with developmental disabilities and Autism Spectrum diagnos...
Associate Director of Design, Emeritus
Tina Houareau is an Associate Director of Learning Excellence on the Global Design team. Prior to joining Emeritus, she created and managed an eLearning team that was responsi...
Associate Director of Design, Emeritus
Adam Santone is an instructional designer who specializes in programming and technical courses. He has over a decade of professional experience in education, with expertise in...
Associate Director of Design, Emeritus
Phylise Banner is an Associate Director of Design and Team Lead at Emeritus. A pioneer in online learning, Phylise has over 25 years of experience designing, developing, and d...
Associate Director of Design, Emeritus
Hector Valle is an Associate Director of Instructional Design and Team Lead for short-form certificates at Emeritus. He has over 15 years of experience in instructional design...
Associate Director of Design, Emeritus
Mazzy Hasan is a veteran learning designer, design thinker, professional development trainer, and video producer who enjoys designing and developing engaging and dynamic learn...
Associate Director of Design, Emeritus
Fan Yang is has an Associate Director of Learning at Emeritus. She earned her PhD in Learning Design and Technology from University of Hawaii at Manoa. Fan Yang had a diverse ...
Associate Director of Design, Emeritus
Fueled by the desire to create a less violent and more hospitable world for all and a belief in the transformative power of education, Kimberly has devoted her life to creatin...
Senior Manager of Design, Emeritus
Elaine Sequeira serves as a senior manager on the Design team at Emeritus. Elaine has over 16 years of experience in creating, designing, and delivering content across e-learn...
Senior Manager of Design, Emeritus
Anita Mendonca leads a team of instructional designers and LMS experts at Emeritus. Her more than 15 years of experience in education includes teaching as well as curriculum a...
Senior Manager of Design, Emeritus
Subroto Mukherjee is as a Senior Manager of Design at Emeritus. Throughout his journey, he has built vast experience in the field of Instructional Design and Design Thinking, ...
Senior Manager of Design, Emeritus
Alorika Ray is a Senior Manager of Design at Emeritus, with special interests in learning platforms and the experiential learning journey. Her almost sixteen years in e-learni...
Senior Manager of Design, Emeritus
Pallavi Gupta leads a team of instructional designers at Emeritus, helping them to hone their skills and motivating them to experiment with new ideas. She has over 15 years of...
Senior Manager of Design, Emeritus
Varun Chauhan currently works as a Senior Design Manager with Emeritus in the Learning Design department. He has a long-standing interest in instructional design and multimedi...
Manager of Design, Emeritus
Divyavathi is a Manager of LMS in the Design team at Emerritus and handles a team, which includes LMS experts. She has a vast experience of over 16 years. She has experience o...
Senior Associate, LMS Design, Emeritus
Pravin Jagtap is a Senior Associate in the LMS Design domain with expertise in the online learning delivery and design processes. He is deeply interested in technology, psycho...
Course Coach, Emeritus
Rebecca Taub has been teaching and collaborating with learning communities to design and deliver accessible and inclusive digital learning experiences and environments for mor...
Guest Speakers
Education Innovator, Thought Leader, and Founder, Blast
Dr. Janet Twyman is an education innovator, thought leader, and founder of blast: A Learning Sciences Company. Her numerous publications and presentations address behavior ana...
Head of Global Programs, Revenue Enablement, Asana
Trafford Judd is a sales enablement leader with over 15 years of experience in sales enablement, SaaS and human resources. He currently leads the Revenue Enablement team at As...
Head of Learning and Development for R&D, Rapid
Satang has 15 years of experience in Learning and Development. After spending the early years of her career in Telecommunication, she has spent the majority of her time planni...
Jr, Director of Research at CentralReach, LLC
Dr. Kubina is a Professor of Special Education at Penn State. After completing his Masters' program, he taught special education in private schools specializing in post-acute ...
Certificate
Upon satisfying all requirements of this program, Emeritus grants a verified digital certificate of completion in recognition of your success. This program is graded on a pass or fail basis; participants must receive 80 percent to pass and obtain the certificate of completion.
FAQs
How do I know if this program is right for me?
After reviewing the information on the program landing page, we recommend you submit the short form above to gain access to the program brochure, which includes more in-depth information. If you still have questions on whether this program is a good fit for you, please email learner.success@emeritus.org, and a dedicated program advisor will follow up with you very shortly.
Are there any prerequisites for this program?
Some programs do have prerequisites, particularly the more technical ones. This information will be noted on the program landing page, as well as in the program brochure. If you are uncertain about program prerequisites and your capabilities, please email us at learner.success@emeritus.org for assistance.
What are the requirements to earn a certificate?
This is a graded program. You will be required to complete a combination of individual assignments, quizzes, and a final project. Each component carries a certain number of points and a cumulative score of 75% is required to pass and obtain your professional certificate.
Will I be guaranteed a job upon completion of the program?
The primary objective of this program is to give you the skills you need to be prepared for a job in this field. While eligible participants will receive career coaching and support and may receive introductions to our hiring partners, job placement is not guaranteed.
How much time will I be expected to devote to this program?
Each program includes an estimated learner effort per week. This is referenced at the top of the program landing page under the Duration section, as well as in the program brochure, which you can obtain by submitting the short form at the top of this web page.
How will I spend my time in this program?
You will divide your learning time between viewing recorded coding demos, and video lectures, contributing to class discussions, completing assignments, projects, and knowledge checks, and attending optional live sessions with industry experts and program leaders.
How is the program administered? Can the program be accessed anytime?
The program is accessed through the custom learning portal. This portal will give you access to all program-related content such as video lectures, assignments, and discussions. Live office hours will be conducted using a webinar tool.
The video lectures and assignments are accessible weekly throughout the program. In the event you miss a live session, a recording will be made available.
Do I need to attend live sessions every week?
Faculty video lectures are recorded, allowing you to watch these on your own schedule. However, participation in optional live sessions and discussion boards is highly encouraged. Live sessions will give you the opportunity to draw on the coding experience of our industry-experienced course leaders to answer your questions and help reach your learning goals. The discussion boards are also an integral part of the learning experience, giving you and your peers the opportunity to learn together, along with guidance from the moderators.
Can I download the program videos?
You can download video transcripts, assignment templates, readings, etc. However, the video lectures are only available for streaming and require an internet connection.
How do I interact with other program participants?
You can communicate with other participants through our learning platform. You will be able to form groups based on your interests and location. A direct messaging feature is also available through the platform.
What is it like to learn online with the learning collaborator, Emeritus?
More than 300,000 learners across 200 countries have chosen to advance their skills with Emeritus and its educational learning partners. In fact, 90 percent of the respondents of a recent survey across all our programs said that their learning outcomes were met or exceeded.
All the contents of the course would be made available to students at the commencement of the course. However, to ensure the program delivers the desired learning outcomes the students may appoint Emeritus to manage the delivery of the program in a cohort-based manner the cost of which is already included in the overall course fee of the course.
A dedicated program support team is available 24/5 (Monday to Friday) to answer questions about the learning platform, technical issues, or anything else that may affect your learning experience.
What are the requirements to earn the certificate?
Each program includes an estimated learner effort per week, so you can gauge what will be required before you enrol. This is referenced at the top of the program landing page under the Duration section, as well as in the program brochure, which you can obtain by submitting the short form at the top of this web page. All programs are designed to fit into your working life.
This program is scored as a pass or no-pass; participants must complete the required activities to pass and obtain the certificate of completion. Some programs include a final project submission or other assignments to obtain passing status. This information will be noted in the program brochure. Please contact us at learner.success@emeritus.org if you need further clarification on any specific program requirements.
What type of certificate will I receive?
Upon successful completion of the program, you will receive a smart digital certificate. The smart digital certificate can be shared with friends, family, schools, or potential employers. You can use it on your cover letter, resume, and/or display it on your LinkedIn profile. The digital certificate will be sent approximately two weeks after the program, once grading is complete.
Can I get the hard copy of the certificate?
No, only verified digital certificates will be issued upon successful completion. This allows you to share your credentials on social platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Do I receive alumni status after completing this program?
No, there is no alumni status granted for this program. In some cases, there are credits that count toward a higher level of certification. This information will be clearly noted in the program brochure.
How long will I have access to the learning materials?
You will have access to the learning platform and all program materials (videos excluded) for one full year following the program end date. Access to the learning platform is restricted to registered participants per the terms of agreement.
What equipment is needed or the technical requirements for this program?
To successfully complete this program online, you must have access to a device meeting the minimum requirements, found here. In addition, Microsoft Office or similar product and a PDF viewer are required to access documents, spreadsheets, presentations, PDF files, and transcripts in all programs. Technical programs might have additional tech requirements. Please check the learning platform on the first day of class.
Do I need to be online to access the program content?
Yes, the learning platform is accessed via the internet and video content is not available for download. You can download files of video transcripts, assignment templates, readings, etc. Video lectures must be streamed via the internet and webinars and small group sessions will require an internet connection.
What is the program fee for the program and what forms of payment do you accept?
The program fee is shown at the top of this page and payment is accepted only in US dollars.
Flexible payment options, group enrolment benefits and referral bonus are available.
Tuition assistance may be available for participants who qualify. Please contact your program advisor to discuss.
What if I don’t have a credit card – is there another mode of payment accepted?
Yes, you can do the bank remittance in USD via wire transfer. Please contact your program advisor for more details.
Is there an option to make flexible payments for this program?
Yes. Flexible payment options are available for this program. We partner with loan partners to offer you flexible and transparent loan options. More information about loan financing is available here. Installment payments are also available—you can find the options here.
Does the program fee include taxes? Are there any additional fees?
Yes, the program fee is inclusive of any taxes with the exception of GST for Singapore residents.
Who will be collecting the payment for the program?
Emeritus collects all program payments, provides learner enrollment and program support, and manages learning platform services.
Are there any restrictions on the types of funding that can be used to pay for the program?
Program fees for Emeritus programs may not be paid for with (a) funds from the GI Bill, the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Act of 2008, or similar types of military education funding benefits or (b) Title IV financial aid funds.
What is the program refund and deferral policy?
For the program refund and deferral policy, please click the link here.
Didn't find what you were looking for? Write to us at learner.success@emeritus.org or Schedule a call with one of one of our Program Advisors or call us at +1 315 757 4382 (U.S.) / +44 141 673 6415 (U.K.) / +65 3138 5305 (SG)
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