Start with the honest version: a standalone bachelor’s degree titled “Instructional Design” is uncommon. This is a graduate-entry field. Most working instructional designers hold a bachelor’s in something else – education, communication, psychology, English, graphic design, business – and enter through a master’s degree or a graduate certificate. Some come from classroom teaching. Some come from technical writing, video production, or corporate training roles they were promoted out of.
That does not mean an undergraduate can do nothing useful. It means the undergraduate decision is about which related major to finish and what to build while you are in it, rather than about finding a program with the right name on the diploma.
The listing above shows related online programs, because undergraduate instructional design specialties are thin. Read it as a starting point for education, technology, and design majors rather than as a list of programs with this exact title.
Quick answers
Can I get a bachelor’s degree in instructional design?
Under that precise title, rarely. What exists at the undergraduate level is an educational technology or learning technology concentration inside an education degree, an instructional technology track in a technology or communication program, and a small number of learning design majors. Read the required course list rather than the title.
What should I major in if I want to be an instructional designer?
There is no single answer, and hiring managers do not expect one. Education gives you the learning theory and, if you add licensure, the K-12 route. Communication or English gives you writing, which the job runs on. Psychology gives you the cognition. Graphic design or media gives you the production half. Business or human resources points at corporate learning. What matters is that you leave with writing, production, and a portfolio.
Is a bachelor’s enough to get hired?
Sometimes, in corporate settings, if the portfolio is strong and you can show finished courses that someone actually used. It is much less likely in K-12 and higher education, where the master’s is close to a floor and public-school instructional coordinator roles usually add licensure requirements on top. Entry titles such as training coordinator, learning operations specialist, or LMS administrator are realistic first jobs with a bachelor’s alone.
How many credits is a bachelor’s degree?
Approximately 120 semester hours, typically four years full-time. The concentration coursework in educational or instructional technology usually sits in the junior and senior years, after general education.
Does the degree lead to a teaching license?
Only if it is an educator preparation program built for that purpose. A general educational technology concentration does not confer licensure. If K-12 curriculum work is the goal, check whether the program is state-approved for licensure and whether the state requires a curriculum-supervisor endorsement on top of the teaching credential.
Should I add a graduate certificate instead of a second bachelor’s?
Yes, in almost every case. A graduate certificate in instructional design is typically 12 to 18 credits, stacks into a master’s at many schools, and signals the field directly. A second bachelor’s rarely does anything a certificate cannot do faster.
At a Glance
- Common degree titles: BS in Education with an educational technology concentration, BA in Communication, BS in Learning Design and Technology (uncommon), BFA or BA in Graphic Design
- Typical duration: 4 years full-time
- Credits: Approximately 120 semester hours
- Core skills: Writing, learning theory basics, media production, project management, portfolio work
- Accreditation: No programmatic accreditor for instructional design; verify institutional accreditation
For a full map of this program area, start here: Instructional Design Program Guide
Schools to compare
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
94%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$83,648
Avg net price
$13,138/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 98%
- Programs offered: 206
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
91%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$72,200
Avg net price
$11,655/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 117
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
98%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$101,817
Avg net price
$19,066/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 98%
- Programs offered: 174
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
85%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$75,790
Avg net price
$15,564/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 90%
- Programs offered: 193
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
61%
Graduation rate
86%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$63,435
Avg net price
$32,875/yr
TuitionIn‑state$20,644
Out‑of‑state$41,790
Key stats
- Retention rate: 92%
- Programs offered: 214
Source:Accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher Education · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
74%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$59,982
Avg net price
$23,510/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 84%
- Programs offered: 60
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
66%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$64,506
Avg net price
$24,488/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 74%
- Programs offered: 81
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
27%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$22,842
Avg net price
$5,235/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 67%
- Programs offered: 11
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
The main undergraduate pathways
Educational technology concentration inside an education degree
The closest undergraduate match. You take the education core – learning theory, assessment, human development – plus a block of technology and design courses covering course platforms, digital media, and accessible materials. This is a strong fit if K-12 or higher education is the target, and it is the only route that can also carry licensure. The related graduate track is the curriculum and instruction concentration.
Communication, English, psychology, media production, and graphic design all feed this field. The tradeoff is that none of them teach design process, so you supply it: take an electives block in web or media production, learn one authoring tool well, and build three or four real projects. Employers evaluate what you built. A communication major with four finished e-learning modules outcompetes an education major with none.
Design and technology majors
If you already lean toward the production side, a design or interactive media major pairs well with self-taught learning theory. The overlap with product work is genuine, which is why some people cross into or out of user experience. Documentation-heavy paths overlap with technical communication.
Typical coursework in a bachelor’s pathway
| Course Topic |
What You Learn |
| Learning and Cognition |
How attention, memory, and practice shape what people retain |
| Educational Technology |
Course platforms, digital media, and how technology supports instruction |
| Instructional Media Production |
Video, audio, graphics, and screen capture for teaching materials |
| Writing and Editing |
Clear procedural and explanatory writing, which is most of the daily job |
| Assessment Basics |
Writing items and rubrics that measure something specific |
| Accessibility and Universal Design |
WCAG standards, captions, alt text, and designing for range rather than the average |
| Project Management |
Scope, timelines, and working with subject-matter experts |
| Capstone or portfolio project |
A finished artifact you can show an employer |
Skills you may build
- Writing instructions someone can follow without you standing there
- Turning a subject-matter expert’s brain dump into a sequence with a defensible order
- Building in at least one authoring tool well enough to ship
- Making an assessment that measures the objective rather than reading comprehension of the question
- Meeting accessibility standards as a default rather than a remediation step
- Managing a project with a client who changes their mind
Prerequisites and course sequencing
Concentration coursework generally sits behind general education and an introductory education or communication sequence, and technology courses often run once a year rather than every term. Before you enroll, confirm:
- Whether the concentration requires admission to a college of education
- How often each technology or production course is offered online
- Whether a practicum, field experience, or internship is required and whether it can be completed remotely
- Whether the capstone produces a portfolio artifact or a research paper
- Whether the program is state-approved for licensure, if that is part of your plan
If you are moving faster than a standard four-year plan, compare accelerated instructional design programs. Production courses compress worse than lecture courses, because rendering, revision, and user testing take calendar time.
Transfer credits and degree planning
Transfer credit can shorten a bachelor’s substantially, especially for general education. Rules vary by institution, so confirm:
- The maximum number of transfer credits accepted
- The minimum grade required for a course to transfer
- Whether credits apply to the concentration or only to general electives
- Residency requirements, meaning a minimum number of credits completed at the institution
- Whether prior work in training or media can be evaluated for credit through prior-learning assessment
See Affordable Online Instructional Design Degrees for more on managing total program cost.
Accreditation and program quality checks
There is no programmatic accreditor for instructional design or educational technology degrees. CAEP accredits educator preparation programs, so it is relevant only if the degree leads to a teaching license. Otherwise, verify that the institution holds accreditation from a recognized institutional accreditor through the U.S. Department of Education database.
Professional associations and vendor certifications in this field are useful for community and tool skills, but they are not accreditation and they do not evaluate degree programs. Institutional accreditation is the check that matters.
Building the portfolio while you study
The portfolio does the hiring in this field, so treat coursework as production time rather than as assignments to submit and forget.
- Keep a clean, published version of every project, without instructor comments, from the first term onward
- Build for a real audience when you can: a campus office, a nonprofit, a small employer, a student organization
- Show your process, not only the finished module – the analysis, the objectives, one storyboard page, and what you changed after testing
- Include at least one project you tested with real users and revised, because that is the part most portfolios lack
- Learn one authoring tool deeply rather than four superficially
Bachelor’s versus a master’s for instructional design
A bachelor’s in a related field plus a portfolio can open corporate entry roles. A master’s in instructional design is the credential the field’s postings most often name, and it is close to a requirement in higher education and K-12. Median annual wages for instructional coordinators, the code most school-based curriculum work falls under, were $77,440 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), and those positions usually assume a graduate degree.
Compare degree options:
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
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