Best Instructional Design Schools Near Boston, MA (2026)

Updated September 5, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Boston, Massachusetts has 5 accredited schools offering instructional design programs. Boston has a population of about 663,972. Median household income is $94,755 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 54.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, the top-earning instructional design-related role is Education Administrators, Postsecondary at a median $131,130 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Instructional Design Schools to Boston

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer instructional design programs near Boston, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Boston city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

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:

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. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Boston. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Graduation rate 63%

Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $92,538

TuitionContact school for pricing

Contact

360 Huntington Ave Boston, MA 02115
(617) 373-2000
Visit website

Key stats

Programs offered: 47

Source:IPEDS College Scorecard

Graduation rate 56%

Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $65,865

Avg net price $17,707/yr

TuitionContact school for pricing

Contact

100 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, MA 02125-3393
(617) 287-5000
Visit website

Key stats

Retention rate: 72%
Programs offered: 96

Source:IPEDS College Scorecard

Instructional Design Wages Near Boston

Boston is part of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area (BLS area code 14460). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Massachusetts statewide.

Occupation	Median Wage	Source	COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Instructional Coordinators	$98,370	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$90,831
Training and Development Specialists	$83,800	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$77,378
Training and Development Managers	N/A	MA statewide	–
Education Teachers, Postsecondary	$79,980	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$73,850
Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other	$69,340	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$64,026
Education Administrators, Postsecondary	$131,130	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$121,080
Farm and Home Management Educators	$66,920	MA statewide	$61,791
Graphic Designers	$78,270	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$72,271

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.

Boston at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	663,972	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$94,755	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	54.1%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	108.3 (above U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024

Other Boston-Area Cities With Instructional Design Programs

Cambridge, MA – 4.3 mi away (110,651 pop)
Somerville, MA – 5.0 mi away (81,322 pop)
Quincy, MA – 5.7 mi away (93,688 pop)
Chelsea, MA – 5.9 mi away (39,699 pop)
Watertown, MA – 5.9 mi away (35,025 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited instructional design schools are near Boston, MA?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering instructional design programs near Boston. The closest is Northeastern University Professional Programs in Boston, MA (1.5 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Lesley University (4.6 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying instructional design roles near Boston?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying instructional design-related roles near Boston are: Education Administrators, Postsecondary ($131,130), Instructional Coordinators ($98,370), Training and Development Specialists ($83,800). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Massachusetts statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Cambridge instead of Boston?

Cambridge, MA is 4.3 miles from Boston and has its own set of local instructional design programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Boston an affordable place to study instructional design?

Boston’s median household income of $94,755 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Boston while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Massachusetts public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.

Learn More About Instructional Design Programs

Other Programs Available in Boston

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Boston:

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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