The Ed.D. in Instructional and Performance Technology prepares students to fulfill leadership roles related to organizational development, performance improvement, technology integration, and workplace learning across multiple sectors. Graduates will find career opportunities in K12, higher education, business and industry, military, healthcare, and other organizational settings. The Ed.D. in Instructional and Performance Technology is an applied doctoral degree, preparing students to serve as practitioner-scholars, providing leadership, conducting applied research, and guiding change management efforts based on research and best practices related to instructional design, instructional technology, performance technology, and technology integration. Students will learn to apply the principles of systems theories, learning theories, communication theories, instructional theories, and applied research to solve organizational problems. 

Students will develop, implement, and evaluate an applied research-based dissertation-in-practice in conjunction with their coursework, which consists of 24-credit hours of IPT Core coursework, 12-credit hours of Research and Analysis Core coursework, and 18-credit hours of Dissertation coursework. The anticipated time to completion of all 54 credit hours, including all coursework and the dissertation-in-practice is 3 years. This fully online program includes three residencies. Each residency is integrated with a Doctoral Seminar class, and will consist of online work before and after the residency, which will consist of a few days of intensive face-to-face work. The first seminar will focus on professional and scholarly writing and the skills necessary to lead instructional and non-instructional performance improvement projects. The second seminar will focus on the analysis and dissemination of root causes and proposed solutions of identified problems of practice. The final seminar will serve as the Capstone Experience for the Ed.D. degree program. During this residency students will present and defend the completed dissertation-in-practice and demonstrate mastery of all program level outcomes. 

The expected time to completion is 3 years. Students are expected to complete 6-credit hours per semester, year-round. If a student deviates from this plan, opting to take more or less credits in a given semester, they should recognize that doing so may impact their time to completion and must work closely with their advisor to determine the impact on the overall degree plan. Students who fail to complete all program requirements by the end of the required coursework must enroll in a one-credit hour dissertation-in-practice continuation course each semester until graduation. 

A grade of "B" or better is required in all coursework. Students earning a grade lower than B will be required to repeat the course, which may delay graduation. Student performance will be continually assessed by faculty. Students earning more than two grades lower than "B", or two or more grades of unsatisfactory during the dissertation-in-practice phase of the program, may not be allowed to enroll in additional coursework and may be dismissed from the program.

Admissions Requirements

Students will be admitted to the program in the Fall (August start). Spring and Summer admission are not offered.

In addition to the University graduate admission requirements described in the Admissions section of the catalog, the department bases decisions for regular admission on a holistic review of credentials in which the following criteria are used to assess the potential success of each applicant: 

• Graduate admissions test score(s) from one of the following*:
  • Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
  • Miller Analogies Test (MAT)
• GPA of 3.5 or higher on the most recent graduate degree.
• Submission of a professional resume.
• Submission of a professionally written letter of intent communicating the student's professional and academic background, experiences, and goals. There is no minimum or maximum length requirement for the letter; however, students should recognize that it will be used to assess writing abilities and program fit.
• Submission of three professional references.
  • A minimum of two of the three references must be able to speak to the applicant's likelihood for academic success at the doctoral level (e.g. past professors)
• Participation in a web-based interview.

*The graduate admission test will be waived for applicants with a GPA of 3.75 or higher on the most recently completed graduate degree.

Prospective students are encouraged to contact the department prior to applying.

Graduation Requirements

In addition to general University requirements, students seeking the Ed.D. in Instructional and Performance Technology must meet all requirements listed below.

• Complete 54 credit hours of coursework
• Overall GPA of 3.25 or higher
• Earn a grade of "B" or higher in all courses
• Participate in three required residencies
• Maintain continuous enrollment during the dissertation phase of the program
• Complete and successfully defend the dissertation-in-practice
• Meet all university requirements for final submission of the completed dissertation

Students are required to complete all components of the Instructional and Performance Technology Core (24 credit hours), Research and Analysis Core (12 credit hours), and Dissertation (18 credit hours) portions of the degree program. Students who have not completed the dissertation-in-practice by the end of the required 54 credit hours will be required to register for one credit of dissertation-in-practice continuation each semester until graduation.

Instructional and Performance Technology Core (24 credit hours)

Research and Analysis Core (12 credit hours)

Dissertation (18 credit hours)

Instructional and Performance Technology Interventions Certificate

The Instructional and Performance Technology Interventions Certificate provides students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to apply theory and research to the practice of instructional design and technology-based learning and performance improvement. Students will apply research, theory, and best practices to lead intervention design and development projects and design pedagogically sound instructional products. Enrollment in this program is limited to students currently pursuing the Ed.D. in Instructional and Performance Technology.

Organizational Systems and Leadership in Instructional and Performance Technology Certificate

The Organizational Systems and Leadership in Instructional and Performance Technology Certificate provides students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to facilitate improvement in individual and organizational performance. Students will learn to apply systems thinking to analyze performance, identify gaps in performance and their root causes, and select, design, develop, implement, and evaluate appropriate instructional and performance technology solutions. Students will develop critical leadership skills in project management, communication, ethics, and professionalism. Enrollment in this program is limited to students currently pursuing the Ed.D. in Instructional and Performance Technology.

Performance Improvement Research Methods Certificate

The Performance Improvement Research Methods Certificate provides students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to conduct a formal front-end analysis of an organizational problem of practice. Students will learn to identify an urgent, actionable, feasible, and strategic problem of practice, design and develop instruments and protocols to gather data, analyze both quantitative and qualitative data, and formally write up the data analysis results. Enrollment in this program is limited to students currently pursuing the Ed.D. in Instructional and Performance Technology.