Education, Ed.D., Concentration in Learning, Design, and Technology

About Learning, Design and Technology

As an online Ed.D. student in learning, design and technology, you will learn to use advanced research methods to study and identify educational opportunities in various settings while also developing and evaluating new ways to address those opportunities.

Unlike the Ph.D. in Learning, Design and Technology, the Ed.D. program emphasizes applied research, culminating in the completion of a problem-based dissertation or project. Rather than leading to an academic career, the Ed.D. is designed for educators who want to contribute to the educational technology field at the highest levels of practice.

In order to be considered for admission, applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Hold a Master’s degree from an accredited institute of higher education.
• Score of “Proficient” or higher on a letter of intent describing academic goals, teaching experiences, and reasons for pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Wyoming. This letter serves as a writing sample.
• Three (3) years of P-12 teaching experience or its equivalent.
• Minimum 3.000 GPA on a 4.000 scale on the applicant’s most recent degree from an accredited institution, plus transcripts from all other schools attended.
• GRE minimum score of Verbal:153, Quantitative:144.
• TOEFL score of 540 (paperbased), 76 (internet exam) or IELTS score of 6.5 or above are required for international, non-native English speaking applicants. Until further notice, due to COVID-19 related postponements/cancellations of TOEFL/IELTS exams, we will be accepting Duolingo scores or 110 or higher as proof of English proficiency.

Required on campus orientation during first fall semester.

The Ed.D. is the terminal professional degree in education designed for students who desire to improve their professional practice as educators. The program moves beyond the foundations of distance education, instructional design, and technology integration to focus on advanced application and research. Students apply design, development, and evaluation principles to explore authentic challenges and develop real solutions in diverse settings (e.g., K-12 education, corporate and government centers, and higher education institutions). Through these experiences, students learn how to use advanced research methods to explore workplace problems, design and deliver solutions, and implement and evaluate change. Emphasis is placed on in-depth mentoring and collaboration, advanced research, development of real-world applications, and training solutions offered through distance delivery platforms.

Doctor of Education Curriculum Requirements

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The EdD program is 75 credits. The theory, research, and resulting instructional principles are addressed in courses in the following areas: (a) instructional design, visual literacy, and change (b) media development and production; and (c) instructional management, implementation, and technology integration. Graduate students in the program can take all of their coursework online. The EdD uses a Dissertation in Practice format for dissertation research. UW is a member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate.

Required Courses (75 credits*)

Program Knowledge Base
Students must successfully complete all 27 credit hours listed below.

• HIED 5630 Advanced Organizational Leadership (3 credit hours)
• ITEC 5660 (LDTE 5660): Interactive Learning Systems (3 credit hours)
• ITEC 5870 (LDTE 5700): Issues, Practice, and Research in LDT (3 credit hours)
• LDTE 5710: Transformational Learning (3 credit hours)
• ITEC 5870 (LDTE 5720): Critical Perspectives and Applications of Technology Integration (3 credit hours) 
• ITEC 5870 (LDTE 5730): Game Design and Development (3 credit hours)
• ITEC 5870 (LDTE 5740): Global and Cultural Perspectives in LDT (3 credit hours)
• ITEC 5870 (LDTE 5750): Technology Innovations: Past, Present, and Future (3 credit hours)
• ITEC 5760 (LDTE 5760): Instructional Design Applications (3 credit hours)
• ITEC 5070 (LDTE 5070): Trends (3 credit hours) [can be substituted for a relevant course]

* new LDTE prefix is in the process of phasing into the program beginning Fall 2022; ITEC is still active and counts in the program of study until transition is complete.

• Research Methods
• Students must successfully complete 12 credit hours in educational research.
• Required: Research Courses
  • EDRE 5600 Ed Research 1: Descriptive Research (3 credit hours)
  • EDRE 5640 Intro to Qualitative Research (3 credit hours)
  • EDRE 5660 Dissertation/Thesis Prospectus Writing (3 credit hours)

Select at least one additional research course:

Quantitative:

• EDRE 5610 Ed Research: Group Comparison (3 credit hours)
• EDRE 5620 Ed Research: Intro to Qualitative Research (3 credit hours)

Qualitative:

• EDRE 5645 Ed Research: Phenomenology, Case study, and Grounded Theory in Qualitative Research (3 credit hours)
• EDRE 5620 Ethnography and Narrative Inquiry in Qualitative Research (3 credit hours)

Dissertation or Approved Project
Students must successfully complete the exam and dissertation process. A minimum of 6 credit hours of dissertation research are required fo the program of study.

All Doctor of Education students will use research methods to explore practical leadership problems. Applied projects are problem-based and may be collaborative. Projects may involve evaluating curriculum, designing and implementing professional development or training, developing applications to be used in local settings (e.g., early childhood-12 education, corporate and government centers), as well as other projects designed to advance knowledge in a specific field or setting. 

The following requirements apply to all projects:

• Research-based (literature review)
• Scholarly, academic writing using APA style
• Primary or secondary data
• Authored by individual or small groups of students
• Uploaded to ProQuest for dissertations of practice or other projects in a dissertation format, and uploaded to the Mountain Scholar Digital Collections for projects in a non-dissertation format

Suggested project formats and brief descriptions are:

Dissertation of Practice

• A dissertation of practice is original practice-based empirical research with data collection expected from primary sources. 

Local Case Study

• A case study is a descriptive, exploratory, or explanatory analysis of a person, group, or event.  Thomas (2011, p. 354) offered the following definition of case study: “Case studies are analysis of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions, or others systems that are studied holistically by one of more methods.”

Faculty Directed Individual or Team-based Inquiry

• This type of inquiry involves individual or a small group of students working together on a single project under the guidance of a faculty member. Data can be obtained from primary or secondary sources.

Documentary on an Educational Issue

• A documentary is an in-depth and extensive study with an analysis presented in video form accompanied by a written summary of the purpose and outcome.

Submitted Manuscript

• A full-length research manuscript must be submitted to a refereed mid- or top-tier national or international scholarly journal.

Program Evaluation

• A program evaluation report typically uses both qualitative and quantitative research methods to examine and collect data on a current program that is in place in a school or another organization.

Additional project formats may be proposed and approved by the student’s committee as long as they meet the requirements listed above.

Final Project Processes

As in the traditional dissertation process, all students are expected to meet with their committees to gain project approval (at the pre-prospectus and/or prospectus stage). The Report of Final Examination will indicate whether or not the final project is acceptable to the committee. The deadline for submitting projects to Mountain Scholar Digital Collections or dissertations of practice or other projects in a dissertation format to ProQuest is the same as the Report of Final Examination, the last day of classes for the semester during which a student intends to graduate. All projects will be evaluated by committee members and also by the student.

Please note: After submitting the required steps for the Mountain Scholar Digital Collections you will receive a confirmation email. Please forward this email to your chair, Clayleen Rivord in the College of Education Dean’s Office, and Robert Ratterree in the Office of the Registrar.

The Ed.D. program requires a minimum of 81 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree. Candidates may, with the approval of the committee, transfer up to 30 credit hours from previous graduate-level coursework in a closely related field. The program is delivered online with the exception of some the spring residencies.

• Program knowledge base: 48 credits
• Research: 9 credits
• Professional Writing: 6 credits
• Electives: 12 credits
• Dissertation: 6 credits