The Instructional Systems Technology EdD degree program is designed for individuals seeking to be applied researchers in instruction design or human performance improvement. This program provides students with opportunities to apply research findings to build and test processes, products, and services with the goal of producing instructional materials for education, training, or performance improvement environments. Students also acquire research skills that can be used to conduct needs analyses of target audiences and measure the effectiveness of instructional products and solutions. Applicants must have a master's degree from an accredited institution. While course work is delivered primarily online, students will be required to attend at least one IST Colloquium or IST conference on the Bloomington campus.

Degree Requirements

Major Requirements (30 cr.)
IST Doctoral Core Requirements (6 cr.)

• R690 IST Early Research Experience (3 cr.)
• R711 IST Doctoral Readings (3 cr.)

IST Electives (24 cr.)
Options here include all IST graduate courses offered in an online format, as approved by the student’s doctoral advisory committee.

Inquiry Requirements (9 cr.)

• Y502 Intermediate Statistics (3 cr.)
• Y520 Strategies for Educational Inquiry (3 cr.)
• Y611 Qualitative Inquiry in Education (3 cr.)

Students are allowed to make course substitutions in accordance with the inquiry policy, as approved by the student’s doctoral advisory committee.

Foundation Requirements (3 cr.)
Select one course from the following:

• D505 Adult Learning through the Lifespan (3 cr.)
• P540 Learning and Cognition in Education (3 cr.)

Minor Requirements (9-12 cr.)
The minor must have integrity in its own right and must complement the major. The minor field must demonstrate wholeness within itself and contribute to the student's overall doctoral program. Minors are normally formulated within a single program area. However, an interdisciplinary or individualized minor is also possible. Interdisciplinary or individualized minors require a written description of the minor's underlying theme along with a rationale for each course's contribution to that theme through the Minor Justification form. This form should be submitted and approved by the Graduate Studies Office prior to enrolling in the minor courses. Major area courses may not be used in the minor.

Dissertation Requirements (9 cr.)

• R795 Dissertation Proposal Preparation (3 cr.)
• R799 Doctoral Dissertation in Instructional Systems Technology (6 cr.)