The research-oriented M.Ed. degree track is designed for master’s-level students who would like to eventually apply for a doctoral degree.
Mission
During recent years, a select group of LDT master’s degree students have expressed interest in pursuing coursework, experience and degrees to prepare them to pursue doctoral studies in programs such as IT, educational psychology, and teacher preparation. These students intend to pursue doctoral studies at UGA as well as other institutions around the globe. In order to address these needs, the LDT research master’s option is designed to provide an alternative to the LDT/IDD applied masters focus which prepares students for careers as professional developers and practitioners. The new concentration focus would be on instructional technology research.
Objectives
The research master’s option is designed to prepare students for doctoral level study in educational technology research and for careers in academia and/or research. To strengthen programmatic links between the research master’s and doctoral degree faculty, students, course offerings, and experiences the program primarily draws from current LDT/UGA master’s and specialist courses and from the ongoing initiatives of the LDT doctoral program. The LDT research master’s degree is located on the UGA campus in Athens although students have the opportunity to take the courses offered throughout the university system as electives. The program consists of 36 credit hours including a major project and/or research paper.
Employment Opportunities
Career opportunities include teaching in higher education, K-12 instruction, instructional design consulting, and working in business, industry, government, or military training. Students may also seek Georgia certification at the S-7 level. For example, many of our graduates have assumed leadership positions at premiere research universities in the USA such as Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Virginia Tech, University of Illinois, and Utah State University as well as leading institutions of higher education in countries such as Brazil, Canada, China, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
Application Deadlines
The department only reviews application twice a year for possible admission to the LDT Research Masters program in the Fall (August) semester. The deadline for the first review is February 1, 2012. If at all possible, the department recommends that candidates submit their applications in time for the first review. Our Research Masters program is quite competitive and we tend to get far more applications than we are able to accept.
Financial Support
Students interested in financial support should indicate that on their applications and apply through the UGA Graduate School.