Master of Arts (M.A.) in Learning Engineering

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Learning Engineering

The Master of Arts (M.A.) in Learning Engineering will not be accepting applications in the 2024 application cycle. 

Design innovative learning experiences

Today’s evolving world calls for learning engineers who can help schools, nonprofits, companies, and governments design engaging, accessible learning experiences that draw on the most current learning technologies and pedagogies. The M.A. in Learning Engineering is designed to equip you with the hands-on design experience, interdisciplinary knowledge, and technical savvy you’ll need to respond to that call.

Designing from Day One

As a student here, you will be designing from the moment you step on campus. Under the guidance of faculty who are at the forefront of the field, you will develop a toolkit for creating learning experiences that incorporate cutting-edge technologies.

Build Your Design Portfolio

Through collaborations and internships with our partner organizations, you’ll build a design portfolio that will prepare you to pursue a career as a learning engineer, learning experience designer, instructional designer, curriculum developer, or educational technology consultant.

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At a Glance

How many courses?


Most students take 20 courses (30 credits). 
Full-time students complete the program in one year. Part-time students will generally complete the program in two years.

Experiential


Leverages human-centered design principles to iteratively develop and improve products and services 

STEM-designated


By the Department of Homeland Security

Equity & Access

We believe that designers have a responsibility to think about inclusion, equity, and access. These values are built into our program’s approach—we care about creating a better, more equal public and designing engaging learning experiences for that public.
Brian K. Smith, Honorable David S. Nelson Chair and Associate Dean for Research

Curriculum

Throughout the program, you’ll develop the expertise and imagination you’ll need to design learning experiences that dynamically engage learners’ interests, passions, and prior knowledge. 

Requirements


  • Courses: 20 
  • Credits: 30 
  • Comprehensive Exam

 

 

Core Courses 

Students will select 1 elective (3 credits each) with the help of their advisor. 

A Population of Learners Courses

CourseCourse TitleCredit
APSY7418

Applied Child Development 

This course will help teachers understand principles of learning and cognitive, linguistic, social, and affective development as they apply to classroom practices. Students will focus on the acquisition of strategies that enable them to assess and understand how they and the children they work with are constructors of meaning. This course is designed for individuals beginning their professional development in education who plan to work with children.

3
APSY7611 

Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education 

Focuses on learning (including behavioral, cognitive, and information processing approaches), motivation, and social development, while incorporating the role of play in the learning and development of the young child. Examines individual differences and the effects of special needs on learning and development, as well as program implications.

3
APSY7419

Applied Adolescent Development

This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the theoretical and empirical knowledge base concerning adolescent development. In particular, four broad areas will be considered: (1) psychological, biological, and cognitive transitions; (2) central developmental tasks of adolescence; (3) primary contextual influences; and (4) prevalent types of problematic functioning that emerge during adolescence. The overarching goals of the course are to provide a solid and broad understanding of how and why adolescents develop in the manner they do, and to extend this developmental understanding into research, application, and practice.

3
APSY6420

Positive Youth Development  

Applied Developmental Science (ADS) uses research about human development to inform programs and policies pertinent to topics of social importance. Students will integrate readings about and class discussions of ADS theory and research with information about community-based programs. The focus of this class will be a discussion and analysis of the role of developmental research and, in particular from longitudinal research (for example, the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development), in framing applications (programs and policies) for promoting positive development among youth. In addition to an overview of the theoretical models that are the bases of the PYD perspective, the course will present the work of researchers who have conducted applied developmental studies of adolescents and their ecological settings in order to advance understanding of how individuals and context are involved across the adolescent years in providing a basis for both healthy and problematic development.

3
APSY7518

Issues / Life Span Development

This course addresses the major psychological and socio-cultural issues in development from childhood through adulthood. The theory, research, and practice in the field of life span development are examined and evaluated.

3
APSY7448

Career Development

Provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the theoretical and practice aspects of career development and the psychology of working. Students learn existing theories and related research pertaining to the vocational behavior of individuals across the life span. Through readings, case discussions, and lectures, students learn how to construct effective, ethical, and humane means of helping people to develop their work lives to their fullest potential.

3
EDUC6495

Human Development & Disabilities 

This course addresses the reciprocal relationship between human development and disability. Prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal causes of disability will be presented. Students will learn about theoretical perspectives, research, and current disagreements related to causes, identification, and treatment of disabilities. Prevention and intervention strategies will be presented for each disability. The application of assistive technology will be covered across disabilities.

3
EDUC6686

Augmentative Communication / Persons with Disabilities

This course focuses upon the communication problems of persons who are developmentally disabled, physically challenged, hearing impaired, and deaf-blind. Students learn strategies for enhancing communication and learn how to develop and implement a variety of augmentative communication systems.

3
APSY7666

Developmental Disabilities: Values, Policy & Change

This course focuses on issues facing professionals who work with people with developmental disabilities, their families, and the system whereby services are offered. It is designed for graduate and post-graduate students interested in learning about interdisciplinary evaluation and teams, in understanding disabilities from the person's and family's perspective, and in acquiring knowledge about the services available in the community. This course will be held at Children's Hospital.

3
APSY7528

Multicultural Issues 

Assists students to become more effective in their work with ethnic minority and LGBT clients. Increases students' awareness of their own and others' life experiences, and how these impact the way in which we approach interactions with individuals who are different from us. Examines the sociopolitical conditions that impact individuals from ethnic and non-ethnic minority groups in the U.S., and presents an overview of relevant research.

3
APSY7622

Bilingualism / Literacy Development

Explores first and second language and literacy development of children raised bilingually as well as students acquiring a second language during pre-school, elementary, or secondary school years. Also addresses theories of first and second language acquisition, literacy development in the second language, and factors affecting second language and literacy learning. Participants will assess the development of one aspect of language or language skill of a bilingual individual and draw implications for instruction, parent involvement, and policy.

3

Assessment, Research, & Evaluation Courses

CourseCourse TitleCredit
APSY7462

Assessment and Test Construction 

This course addresses the major issues of educational assessment, with emphasis on the characteristics, administration, scoring, and interpretation of both formal and informal assessments, including but not limited to tests of achievement. All forms of assessment are examined including observation, portfolios, performance tasks, and paper-and-pencil tests, including standardized tests. Basic techniques of test construction, item writing, and analysis are included. Standardized norm-referenced tests and statewide testing programs are also examined.

3
APSY6460 

Interpretation and Evaluation of Research

This course will improve a students' understanding of the empirical research literature in education and psychology. It concentrates on developing the conceptual foundations of empirical research and the practical analytic skills needed by a competent reader and user of research articles. Topics address purpose statements, hypotheses, sampling techniques, sample sizes and power, instrument development, internal and external validity, and typical quantitative research designs. Exercises emphasize the critical evaluation of published research. 

3
MESA6466

Evaluation Practice & Methods

This course introduces the process of conducting evaluations from beginning to end. Evaluation is a form of applied social science research focused on systematically assessing the value--merit, worth, or significance--of interventions. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to evaluation, this course draws on scholarly articles and examples from multiple fields including education, public health, social services, and international development and addressing evaluation at various scales including program, organizational, and systems-level evaluations. By the end of the course, students will gain knowledge of how to carry out evaluations; apply this knowledge to develop evaluation plans for real-world interventions; and gain skills to critique existing evaluations supporting their development as informed, critical consumers of evaluations.

3

Management & Marketing Courses

CourseCourse TitleCredit
MFIN7704

Financial Management

This course deals primarily with a firm's investment and financing decisions. Topics treated intensively include valuation and risk, capital budgeting, financial leverage, capital structure, and working capital management. Also discussed are financial statistical analysis and tools of planning and control. Some attention is given to financial institutions and their role in supplying funds to businesses and non-profit organizations.

3
MGMT7701 

Introduction to Strategic Management

The course is designed to provide you with a general understanding of how firms formulate and implement strategies to create competitive advantage. Relying exclusively on the case method, it will expose you to some basic strategy concepts, which will lay the foundation for the strategic management core course that you will take later on. The cases chosen for this course will place you in a diversity of managerial situations--large multinational firms and small startups, manufacturing and service industries, growing and mature organizations, U.S. and non-U.S. settings.

2
MGMT7709

Managing People and Organizations

This course focuses on the analysis and diagnosis of organizational problems. It attempts to enable students to apply these concepts to real organizational and managerial problems. It also provides opportunities for participation in ongoing work teams while learning about team effectiveness. Finally, students can examine their own behavior and beliefs about organizations to compare, contrast, and integrate them with the theories and observations of others.

3
MGMT8104

Nonprofit Management

This course provides an opportunity to explore essential management issues in a nonprofit context alongside topics that are somewhat unique to the nonprofit sector, including distinctive funding methods, governance, and staffing structures. Topical areas include Social Entrepreneurship, Venture Philanthropy, Leadership, Strategic Planning, Performance Measurement, Cause Marketing, and Microfinance. In addition to case and article discussion, the course features local, national, and international nonprofit leaders as guest speakers. The course aims to provide future nonprofit managers, volunteers, board members, donors, or supporters with a more nuanced understanding of critical issues and important trends in the nonprofit sector.

3
MGTG7720

Marketing

This course focuses on the managerial skills, tools, and concepts required to produce a mutually satisfying exchange between consumers and providers of goods, services, and ideas. The material is presented in a three-part sequence. Part one deals with understanding the marketplace. Part two deals with the individual parts of the marketing program such as pricing, promotion, product decisions, and distribution. Part three of the course deals with overall strategy formulation and control of the marketing function. Students in this course will come to understand the critical links between marketing and the other functional areas of management.

2

Faculty

Financial Aid

Education should level the playing field. We feel the same way about financial aid.

The Lynch School of Education and Human Development provides more than $11.4 million in financial aid to students each year. As a result, the quality of BC’s instruction, the benefit of our alumni network, and the impact a BC degree will have on your employment options is both affordable and invaluable. 

Careers

Employers

  • Schools, districts, colleges, and universities
  • Museums, zoos, aquariums, and national parks
  • Businesses ranging from startups to large corporations
  • Nonprofits and foundations
  • Social service and community agencies

Job Responsibilities

  • Designing the next generation of educational technology
  • Developing online, hybrid, makerspace, and active-learning environments
  • Constructing technology-enhanced curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment
  • Creating employee training and consumer education programs

Positions

  • Learning Engineers
  • Learning Experience (LX) and User Experience (UX) Designers
  • Instructional Designers and Evaluators
  • Curriculum Developers
  • Educational Technology Consultants

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Application & Deadlines

The Master of Arts (M.A.) in Learning Engineering will not be accepting applications in the 2023-2024 application cycle. 

Resume

To be uploaded to your online application.

In addition to your academic history and relevant volunteer and/or work experience, please include any licenses currently held, any social justice-related experience, any language skills other than English, and any research experience or publications.

Personal Statement

To be uploaded to your online application.

In 1,000-1,500 words, describe your academic and professional goals, any experience relevant to this program, and your future plans, expectations, and aspirations.

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation are required, with at least one preferably coming from an academic source. Applicants may submit one additional recommendation of their choice.

Transcripts

Transcripts from all college/university study are required.

Applicants who have received degrees from institutions outside the United States should view the ""International Students"" section for additional credential evaluation requirements.

Please begin your online application before submitting your transcripts. Details on how to submit transcripts and international credential evaluations can be found within the application. In order to ensure your transcript reaches our office, it is important to review and follow the instructions.

Standardized Tests

Submitting GRE test scores is optional for this program for the 2023 entry term(s). If you wish to send GRE scores, the Lynch School GRE code is 3218.

Please view the "International Students" section for information on English Proficiency test requirements.

Writing Sample

Not required.

International Students

Applicants who have completed a degree outside of the United States must have a course-by-course evaluation of their transcript(s) completed by an evaluation company approved by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). Submission of falsified documents is grounds for denial of admission or dismissal from the University.

Applicants who are not native speakers of English and who have not received a degree from an institution where English is the primary language of instruction must also submit a TOEFL or IELTS test result that meets the minimum score requirement.

Please click the link below for full details on these requirements.

{"Requirements for International Students" button, link to https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/schools/lynch-school/admission/deadlines-requirements.html#tab-international_applicants}

Contact Us

  gsoe@bc.edu
  617-552-4214