WGU no longer offers "M.Ed" degrees

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Maniac Craniac, Nov 18, 2022.

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  1. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    This is something I found interesting. I don't know exactly how recent the change is, but I occasionally peak at WGUs website to see what's new and I'm just noticing it now. All of WGU's M.Ed degrees have been changed to MA and MS degrees.

    https://www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degrees/education-masters-programs.html

    Also, gone is the M.Ed in Instructional Design and in its lieu, an MS in Learning Experience Design and Educational Technology.

    https://www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degrees/learning-experience-design-educational-technology.html

    It looks interesting. For what it's worth, 2 quick Google searches show multiple sources saying that the job "Learning Experience Designer" consistently pays more than "Instructional Designer" even though they both seem very similar to me.

    I wonder what the rationale is for eschewing the "Master of Education" / "M.Ed" nomenclature.
     
    chrisjm18, Dustin and Messdiener like this.
  2. freeloader

    freeloader Member

    I was really interested in the old degree programs and this new program. I did some searching online and came across a number of Reddit posts indicating the courses are really challenging/time consuming. I was interested in a degree in 1 or 2 of their 6-month terms, and it sounded like this definitely isn’t the degree for that, so I passed.
     
  3. datby98

    datby98 Active Member

    It might be a market-driven change. It seems schools still favor their faculty to have traditional art or science degrees. Not sure about the situation in the US, but I heard even some elementary or junior high schools in my region would only accept teaching applications from those with PhDs from top universities.
     
    Dustin likes this.
  4. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    There appear to be more specific content courses. From what I can remember, the previous post-licensure programs had a general content knowledge area and some co-requisite courses. With that said, the secondary programs don't look like MA degrees that are focused on research and preparation for a doctoral program. They still look like M.Ed programs that are focused on teaching.
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  5. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    Yeah, I just checked their webpage after reading this, seems they've removed the MEd and the programs are just MA or MS. I didn't see any updates other than that, maybe they had to make changes or were told to make these changes, more might be in store for them, who knows...
     

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