Learning Design and Technology (LDT)

Program Requirements

Students must complete at least 45 units at Stanford to receive the master's degree in LDT. The following constraints are placed on those 45 units:

  • All courses must be at or above the 100 level. Courses numbered below 100 do not count toward the master's degree.
  • At least 23 units (half of the total minimum units) must be at or above the 200 level. EDUC 180 and 190 count toward this requirement.
  • At least 30 units must be from courses offered by the Graduate School of Education (EDUC units).
  • At least 15 units must be taken for a letter grade (as opposed to Credit or Satisfactory).
  • A 3.0 GPA must be maintained for all courses applied to the master's degree.
  • All students must enroll in a minimum of 8 units during Autumn, Winter and Spring Quarters, and cannot exceed 18 units in any quarter (exception: HCP students take 3-7 units)
  • LDT students are required to register for exactly 6 units in the Summer quarter. The remaining 39 units need to be completed in Autumn, Winter and Spring quarters. 
  • English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOLLANG) and Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation (ATHLETIC) courses cannot be applied towards the master's degree.
  • See the “Coterminal Degree” section for unit requirements applying to students admitted through the coterminal degree program.

Required Courses

Note: All course information is subject to change.
Please consult ExploreCourses and Axess for final course offerings.

Offered in 2025-2026 Autumn (Karin Forssell, Jessica Yauney, Tamara Sobomehin) (2-3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Karin Forssell, Jessica Yauney, Tamara Sobomehin) (1-3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Karin Forssell, Angel Rivera, Robert Wachtel Pronovost) (1-3)

Internship

Students must register for a minimum of one unit of Education Internship Workshop (EDUC 215 or equivalent) for at least two quarters during the year. A maximum of 9 internship units are accepted for the master's degree.

Electives

Recommended electives for LDT include a range of courses related to learners and education. Students may take electives from any department at Stanford, with advisor's approval. Also, students are encouraged to approach professors for Directed Reading (EDUC 180) on a topic of special interest to them.

Learning Portfolio and Master's Project

The online Learning Portfolio consists of substantial work done during the year, together with a reflection on the learning represented by that work. The Master's Project consists of a design project conceived and developed by the student. The project proposal and reports will include a description and analysis of the learning problem, the theoretical approach and research used to address it, the design proposal, prototypes, and learning assessments. The Master's Project must be submitted to the student's advisor for approval by the end of winter quarter and presented to the public late in the summer. Both the Learning Portfolio and the Master's Project Report are due in summer quarter.

2025-2026 List of Pre-Approved Courses

At least one course about evaluation and research methods used in Education. Pre-approved courses are listed below (3 units minimum).

Choose at least one. Both are encouraged.

Offered in 2025-2026 Autumn (Candace Thille, Eunjung Myoung, Xi Jia Zhou) (3-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Autumn (Denise Pope, Derric Heck, Ma Cherrysse Ulsa) (4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Ann Jaquith, Ed'd Bhagwandeen) (4)

LDT students have first enrollment priority in EDUC 200B in Autumn quarter and third enrollment priority in Winter quarter.   

At least one course in which students learn and apply a user-centered design process. Pre-approved courses are listed below (3 units minimum).

Offered in 2025-2026 Autumn (James Landay) (3-5)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Julie Stanford) (3-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Autumn (Julie Stanford) (3-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Maneesh Agrawala) (3-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Autumn (Christina Wodtke) (3-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (John Tang) (3-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Frank Bentley) (3-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Keith Bowen, Kavindya Thennakoon) (1-3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Keith Bowen, Kavindya Thennakoon) (1-3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (David Jaffe) (1-3)

  • Any course with the CS 147, 247, 347, or 377 prefix (e.g., CS 377U) may count towards the Design Process requirement.
  • Any full d.school course may be used to count towards the Design Process requirement.
  • Any "Design of Learning Experiences" course (listed below) can instead be used to count towards the Design Process requirement.

Two courses minimum. At least one course must cover theories of learning. Pre-approved courses are listed below (6 units minimum). Students are highly encouraged to take more than two of these courses.

Learning Theories

Learning Content

Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Jennifer Osuna, Renee Scott) (1-3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Jennifer Osuna, Renee Scott) (1-3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Jason Yeatman) (3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Victor Lee, Abigail Kahn) (3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Instructor TBD) (3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Autumn (Brigid Barron) (3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Bruce McCandliss) (3)

  • Other courses by petition. Courses in other departments may be appropriate for certain subjects.

At least two courses applying user-centered design to a learning problem. Pre-approved courses are listed below (6 units minimum). Students are highly encouraged to take more than two of these courses.

Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Denise Pope, Lena Phalen, Meghan Durkin) (3-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Autumn (Cancelled) (3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Autumn (Keith Bowen, Kavindya Thennakoon) (3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Instructor TBD) (3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Hari Subramonyam) (3-4)

At least one course examining technology from a critical, social, historical, or philosophical perspective (3 units minimum).

Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Instructor TBD) (3-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Instructor TBD) (3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Instructor TBD) (3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Nick Haber) (3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Autumn (Candace Thille, Neha Rajagopalan) (3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Instructor TBD) (4-5)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Adam Banks) (4-5)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Candace Thille, John Mitchell) (1-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Dora Demszky) (2-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Instructor TBD) (3)

Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Jacob Ramirez) (1)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Jacob Ramirez) (1)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Jacob Ramirez) (1)
Offered in 2025-2026 Autumn (Teresa LaFromboise, Emma Keller) (3-5)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Christina Krist) (2-3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Bryan Brown) (2-3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Christina Krist) (1-3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Instructor TBD) (1-3)
Offered in 2025-2026 Winter (Maria Ruiz-Primo) (3-4)
Offered in 2025-2026 Spring (Jennifer Osuna, Meghan Durkin) (2-5)




Contact us

PhD students, please contact:

Jeremy Edwards
Jeremy Edwards
Associate Director of Degree Programs

MA POLS and MA/PP students, please contact:

Wesley Horng
Wesley Horng
Senior Associate Director of Admissions & Academic Affairs

EDS, Individually Designed, LDT, MA/JD, students, please contact:

Samantha Garcia
Samantha Garcia
Student & Academic Affairs Officer

 

GCE/IEPA MA, MA/MBA students, please contact:

Andrea Jackson
Andrea Jackson
Assistant Director of Admissions and Academic Affairs