Master of Arts in Learning Design and Technology (Online)

Program Overview

The Master of Arts in Learning Design and Technology (Online) is a cutting-edge program designed to provide dynamic, hands-on learning experiences. Combining theory with practice, students gain in-depth knowledge of learning and instructional theories, as well as practical skills in the design and use of educational technologies.

Program Structure and Technology Requirements

• Duration: One and a half years (full-time) or up to three years (part-time).
• Number of Courses: 10 courses (30 US credits).
• Course Delivery: 100% online.
• Admission points: New students are admitted at the start of the fall, winter, and spring terms.

Required Courses

1. Foundations of Learning Design and Technology: This course presents historical views and core perspectives of learning and cognition as they apply to various contexts, such as learning environments, learning technologies, and emerging field directions.
2. Theories and Strategies of Learning: Students are presented with historical views and core perspectives of learning and cognition as they apply to a variety of contexts, such as learning environments, learning technologies, and emerging field directions.
3. Learning Design and Development: This hands-on course guides students through a dual learning design development and project management process.
4. Research Methods in Education and Training: Learners explore qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research methodologies commonly used in the learning sciences, focusing on the integration of theory and practice.
5. Multimedia Environments: Learners examine multimedia design principles and tools that developers and learning designers typically use to deliver computer-based, innovative solutions.
6. Online Teaching and Learning: The course presents fundamental concepts, principles, models, and research-based best practices for the effective instructional design and the use of technology in online education and training programs.
7. Developing Learning Experiences with Design Thinking: This hands-on course provides an overview of the powerful, creative process of design thinking as a problem-solving approach within the context of learning and training.
8. Managing Distance Education: Learners explore core concepts, technologies, and issues related to the design, development, and delivery of adult learning and training at a distance.
9. Learning Analytics: Learners explore the theoretical foundations and practical use of learning analytics in educational and training contexts.
10. Capstone Project or Portfolio or Thesis Track: This course serves as the culminating experience of the program, allowing learners to synthesize and integrate knowledge, skills, and creativity acquired throughout their LD&T coursework.

Program Level Competencies

Upon successful completion of this program, students should be able to:

• Explain the principles and concepts that drive effective learning design, how they align with theory, and how they interface with the current trends and issues of the field.
• Evaluate and develop learning design solutions for education and/or industry contexts that are supported by current research in learning, training, and educational technologies.
• Identify criteria relevant to the evaluation, adoption, and integration of a range of technologies to adequately serve the needs of different learning and training contexts.
• Generate learning designs that are inclusive, meet the needs of diverse stakeholders, and are based on design thinking and data from learner analysis, assessment, and evaluation.
• Use analysis, synthesis, interpretation, and problem-solving skills to develop effective, ethical, and innovative applications of educational technologies.
• Design, conduct, and analyze appropriate process and product evaluation.
• Employ a range of learning theories and research-based evidence to design, develop, deliver, and support learning and training activities, materials, courses, and programs.
• Communicate effectively in written and oral formats with a variety of stakeholders.
• Demonstrate effective task and project management skills.

Tuition & Scholarships

• Tuition: Tuition is payable on a course-by-course basis. Program Tuition: €6,450 (30 US credits).
• Merit Scholarships: The American College of Greece offers scholarships covering a portion of the cost of tuition to all applicants who have demonstrated exceptional academic performance in their undergraduate studies.
• Financial Assistance: Since its founding in 1875, The American College of Greece has provided assistance to students needing help in meeting their educational expenses.
• Discounts: All ACG alumni are entitled to a 10% tuition fee discount on top of any other scholarship or financial assistance program which may apply.

Current Student Profile

The program is geared towards early- and mid-career professionals from a variety of backgrounds, including:

• Educators and trainers at all levels looking to move beyond the classroom.
• Learning and Development (L&D) and Human Resources (HR) professionals.
• Business professionals involved in training and onboarding.
• Practicing educational and learning technologists and consultants seeking to expand and strengthen their skill set.
• Graduates in the field of Information Technology (IT) wishing to pursue a career in learning design.
• Individuals seeking a career transition.

Career Opportunities

This program will develop skills and provide tools for participants to pursue a diverse array of careers in the fields of education or business, or to work as freelance learning design consultants. After the completion of this program, students can pursue their careers as:

• Online Trainer
• Learning/Instructional Designer
• Education Program Manager
• Course Developer
• Learning Analyst
• Academic Assessment Coordinator
• Instructional Technology Specialist
• Director of Center for Technology in Learning
• Educational Program Designer
• Learning Strategist
• Instructional Design and Evaluation Specialist
• Course builder
• Instructional Systems' Designer
• Corporate Training Specialist
• Training Director/Manager
• Human Resource Specialist
• Director of staff development
• Manager of staff training and development
• e-Learning Instructor
• e-learning Consultant

Faculty

The faculty includes experienced professionals and academics in the field of Learning Design and Technology, such as:

• Maria Avgerinou
• Ilias Hotzoglou
• Vasilea Stefanou
• Susan Stetson-Tiligadas
• Lara Bachmann-Tabouratzis
• Antonios Karampelas
• Luca Botturi
• Maria Solomou
• Tim Green
• Apostolos Koutropoulos

Admission Requirements

The minimum graduate admission requirements are:

1. A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with an average grade of B or better.
2. Evidence of strong motivation to work for graduate-level studies to be determined by the interview and the personal statement submitted with the application form.
3. Evidence of Proficiency in the English language.

Student Voices

Students who have completed the program share their experiences and how the Master of Arts in Learning Design and Technology has helped them achieve their career goals.

The American College of Greece (ACG) is an independent, non-profit, non-sectarian, co-educational institution founded in 1875 in Smyrna (Izmir), Asia Minor, by missionaries from Boston, Massachusetts. Following the Asia Minor Catastrophe, the college relocated to Athens in 1923 and has operated there ever since. It is the oldest and largest U.S.-accredited, comprehensive educational institution in Europe, with over 150 years of transformative education and a long-standing role in fostering intellectual and cultural ties between Greece and the United States.

ACG is chartered as a U.S. 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity by the State of Colorado, and is governed by an independent board of trustees. Its motto — Non Ministrari, Sed Ministrare ("Not to be Served, but to Serve") — reflects its foundational commitment to education in service of society.

Three divisions:

ACG operates across three distinct academic divisions, each serving a different stage of education:

• Pierce: a pre-kindergarten through secondary school offering a Gymnasium, Lyceum and an International Baccalaureate Programme, with campuses in Aghia Paraskevi and a Pierce East Campus in Spata
• Deree: the undergraduate and graduate college, with all instruction delivered entirely in English, located on the main 64-acre campus in Aghia Paraskevi.
• Alba Graduate Business School: a specialized postgraduate business school located in downtown Athens, built on ACG's long-standing legacy of academic excellence.

Accreditation

ACG was first accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) in 1981, becoming the first U.S. institution abroad to achieve this distinction. In 2023, The American University of Greece (AUG) — ACG's newly incorporated U.S. affiliate — received full institutional NECHE accreditation, which includes ACG's operations in Greece through a validating agreement. This means Deree graduates hold degrees with the same credentials as graduates of other NECHE institutions, including MIT, Harvard, Brown, Boston College and Amherst.

Deree is also validated by The Open University (UK), providing graduates with an additional internationally recognized award pathway. In 2024, AUG launched a Global Campus offering fully online degree programs rooted in ACG's academic tradition.

Campus

The main campus in Aghia Paraskevi sits on the western slopes of Mount Hymettus, about ten kilometers from central Athens, and was originally designed by the renowned Greek architect Constantine Doxiadis. Its 64 acres include smart classrooms, science and STEM laboratories, fine art studios and exhibition spaces, a Center for the Arts with multiple performance venues including the Pierce Theater, a black box theater and the Irene Bailey Theater, a library, a gym, a swimming pool, tennis courts, a soccer and track complex, a chapel, and student lounges. The campus offers panoramic views of the Athens basin.

Student life

Student life at ACG is active and diverse. Students can join academic societies, a wide range of clubs, and student organizations including the Deree Student Association, the Research Scholars Organization, and the Student Emergency Response Force. Intercollegiate and intramural sports are organized under the Deree Griffins banner. Arts programming is extensive, with music, theater, dance and visual arts performances running throughout the academic year under the Arts at Deree initiative. An International Honors Program is available for high-achieving students, including a Stanford Summer component and a dedicated merit scholarship. Service learning projects connect students to the broader Athens community.

Research and institutes

ACG's research activity spans applied academic research and public policy engagement through four dedicated centers:

• ACG Research Center (ACG-RC): supports interdisciplinary applied research, with active projects including a study on the role of the Greek-American diaspora in bilateral U.S.-Greece relations from 1974 to 2024
• Institute of Global Affairs: hosts research, public events and publications on international policy and geopolitics
• Institute of Public Health: conducts public health research and runs an annual lecture series open to the wider community
• The Demos Center: dedicated to democratic values, civic discourse and public engagement

Sustainability

Sustainability is a core institutional commitment at ACG. The college has been listed among the Princeton Review's most environmentally responsible colleges for seven consecutive years, and is one of only four European institutions to appear on the list for 2025. In 2024, ACG was recognized as a top performer in five categories of the AASHE Sustainable Campus Index — Campus Engagement, Energy, Grounds, Purchasing, and Wellbeing and Work — making it the highest-ranked STARS institution outside the United States and Canada. ACG also received the 2024 EPEAT Purchaser Award for the second consecutive year for sustainable electronics procurement, and was featured in Greece's inaugural Hellenic Impact Report for its integration of sustainability across academics, operations and partnerships. The college currently offers 149 sustainability-focused and sustainability-inclusive courses across undergraduate and graduate levels.

Student support services

• Student Academic Support Services (SASS): learning facilitation, peer tutoring and academic resources
• Career Services: career planning, internship placement, and employer connections including an annual ACG Career Days event
• Student Success Center: holistic advising and student wellbeing support
• Counseling and Health and Wellness Center: mental health services, wellness coaching and medical assistance
• Financial assistance: merit scholarships, grants, work-study, and access to U.S. Federal Loans and Veterans Aid for eligible students
• On-campus and nearby housing for undergraduate and study-abroad students

International reach

1. ACG welcomes study-abroad students from universities worldwide through semester, summer and intensive programs in Athens. Special programs include the Hellenic Studies Summer School, the Heritage Greece program, and a longstanding collaboration with Harvard University's Center for Hellenic Studies. Through its Outbound Study Abroad Programme, Deree students can study at partner institutions in cities including Stanford, New York, Boston, London, Rome, Seoul, Shanghai and Berlin. A parallel studies pathway also allows students enrolled in Greek public universities to earn a Deree degree simultaneously.