College of Education offering staff, faculty first-of-its-kind discount on new online graduate programs 

To make continuing education more attainable, Purdue University’s College of Education is offering full-time Purdue West Lafayette (PWL) faculty and staff a 30 percent discount on four of their online learning design and technology programs. 

Discounted are the Graduate Certificate in Technology Integration for Learning, the Graduate Certificate in Workplace Learning, the Graduate Certificate in Instructional Design and the Master of Science in Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Learning Design and Technology (MSEd in LDT). 

“The discounted staff rate is just part of an effort to make these online programs more affordable to the PWL employee population as well as a response to interest we have received from members of this group,” said Lora Wilson, senior program manager at Purdue’s College of Education.

For years, the department explored ways to provide programming in a format that was both flexible and affordable in response to feedback from faculty, staff and students, Wilson said. Offering these programs online and at a discounted rate met both of those concerns. 

The certificates can provide the foundation to get started in the field or advance to the online Master of Science in Education in Learning Design and Technology degree where certificate credits may be applied. 

“We’ve really been fighting for this,” said Jennifer Richardson, the 150th Anniversary Professor in Purdue’s College of Education and a professor of learning design and technology in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.   

“Many individuals in our community work in the education field, a profession known for its meaningful impact even though compensation can vary. So, we want to reach out to these audiences that are on campus specifically and say, “Hey, we’ve got these great opportunities. Come join us.” 

The discounted programs are designed to strengthen the tech skills and knowledge base of educators and trainers across all sectors of Purdue West Lafayette and Purdue University in Indianapolis. Each program combines the latest research-based learning methods with innovative technology to equip learners with the skills they need to design, implement and evaluate training programs.  

“This is an excellent opportunity for Purdue employees to get a discount on an online degree and certificate,” said Christopher Beck, senior managing director for education, science and liberal arts online and professional education at Purdue University. 

In addition to exploring the latest educational technology, this program also teaches learners how to create effective evaluations, compose learning materials and design e-learning modules using a variety of processes — all in real-world environments. 

“There are courses about learning theories. Some are about developing multimedia, some of them are about systematic design for various training scenarios,” Richardson said. “We offer a wide range of opportunities.” 

She envisions these programs serving as a lightning rod for professionals experiencing burnout or looking for their next career move.  

“We want to help make their careers more exciting, maybe shift their careers a little bit,” Richardson said. “Sometimes people change careers entirely. We have a number of people coming from K-12 who are burnt out and want a new challenge — just like we have a number of people who come from corporate training that are burnt out and want to try their hand at curriculum development.” 

Richardson said she hopes the discount will raise awareness of the department’s offerings and the possibilities in the professional educator/trainer field.   

“There’s a number of avenues somebody can take with any of these programs,” Richardson said. “We’ve got people who want to be curriculum developers for a software company, people who want to develop software, and people who want to be trainers for large groups. We have pilots, engineers, corporate trainers, military trainers, healthcare workers, instructional technologists, college instructors and graduate TAs, e-learning developers and so on.” 

“The College of Ed is always going to be relevant because we want to provide a good learning experience that enables you to then provide a good learning experience for others. We adapt to external education demands, whether it be the design and development of VR/AR learning or the role of AI.  While our teacher education program is widely recognized for its excellence, I wish people understood that we’re more than just that. There’s a lot of great programs in the College of Ed that people should take a second look at.” 

The full-time learning design and technology faculty at Purdue West Lafayette are internationally recognized leaders for their contributions to instructional design and learning technology research. They publish in top journals, present at global conferences, and shape the field through innovation and scholarship. 

In 2026, the College of Education’s portfolio of online master’s degree programs was ranked No. 13 nationally by the U.S. News & World Report, No. 9 for Instructional Media Design (Learning Design & Technology), No. 10 for Curriculum and Instruction, and No. 16 for Educational Administration (Educational Leadership & Policy Studies). 

If you’re interested in learning more about these programs, go to the program webpages for more information and the opportunity to connect with an enrollment counselor.

To have the employee discount applied, email LDTonline@purdue.edu after applying but no later than one week before the semester begins.