• UNM 2012-2013 Catalog
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Graduate Programs

Student Information Contact
Loretta Brown, Hokona Hall, Room 378, (505) 277-4131, e-mail loribrwn@unm.edu.

Application Deadlines

NOTE: Application packets must be submitted to the Graduate Admissions Department one month prior to these dates, if the applicant is a new student to the University of New Mexico Graduate School.

NOTE: Doctoral admissions are made for fall semester only.

Degrees and Certificates Offered

M.A. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology
Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology
Certificate: Education Specialist, Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology

Admission

To enter the degree programs at the Masters or Doctoral level, the student must complete appropriate application materials and proceed through the admission process. Application packets and program information are available from the program office. For specific details and guidelines, contact the Program Coordinator or the Administrative Assistant. All graduate candidates are required to work under the supervision of an assigned advisor and to develop and follow a planned program of studies composed of courses selected with the approval of the faculty advisor and/or Program of Studies Committee. Courses taken without prior approval may not be accepted toward the completion of the degree.

NOTE: Several courses listed below are in the process of being reviewed and revised. Consult the program for current course titles, numbers and descriptions.

Doctoral Degree

Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology

The Ph.D. is a research degree. It is designed to develop the candidate’s competencies to design, conduct and report original theoretical and applied research in learning and human performance technologies. A comprehensive content foundation in theory and research is strengthened through the requirement of an interdisciplinary support area. The Program of Studies and the dissertation reflect an emphasis on theoretical concepts, inquiry skills and original research.

Requirements:

An OLIT Ph.D. candidate must complete an approved program of studies, exclusive of the dissertation, of no less than 78 graduate semester credit hours. All candidates shall complete the required core courses (18 credit hours), concentration courses (15 credit hours), interdisciplinary supporting area courses (30 credit hours) and research courses (15 credit hours).

Candidates for the Ph.D. shall be required to demonstrate inquiry skills appropriate to conducting scholarly research. The identification and certification of the inquiry skills shall be completed by the Committee on Studies prior to the candidate’s starting work on a dissertation.

The dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy must demonstrate an ability to do independent research and competence in scholarly exposition. It should present original investigation at an advanced level, of a significant problem and should provide the basis for a publishable contribution to the research literature of the major field.

The Ph.D. degree in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology includes a minimum 78 course work hours plus 18 dissertation hours.

Doctoral Core (18 hours)

Prerequisites: OLIT 501, OLIT 561 and EDPY 500 or equivalent courses. Prerequisites are not applied to the 78 course work hours required.

Doctoral Concentration (15 hours)

These hours are chosen from the OLIT 500 and 600 level courses. The courses selected will be chosen in concert with the student’s advisor and will reflect the student’s particular programmatic interest. For example, if students were particularly interested in the use of multimedia and distance learning technologies, they would choose a set of courses that would help them develop these areas of expertise. Likewise, if students were interested in training and organization development knowledge and skills, they would choose courses that would develop these areas of expertise.

Students must seek advisor approval if they want to take any of these 15 credits outside of OLIT.

Research Requirement (15 hours)

For a Qualitative Dissertation, take one additional qualitative course (e.g., LEAD/LLSS 605).

For a Quantitative Dissertation, take one additional quantitative course (e.g., EDPY 604 or 606).

Interdisciplinary Supporting Area (30 hours)

Courses should be selected in consultation with the student’s Program of Studies Chairperson to support an interdisciplinary course of study. Courses may include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

• Educational Psychology
• Educational Leadership
• Communication
• Public Administration
• Organization and Management
• Foreign Languages
• Computer Science
• Sociology
• Anthropology
• Cross-Cultural Studies
• Psychology
• Health Education

At least 24 credit hours of the interdisciplinary supporting area must be outside of OLIT. (For students who obtained a Master’s degree in OLIT, only 6 OLIT credits may be used for the supporting area.)

Transfer Credits

A maximum of 18 credit hours may be transferred into the Ph.D. program from a student’s Master’s program. The final decision of which courses are accepted is made by the student’s Program of Studies Committee. For more information on the transfer of courses, see Transfer Credit in The Graduate Program section of this catalog.

Master’s Degree

Thirty-six credits for Plan I Professional Portfolio Option
Thirty-nine credits for Plan II Thesis Option

The OLIT Program offers a Master’s Degree that gives students an opportunity to combine aspects of adult learning, organizational learning and development, instructional technology including multimedia design and distance learning, principles of knowledge management, and the design, development, and evaluation of training, OLIT students can expect to develop a diverse skill set that will help them hit the ground running when they enter the workforce. They will be able to design, teach, support, evaluate, lead, and manage programs for diverse audiences. Coursework includes areas such as foundations of organizational learning, the adult learner, instructional design, principles of knowledge management, cross-cultural issues in learning, instructional technology, e-learning, and program evaluation. OLIT courses require students to apply their learning in real world contexts. Not only do OLIT graduates have the flexibility to choose where they work, they also enjoy diverse and rewarding employment options which include Instructional Design, Organizational Development, Training and Development, Distance Education, Project Management, and much more.

A 3 credit graduate course in a related field may be selected with the permission of the student’s advisor. Such a course might be from a another department in the College of Education or in business, public administration, communications, sociology, or psychology.

Professional Portfolio or Thesis Options:

Professional Portfolio Option: Students must register for OLIT 596 (3 credits). Under the professional portfolio option students complete the internship and prepare a dossier showing work products which demonstrate their capabilities in OLIT fields of study.

Thesis Option: Students must register for OLIT 599 Masters Thesis for two semesters (6 credits). Under the thesis option students plan, conduct, and report on original research conducted to address a research problem in an area related to their study in the OLIT program. OLIT students selecting the thesis option are encouraged to take EDPY 500 Survey of Research Methods in Education, EDPY 511 Introductory Educational Statistics, and/or LLSS 502 Naturalistic Inquiry under their electives for the OLIT master’s degree program.