Instructional Media Design

Types of Degrees Instructional Media Design Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many instructional media design graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	6,799
Graduate Certificate	1,383
Doctor’s Degree	205

What Instructional Media Design Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, instructional media majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Instructional Media Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in instructional media should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Skills for Instructional Media Majors

A major in instructional media prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Instructional Media Majors

As you progress with your instructional media degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Can You Do With a Instructional Media Design Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with instructional media:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Audio-Visual and Multimedia Collections Specialists	8.8%	$49,600
Instructional Coordinators	10.5%	$64,450
Instructional Designers and Technologists	10.5%	$64,450

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Instructional Media Design?

Instructional Media Design runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #32 out of all the graduate majors we track. In 2021, about 6,799 graduates completed their master’s degree in this field. This major is dominated by women with about 75% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of instructional media majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	197
Black or African American	478
Hispanic or Latino	615
White	4,549
International Students	250
Other Races/Ethnicities	710

Geographic Diversity

Instructional Media appeals to people across the globe. About 3.7% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• India
• Taiwan

How Much Do Instructional Media Design Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in instructional media design made a median starting salary of $51,953 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $47,697 (25th percentile) and $58,471 (75th percentile).

Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a instructional media degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Instructional Media majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $52,270 to $67,490 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Instructional Media Design

Some degrees associated with instructional media may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for instructional media careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	4.9%
Some College Courses	4.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	28.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.5%
Master’s Degree	47.9%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	4.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.7%
Doctoral Degree	4.9%

Online Instructional Media Design Programs

In 2020-2021, 355 schools offered a instructional media program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	5	0
Bachelor’s Degree	147	82
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	268	145
Post-Master’s	40	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	38	11
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Instructional Media Design Worth It?

The median salary for a instructional media grad is $52,270 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 31% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $247,400 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Instructional Media Design

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to instructional media.

Major	Number of Grads
Educational Administration	45,458
Teacher Education Grade Specific	34,451
Special Education	25,158
General Education	21,189
Teacher Education Subject Specific	20,616
Curriculum & Instruction	19,784
Student Counseling	13,840
Teaching English or French	4,743
Other Education	2,513
Multilingual Education	1,672
Educational Assessment	1,215
Education Philosophy	421
International Education	257
Teaching Assistants	20

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Antanana under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.