Program Overview

The graduate certificate in Online Teaching and Learning (OTL) will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to be an effective online instructor. This certificate is a great opportunity for people who are already teaching online or who hope to do so in the future, whether at the K-12, higher education, or corporate level. The certificate curriculum provides preparation in all areas of online instruction, including pedagogical frameworks and models for synchronous and asynchronous online learning, classroom management, instructional strategies, learning analytics, and assessment approaches.

Admission Requirements

Any individual who has an undergraduate degree and is eligible to enroll as a non-degree seeking student, or who qualifies for graduate admission to the university, is eligible to apply for admission to the Online Instructional Development certificate program. 

In order to be eligible for admission to a graduate certificate program, an applicant must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution, or a comparable degree from an international institution with a minimum of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) grade point average (GPA) in all coursework attempted while registered as an upper-division undergraduate student. Students currently enrolled in a graduate degree program must have a 3.0 GPA in their graduate coursework. 

Students are not enrolled in a certificate program by virtue of being enrolled in related courses. Students must apply to and be admitted to the certificate program in order to be considered enrolled.

If you are already an FSU student, skip to Step 2. 

Step 1: Apply for admission to the University (select one)  

Step 2: Complete Admissions Form  

Admission to College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences (CEHHS) graduate certificate programs requires submission of the Certificate Admissions Form to the appropriate department Certificate Program Coordinator (Dr. Kerry Burner) and to the CEHHS Office of Academic Services and Intern Support prior to the completion of two courses in the certificate program. 

Course/Degree Requirements

To plan your certificate Program of Study, please use these planning materials: Planning Document, Scheduled Course Offerings. Reach out to the Certificate Advisor, Dr. Kerry Burner, with questions. 

The certificate in Online Teaching and Learning requires 15 graduate credit hours.

The following are required courses (total = 6 hrs):

  • EME 5456 Online Pedagogy and Course Design (3 hrs)
  • EME 5250 Open Learning (3 hrs)

You will also complete three of the following courses as electives (total = 9 hrs of electives):

  • EDP 5216 Theories of Learning & Cognition (3 hrs)
  • EME 5457 Introduction to Distance Learning (3 hrs)
  • EME 5603 Introduction to Systematic Instructional Design (3 hrs)
  • EME 6356 Learning & Web Analytics (3 hrs)
  • EME 6403 Design of Online Collaborative Learning (3 hrs)
  • EME 6414 Web 2.0-based Learning & Performance (3 hrs)
  • EME 5078 Design of Online & Digital Adaptive Learning (3 hrs)
  • EME 6415 Courseware Development (3 hrs)

Upon completion of the Certificate, should you wish to pursue the MS in ISLT, up to 12 hours of this certificate are eligible to be transferred

For currently enrolled MS students, the courses for one certificate may be applied toward the M.S. degree and one certificate. If you wish to get the M.S. and two certificates, two additional electives will be required.

For certificates completed Fall 2024 and after, a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 ("B") or better with no grade below a "C-" across all graduate courses applied toward the certificate must be achieved. All certificate program coursework must be completed within 7 years of first enrolling in the certificate program. Graduate coursework completed as a non-degree seeking student, with an earned grade of B- or lower, is not eligible for approval as transfer credit into a graduate degree program by University policy. After all certificate coursework is completed, but no later than 2 weeks after grades post, a Certificate Completion Form must be filled out and submitted to the department Certificate Program Coordinator (Dr. Kerry Burner). Approved completion forms will be forwarded for processing and be posting to your official transcript.

Tuition & Aid

Information about tuition and fees can be found here. Please note that you may incur costs associated with the purchase of books/materials for courses.

Contact(s)