Last time I wrote about choosing the right graduate program for me, which turned out to be the Master’s in Instructional Design and Technology from California State University, Fullerton. It turned out that the application process was not too daunting!
For starters, there were no tests to take – no GRE – nothing! There was a minimum undergraduate GPA and bit of other work to do, but it was all laid out in a straightforward manner on the CSUF MSIDT website (http://ed.fullerton.edu/msidt/), including the dates that should not be missed.
Before I going over the application process, I should mention one thing. Only 25 or 30 new students are accepted to the program each year, so do your best on everything that is submitted and double or triple check everything before you send it in.
Here is about how it went for me, and most everything was done online:
1. After reviewing everything on the CSU website, I signed up for CSU Mentor (https://secure.csumentor.edu) which is where everything gets started. The online application is also submitted through this website.
2. The application was due at the end of March for my program. There was not much difficulty with this until I got to the part where they requested academic references from my college professors. It had been 25 years since I was in college, and I could not even remember any of my instructors’ names, and I am sure they did not remember me. So, I left this blank and figured that the university would understand – I guess that approach worked. I also skipped the part with the statement of purpose essay, as the MSIDT department requested that it be sent directly to them.
2. The MSIDT department requested a 3-page essay that was due on April 20. It was to include why I was a good candidate, my experience, technological skills, and access to technology, as well as my future goals. For my experience I went back and figured out how many courses I had written and it added up to almost 50 instructor-led and online learning courses. They also asked how I planned to fit the coursework into my life, as there is a big commitment of time (at least 20 hours per week).
3. The department also requested a resume, which was not a problem. You should ALWAYS keep your resume updated, as my friend John S. always says. This was also due on April 20.
4. Around this time I arranged for my college transcripts to be sent from UCI to CSUF. It took awhile to find my old student ID number, but it turned out that I did not need it anyway.
5. Not long after this there was a phone interview with a member of the CSUF MSIDT faculty. It was really nice to speak with somebody in person, and I think I got as much out of our conversation as they did. If you do not have an idea of what your final project is going to be, you should have at least a few ideas before you start your interview, as the subject might come up.
In late June I received an e-mail from the university informing me that I had been accepted into Cohort 13, and would be able to start my studies in Fall of 2014. I was very relieved as I had not applied to any other schools, and if things had not worked out I would have waited another year to try again as I truly feel this is the best program for me and my future career goals.
As I said before – be sure to check out the CSUF MSIDT website if you are thinking of applying. The dates and procedures could change from what I just described and you do not want to miss anything.
Next time, we get to go to Boot-up Camp – one of the only two days where the MSIDT students actually have to come to the campus.
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