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Studies & Degrees in Curriculum Development

Curriculum development is the part of education studies that deals with what is taught and how it is organised: setting learning goals, selecting and ordering content, choosing teaching methods and materials, and deciding how learning is assessed. Spanish education law gives a compact definition of the object of study: the curriculum is the set of objectives, competences, contents, teaching methods and assessment criteria of each stage of education. People who study the subject learn to design a course or a whole programme of study, put it into practice with teachers and evaluate whether it works.

Typical courses are learning theory, curriculum theory, curriculum design, implementation and evaluation, assessment, educational research methods and educational technology. The Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG), for example, structures its Posgrado en Currículo in two cycles: cognition and learning, curriculum theory, curriculum design and research in education, followed by curriculum development and implementation, a seminar on educational trends, curriculum evaluation and a portfolio.

Qualifications and levels

Curriculum development is rarely a first degree. Most students are teachers or trainers with a bachelor's degree who specialise at postgraduate level.

  • Master's degrees. In the United States the usual name is "Curriculum and Instruction". Tennessee Tech University offers Master of Arts (M.A.) and Specialist in Education (Ed.S.) degrees with a concentration in Curriculum, online or hybrid, and states that no entrance exams (MAT or GRE) are required for them. Its online M.A. in Learning Design and Technology prepares professionals to design curriculum and content in education, government and private companies.
  • Specialist and postgraduate diplomas. The Ed.S. is a US qualification between the master's degree and the doctorate. In Guatemala, the UVG Posgrado en Currículo is taught 100% online in Spanish, lasts one year and asks for a licenciatura, preferably in education or technology.
  • Doctorates. University departments of curriculum and instruction also train researchers. The Department of Curriculum and Instruction of the University of Minnesota, for instance, offers master's degrees and doctorates such as the PhD in education, culture and teaching.
  • Within teacher education. Bachelor's degrees in education include curriculum courses, and many schools offer short courses on course design for teachers and corporate trainers.

Credit systems differ: US programmes count credit hours, European ones ECTS credits. Ask each school how long its programme takes part-time, since most students keep working.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 19 active schools for curriculum development. Ten are in the United States and two in the United Kingdom; Finland, Denmark, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, China, Guatemala and Argentina have one each. The list includes Tennessee Tech University, the University of Minnesota, West Virginia University, Hofstra University, LIU Post and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in the United States, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Sunderland in the United Kingdom, Aarhus University in Denmark, Novia University of Applied Sciences in Finland, Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria and Midlands State University in Zimbabwe.

Most of these programmes are taught in English; UVG in Guatemala and Fundación CIEP in Argentina teach in Spanish. A curriculum is always tied to a national framework. In Spain, for example, the law leaves it to the education authorities to establish the curriculum of each stage of education. A programme therefore prepares mainly for the school system in which it is taught, although design and evaluation methods transfer well. Online and hybrid formats are common, which makes study from another country possible.

Careers

The typical job is curriculum specialist or instructional coordinator. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), instructional coordinators oversee school curriculums and teaching standards, develop instructional material, implement it and assess its effectiveness. They also plan and run teacher training and review textbooks and other educational materials. Other graduates work as academic coordinators in schools, in education ministries and examination bodies, for educational publishers and e-learning companies, or as training designers in companies; UVG addresses its programme to teachers, coordinators, academic directors and professionals who run training programmes in organisations.

These are not entry-level posts. The BLS states that instructional coordinators typically need a master's degree and related work experience, such as teaching or school administration, and that those in public schools may need a teaching or education administrator licence. It counts 248,700 jobs in the United States in 2025 and projects growth of 2 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 23,100 openings a year. These figures apply to the United States only.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be a teacher to study curriculum development?

Most programmes are aimed at teachers and other education professionals, and the jobs usually require classroom or school administration experience. Some programmes, such as the one at UVG, are also open to people who run training in organisations.

What is the difference between curriculum development and instructional design?

Curriculum development looks at a whole programme of study: its goals, content, sequence and assessment. Instructional design focuses on building individual courses and learning materials, often with technology. Many degrees combine both.

Can I study curriculum development online?

Yes. Tennessee Tech offers its Curriculum concentration online or hybrid, and the UVG programme is 100% online.

What level of degree do employers ask for?

In the United States, instructional coordinators typically need a master's degree plus work experience, according to the BLS. Requirements elsewhere depend on the school system.