15 Best Instructional Design Courses on edX
We compared 15 Instructional Design courses currently listed on edX, priced from $49.99 to $267.30. 6 come from a named university or institution, including University of Cape Town, Stanford University and Project University. They are ordered by our CourseAsk score, which is built from how thoroughly each course describes what it teaches, whether it comes from a named institution, and how it compares on price — not from star ratings, which our course data does not include.
- Courses compared
- 15
- Price range
- $49.99 – $267.30
- Providers
- edX
- Last updated
- 18 Sep 2026
How these 15 courses were chosen
Every course below is a real, currently listed course from edX, matched to "instructional design" by our catalog and ordered by our CourseAsk score. Courses whose own title names the topic rank above those only tagged with it.
The grade on each entry scores how much the provider publishes about the course before you pay — the length and detail of the description, whether it lists learning outcomes and objectives — and whether a named university or institution stands behind it. A is fully documented and institution-backed; E is little more than a title and a price. Courses with almost nothing published are left ungraded rather than marked down, because an unknown course and a poor one are not the same thing.
There are no star ratings on this page — the course feeds we license do not include them, and we would rather leave a column out than fill it with a number we cannot stand behind. What we do have is price: these range from $49.99 to $267.30, as listed by the provider when we last updated the page.
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1
AI-Powered Instructional Design with Copilot
Offered by Microsoft
This course equips educators and instructional designers with the skills to leverage Generative AI. Learn to use Microsoft Copilot to streamline your workflow, design engaging learning experiences, and ethically integrat...
$55.00listed price -
2
Instructional Design
Offered by University of Cape Town
Gain up-to-date skills to build effective training programs as an instructional designer.
Price on site -
3
Developing Instructionally-Embedded Performance Assessments for the NGSS Classroom
Offered by Stanford University
This course from the Stanford NGSS Assessment Project is designed to guide participants step-by-step in using SNAP's tools for developing 3-dimensional performance assessments. Participants will learn SNAP's procedures f...
Price on site -
4
Neuroeducation - Challenges For Learning: Early Childhood And Elementary Education
Offered by Project University
Understanding how the brain learns is essential for making teaching more efficient and engaging. This course was developed for educators in early childhood, elementary, and middle school education who wish to deepen thei...
$49.99listed price -
5
Introduction to Transferable Skills
Offered by The University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Introduction to Transferable Skills course is for faculty and other postsecondary instructors who want to improve how their students are learning four “21st century skills”, communication, teamwork, critical thinking...
$125.00listed price -
6
Design, Build, & Implement
Offered by The University of Wisconsin-Madison
Take everything you have learned about online education, online learning ojectives, activities and assessments, and content and knowledge to start designing and building your online course in a learning management system...
$125.00listed price -
7
Master of Science in Education
Offered by Pepperdine University
The Master of Science in Education focuses on developing advanced knowledge and skills in educational practices and theory. While the specifics of the curriculum aren't provided, students can expect to explore areas such...
Price on site -
8
Doctorate of Education
Offered by University of Dayton
The Doctorate of Education program on edX is designed for professionals aiming to take leadership roles in the field of education. It focuses on developing advanced skills in educational theory, research methodologies, a...
Price on site -
9
Teaching Critical Thinking & Self-Regulated Learning Skills
Offered by The University of Wisconsin-Madison
Engage and improve your teaching in both critical thinking skills and self-regulated learning skills as cultural scripts. This course is part 3 of a 3-course program.
$125.00listed price -
10
Interdisciplinary Teaching with Museum Objects
Offered by The Smithsonian Institution
Educators from four Smithsonian museums will explore connections among their collections and model teaching strategies that participants can implement with their students, whether online or in the classroom.
$69.00listed price -
11
Modelli di insegnamento nella ricerca educativa
Offered by Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
La pedagogia è una disciplina affascinante che riflette sull'educazione e sull'insegnamento. In questo corso si ripercorrono i modelli di formazione tradizionali e attuali, ed il concetto di educabilità.
$55.00listed price -
12
Designing, Building, & Running an edX Course
Offered by edX
The course walks through the practical steps of creating an online class on the edX platform, from outlining learning objectives to publishing the final module. It covers how to structure content, choose appropriate medi...
$267.30listed price -
13
Designing a Course With edX
Offered by edX
Designing a Course with edX is the first in a three-part series guiding educators through designing, building, and running courses on edX. Designing a Course with edX covers design principles, course accessibility, audie...
$99.00listed price -
14
Digital Learning Design
Offered by ZHAW
Create compelling digital learning experiences using cognitive science, structured design models, and the adaptive design tool myScripting
$139.00listed price -
15
Using Student Work To Strengthen Performance Assessments for NGSS: Course 3
Offered by Stanford University
This course is designed to support teams of educators in piloting an assessment and using patterns in the student work to guide revisions and improvements to the assessment for the Next Generation Science Standards.
Price on site
Best Instructional Design Courses on edX compared
Prices shown are the provider's listed price when we last updated this page. Confirm on their site before enrolling.
What the prices here tell you
The 10 priced courses on this page run from $49.99 to $267.30, with the middle of the range around $125.00 — a spread of $217.31. That is a wide gap for one subject. A higher price on this page usually reflects who is behind the course rather than how much material it contains, so it is worth opening two or three at different price points and comparing their syllabus before deciding.
Who is behind these courses
These courses come from edX. Everything on this page is sold on the one platform, so the buying experience is the same whichever you pick. 6 of these are produced by a named university or institution, including University of Cape Town, Stanford University and Project University — which usually means a fixed syllabus and a recognised certificate, rather than an individual instructor’s own course.
Before you enrol
Open the provider’s own page and check three things this comparison cannot tell you: when the course was last updated, what the syllabus actually covers in its later sections, and what recent learners say. Prices shown here are the provider’s listed price when we last rebuilt this page on 18 September 2026 — they change often, and a promotion can move them substantially. We earn a commission if you enrol through our links, which costs you nothing and never affects the order courses appear in.