The MSc User Experience Design course will provide you with in-depth theoretical knowledge and hands-on practical experience in designing, developing, and evaluating digital products across a range of platforms and state-of-the-art technologies. The course places a strong emphasis on the development of professional technical skills that are in high industry demand and will position you well for careers around the field of user experience (UX).

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS COURSE?

The course has been designed to support graduates from a wide range of disciplines (including those with technical and non-technical backgrounds) who wish to specialise in the area of user experience (UX) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). The key topics taught on the course include interaction design (techniques for user-centred design), front-end development (using industry standard development environments), visual design (creating interfaces with strong aesthetics), accessibility (methods for supporting inclusive design), and usability testing (collecting and analysing data via user evaluations). You will also have the opportunity to consider and create user experiences for technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, eye gaze tracking, speech interfaces, mid-air gesturing, haptic systems, and brain-computer interfaces.

The course philosophy is focused around industry and research-led activities, supported with assignments that are closely aligned to the development of essential knowledge and technical skills used in practice. You will therefore have the opportunity to work closely with academics, researchers, and industry partners on real-world project briefs thus supporting you in developing a strong portfolio of work (which is essential for gaining employment in this field). The course will also provide opportunities to collaborate with academics based in the School of Computing and Digital Technology’s Mixed Reality and Human-Computer Interaction research group to work on cutting-edge research projects. 

Graduates from the User Experience Design course will be well placed for industry roles that are in high demand including front-end developers, user experience designers/developers, information architects, usability consultants and UX researchers, web designers/developers, and interaction designers. The course will also position you well for undertaking further academic study and research through pursuing a PhD degree. 

The primary aim of the MSc User Experience Design course is to provide you with the skills and experience required to work professionally in the User Experience (UX) sector. This field has grown substantially over the past decade as organisations have increasingly recognised the necessity and importance of optimising digital user experiences to meet their target audiences’ key requirements.

This, in turn, has led to increasing demand for practitioners who are skilled in working collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams to design, develop, and evaluate digital products and services (across a range of platforms and technologies). This demand for UX expertise is also strong within major global sectors and markets (media, finance, education, health, etc.), as well as across larger established organisations, start-ups, SMEs, and the third sector.

The MSc User Experience Design course has therefore been designed and tailored to support you in developing key skills that are highly-sought after in industry, thus enabling you to be competitive in the growing UX jobs market. In particular, through the course you will study modules (informed by industry experts) that will enable you to develop highly sought-after skills using industry standard platforms and technologies.

Moreover, we will support you throughout the course in developing a specialised and professional online portfolio of work which is essential for gaining employment within this sector. We will also prepare you for a career by equipping you with a range of transferable skills, such as complex problem-solving expertise, the ability to analyse in a careful and considered manner, and working as a team member.

Our excellent partnerships and working relationships with leading international organisations (e.g. BBC, Jaguar Land Rover, GlaxoSmithKline, Imagination, Konica Minolta, IBM, Microsoft, Native Instruments, etc.) will also present opportunities for working on industry defined and mentored projects. These opportunities will further help you in building an outstanding portfolio of work and to mark yourself out as a highly employable graduate.