User Experience Design

Entry requirements

The typical offer for this course is a 2:2 or above honours degree or equivalent in art and design, computer science, or humanities. Other relevant undergraduate degrees include graphic design, communication design, interactive media, information technology, psychology, and ethnography

Possible weakness in the undergraduate degree may be compensated with relevant work experience. Other evidence that you are motivated and able to study at this level, demonstrated through qualifications and portfolios of work, will be considered.

Exceptionally, applicants may have no first degree but more than five years working in information technology, the creative industries or humanities. In these circumstances, an online portfolio/PDF of design and digital work (and a description of your design process) should be included as a link in your personal statement.

Experience in digital media, user interface development and user interaction design is particularly valuable. Experience in an application domain (health care, business information, retail) is also relevant.

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

Embrace the career opportunities emerging from the trend towards 'online everything, anytime, anywhere, anyhow' with the User Experience Design MSc from Kingston University. This course was developed in consultation with our industry panel, which includes Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, DreamWorks and Samsung Design Europe.

You will graduate with an online professional presence and a portfolio that displays your skills.

Our User Experience Design MSc course will prepare you for a career as a usability engineer, user researcher, user experience designer or general "UX-er".

To support delivery of this course, we created Digital Media Kingston. This collaboration between the School of Computing and Information Systems and the School of Design provides the multidisciplinary perspective needed to accommodate students with backgrounds in art and design, computer science and the humanities.

This course includes the following features, intended to maintain academic standards and ease the transition from university study to commercial practice:

• project-based teaching and learning
• talks on principles and methods, and guided practical workshops support the development of UX practice
• in-class presentations and workshops, and discussions encouraging collaboration
• coursework topics tailored to development of your portfolio and destination
• balanced consideration of research, design, prototyping and evaluation in the context of project management
• a broad coverage of UX issues that covers mobile, desktop and other devices (Internet of Things)
• user performance and experiential criteria (from utility and efficiency to engagement, persuasion and brand perception)
• key topics of user journeys, design thinking, usability testing
• possibility of dovetailing study and work via externally hosted projects, placements and start-ups