User Experience Design (Taught)

This MSc in User Experience Design is designed for graduates from any undergraduate background who want to develop the skills to design innovative, inclusive, and future-focused user experiences across multiple channels and platforms. You will be encouraged to think critically, collaborate inclusively, and push the boundaries of what design can achieve.

Through modules in user centred and visual design, front end development, accessibility, research and usability testing, and immersive technologies design, you’ll gain a blend of creative, technical, and research-based skills. You will also benefit from the expertise of academics, researchers, and industry professionals who bring real-world insights directly into the classroom.

What's covered in this course?
The course welcomes graduates from both technical and non-technical disciplines who are keen to specialise in User Experience (UX) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Core topics include:

• Interaction Design – methods and techniques for human-centred design

• Front-End Development – using industry-standard environments and frameworks

• Visual Design – creating clear, aesthetic, and functional interfaces

• Accessibility – applying inclusive design principles across contexts

• Research and User Testing – planning, running, and analysing user evaluations

• Advanced and Immersive Technologies – exploring UX design for virtual and augmented reality, haptic systems, eye-tracking, and AI-enhanced interaction

Increasingly, the course also examines the use and application of AI and how is reshaping design practice. You will encourage to explore how generative AI can support rapid ideation, prototyping, and content creation, while also considering its limits and ethical implications. You will investigate the challenges of AI in UX, including issues of trust, explainability, data privacy, and bias, and learn strategies for building systems that empower rather than exploit users.

Our teaching philosophy is rooted in industry and research-led activities, with assignments reflecting real-world challenges and skillsets. You’ll collaborate with academics, researchers, and industry partners on live briefs, developing a strong portfolio that demonstrates your ability to design for today’s needs and tomorrow’s possibilities. Opportunities are also available to engage with our Human Computer Interaction Research centre giving you hands-on experience with cutting-edge research.

Professional Placement option
This course offers an optional professional placement. This allows you to spend 20 weeks with an employer, following completion of your taught modules, and is a great way to enhance your employability.

The experience you gain through your placement will allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market.

If you choose the placement option, you will be responsible for finding and securing a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will be able to draw on the University’s extensive network of local, regional and national employers, and the support of our Careers teams. If you do not secure a suitable placement, you will automatically be transferred back to the standard, non-placement version of the course.

Please note: Placements will only be confirmed following a competitive, employer-led selection process. As such, the University will not be able to guarantee placements for students who have registered for the professional placement option.