User Experience Design - MSc

Human-Centred Design is about creating products and services that put people first. This module introduces you to the principles of user experience design, blending theoretical concepts with practical, hands-on approaches used widely across industry and academia to deliver meaningful interactive experiences.

You’ll explore the full user-centred design process, including design thinking strategies that prioritise the needs of real people. Key skills include identifying and understanding target audiences, gathering user requirements, and applying rapid low-fidelity prototyping methods to test and refine ideas quickly.

You will learn how to design, conduct, and analyse usability studies using a range of evaluation techniques, and how to feed insights directly back into the design process. Working as a team, you will apply this knowledge to create and evaluate a digital prototype using industry-standard tools.

This module directly supports and connects with Visual Interface Design and UX Development. The low-fidelity prototypes you create here will form the foundation to implement those decisions through the visual interface design process.

At the end of this module, you will have a ready-made portfolio item, a designed interactive prototype, supported by user research, personas, scenarios, low- and high-fidelity designs, and usability testing results. This work will demonstrate your ability to apply human-centred design methods, justify design decisions with evidence, and deliver an interactive experience shaped by real user needs.

This module introduces you to industry-leading frameworks, libraries, and platforms that are widely used to build front-end user experiences. You will gain knowledge of web development methodologies adopted across both industry and academia, exploring theories alongside practical applications to evaluate their suitability for deployment.

Drawing on the skills and concepts developed in Human-Centred Design and Visual Interface Design, you will individually create the front-end of an interactive application using a library or framework introduced in earlier sessions. You will also gain experience with system unit testing approaches to ensure your work is reliable, scalable, and free from critical errors.

At the end of this module, you will have a portfolio item that demonstrates your ability to translate design concepts into robust, user-focused web experiences—showcasing both your technical and creative capabilities.

This module explores the principles and practices of designing effective, engaging, and accessible user interfaces. You’ll learn how visual design choices—such as layout, typography, colour, and interaction patterns—shape the overall user experience.

Building on the foundations of Human-Centred Design, you will apply design thinking and user research insights to create high-fidelity prototypes using industry-standard tools. You’ll also evaluate your designs through user testing and critical feedback, refining them into polished, professional interfaces.

Practical workshops will give you hands-on experience with design systems, interaction design principles, and accessibility standards, ensuring your work aligns with both industry practice and user needs.

At the end of this module, you will have a portfolio item that showcases your ability to design, prototype, and evaluate a high-fidelity user interface—demonstrating the creative and technical skills required of a professional UX designer.

This module explores the critical role of inclusive design, accessibility, and assistive technology in shaping meaningful user experiences. You’ll examine how different types of impairments—physical, visual, cognitive, and auditory—affect the way people engage with digital technologies.

You will gain hands-on insight into the wide range of assistive tools used by people with disabilities, including eye-gaze tracking, switches, head tracking, and speech recognition. Understanding how these technologies influence interaction will help you design interfaces that are both accessible and empowering.

The module also tackles the challenges of universal design, where systems must work for everyone, regardless of ability. Through practical project work, you will design, develop, and evaluate accessible digital solutions that respond to specific accessibility needs.

At the end of this module, you will have a portfolio item that demonstrates your ability to integrate accessibility principles into UX practice, showcasing your skills in designing inclusive solutions that expand access to digital experiences.

This module develops the advanced research skills essential for postgraduate study and professional practice. You’ll learn how to design and implement rigorous research methodologies, translate technical theory into effective test strategies, and critically interpret results to draw meaningful, evidence-based conclusions.

The teaching is practice-led drawing on industry standards and the module team’s active engagement with applied research communities worldwide. You’ll explore both qualitative and quantitative approaches, gaining the ability to evaluate, compare, and select methods that best suit specific research questions in user experience and interactive systems.

By the end of the module, you will have a written report portfolio item that demonstrates your ability to design, conduct, and present a robust research study preparing you for the expertise required for a research career or advanced professional role in UX.

Immersive and advanced interface systems such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), eye tracking, and haptic sensors are transforming human-computer interaction. These technologies offer exciting new opportunities for user experience design, but also introduce complex challenges that demand specialist expertise.

In this module, you’ll learn to approach immersive and advanced interactive systems from a user-centred perspective. You’ll gain the practical skills needed to design, develop, and evaluate experiences using cutting-edge platforms, preparing you for careers in the rapidly growing immersive technologies sector.

You will develop a core understanding of how to design for novel interfaces, sensors, and display systems. This includes exploring advanced interaction methods, analysing system specifications, and evaluating design considerations such as interface constraints, interaction paradigms, and tolerances.

By the end of the module, you will have a portfolio item that demonstrates your ability to design and evaluate an immersive or advanced technology experience showcasing skills that are highly valued in both research and industry.

This 60 credit dissertation module gives you the opportunity to undertake a sustained, research-informed project in an area of your choice, aligned with your programme and future ambitions. With guidance from your supervisor, you’ll plan and deliver a significant practical outcome (such as an artefact, system, or application) supported by critical and reflective material.

You’ll work independently, supported by one-to-one supervision, seminars, and workshops covering project planning, research methods, ethics, and academic writing. As the final, integrating module, it allows you to bring together knowledge and skills gained across the course—from Human-Centred Design and UX Development to Visual Interface Design, Accessibility and Assistive Technology, Advanced and Immersive Technologies, and Research Methods and Evaluation.

By the end of this module, you will produce a major portfolio piece that demonstrates your ability to conceive, plan, and deliver a research-informed UX project at a professional standard, evidence of your readiness for advanced roles in industry or doctoral study.