BSc (Hons) User Experience Design
Norwich, United Kingdom
DURATION
3 up to 4 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline *
EARLIEST START DATE
Request earliest startdate
TUITION FEES
GBP 17,500 / per year **
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* we recommend that applicants apply by April of the year they are applying, but we will accept applications up until the end of August in exceptional circumstances
** non-UK students: £17,500 | UK students: £9,250
Scholarships
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Introduction
Our BSc (Hons) in User Experience Design is rooted in NUA’s traditional strength in graphic design, design thinking, and creative problem-solving.
The User Experience Design degree gives you the essential skills to become a successful UX designer – shaping how people engage with digital products and services.
Your learning will focus on applying user experience and digital design principles that are highly prized in today’s fast-changing design industry.
You will use industry-standard technologies and prototyping techniques to develop professional solutions for a range of contexts.
In each case, you will move from research to the creation of user journeys to the design of user experiences that work across multiple digital environments: from desktop to mobile.
Responding to one of the fasting growing sectors of the visual communications industry, this course will allow you to use design, problem-solving, research and psychology to test and create better digital products and services.
You are curious about how design can influence human behaviour – guiding people’s actions and decisions.
You are eager to learn how to test your ideas and work through versions towards the most effective creative solution to whatever problem you’re trying to solve – whether you’re designing an app, website, or physical product.
You’ll learn research and analytical skills that will help you to understand how people react in the face of different design experiences online and in the physical world.
Rooted in design skills
You will share your first year with students from our three highly-regarded graphics courses, giving you a firm grounding in idea generation, problem-solving, visual design and research methods.
Admissions
Curriculum
Course content
Year 1
- Pursue a common first year with fellow BSc routes Games Development and Interaction Design, enjoying the wider insights gained from interdisciplinary learning while maintaining a sharp focus on developing core user experience skills
- Research and develop aspects of user experience design, and visual usability within the design of user interfaces, through the application of digital design principals and frameworks
- Learn fundamental practices associated with implementing user interfaces and build core technical competency
- Undertake web development projects using industry-standard practices and frameworks, incorporating relevant coding languages
- Develop techniques for the collection and analysis of user interaction metrics
- Develop prototyping and user testing skills and awareness of the role of cognitive science within the digital design
- Develop awareness of the digital project lifecycle, key milestones and processes by designing and implementing a fully functional user experience design project
Year 2
- Gain a greater understanding of the business of digital design through the application of user experience design on a live project with an external client
- Develop user-centred design methodologies
- Develop awareness of business models, processes and requirements and how these can be serviced by good design
- Undertake app development projects
- Develop digital design solutions for specific platforms
- Investigate the wider ethical and sustainable implications of digital design
- Consolidate knowledge of cognitive science within digital design
- Gain project management experience, using industry-standard tools for developing and tracking the delivery and results of projects
- Consolidate and develop user testing skills
- Develop awareness of issues concerning professional practice, such as health and safety, funding structures, curation/display, enterprise and entrepreneurship
Year 3
- Actively investigate and incorporate trends in user research, user-centred design, data-driven design and new digital tools/technologies
- Have the opportunity to undertake an industry work placement, internship and student-led consultancy
- Develop and deliver a final project involving an external client, in which you'll demonstrate an in-depth command of contexts, processes and mastery of techniques in the development and realisation of an effective and commercially viable user experience design solution as part of your graduate portfolio
Program Outcome
Industry-ready UX skills
You will learn how to work with the commercial sector through contact with external businesses via live briefs, UX design agencies and a student-led consultancy.
The project management, communication and collaborative working skills you develop will make your CV and portfolio stand out to employers.
What you will learn
- Share your first year, and then continue to work alongside graphics students, allowing for unique cross-fertilisation of knowledge, skills and experience
- Develop skills in visual design, problem solving, idea generation, research and user testing, iterative design, coding and psychology
- Through UX design, research and testing, create designs for screen applications and web technologies
- Collaborate with others in a competitive presentation and/or pitch environment, and take part in projects, including competition briefs and other professionally-focused projects
- Complete a research report that puts your practice in context.
Gallery
Career Opportunities
Typical career paths include
- User Interface Designer
- UX Designer
- Interaction Designer
- Digital Designer
- Visual Designer
- Product Manager
- UX Design Manager
- Front End Developer
- Digital Web Designer
- UX Architect
- UX Business Analyst
- Product Marketing Manager
You’ll also get specialist creative careers advice from our team in the Ideas FactoryNUA to help support you as you plan your career.