Program Overview

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MA User Experience Design

Programme Overview

Our interdisciplinary 18-month MA User Experience (UX) Design course—a transformative educational experience crafted to enhance your research capabilities, cultivate a compelling visual communication style, and enable specialisation within the dynamic field of user experience design.

Programme Fee

Hamburg : Feb, October

Special offers effective until 31 December 2025: Up to 25% discount for International Students | 15% discount for EU Students

2025: February/October:International students Price: €13,250 | EU students Price: €8,450

Programme Structure

This 18-month (Level 7) User Experience (UX) Design MA consists of three terms of study and six months dedicated to your dissertation.

Modules

Term 1

• Research and Professional Contexts 1

Term 2

• Research and Professional Contexts 2

Term 3

• Major Project

Defining Your Practice

You’ll explore creative practices in order to inform the detailed development of your project proposal later in the course. The unit aims to provide a structured framework to allow you to investigate the potential of methods, ideas and themes in your discipline as well as helping inform and locate your practice.

Context and Method

Through a series of lectures and seminars, you’ll actively engage in a range of current debates which provide cultural and intellectual context for the consideration of ideas in visual communication.

Project Development

In this unit, you will develop the themes and focus of your final project in the fields of illustration, graphic design, animation or visual communication. This will allow you to evaluate and test out the aims of your proposal over a sustained period of self-directed study.

Realisation and Dissemination

You’ll apply knowledge and experience gained in previous units to the realisation of your final MA project – the culmination and consolidation of your studies in the form of a resolved piece, or body of work.

Study in

Hamburg

• Delivery: On campus
• Duration: 18 months
• Intakes: February, October
• Campus: Hamburg, Germany
• Degree awarded by **University for the Creative Arts
• Price 2024: October : €13,250 (international students) | €8,450 (EU students)
• Price 2025: February/October : €13,250 (international students) | €8,450 (EU students)

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the MA User Experience (UX) Design course students should be able to:

• Dive into the world of UX design by actively experimenting with and innovating new approaches and techniques, fostering a mindset of continuous exploration.
• Deepen your understanding of UX design through research and analysis of expanded forms of practice, ensuring your work is informed by the latest industry trends and cutting-edge methodologies.
• Form a personalised response to UX design by developing a sustained engagement with processes, technologies, and media.
• Create high-quality outcomes that showcase personal innovation in making, conceptual underpinning, and thoughtfulness, demonstrating your commitment to excellence in UX design.
• Demonstrate a profound understanding of ethical and social contexts in UX design.
• Cultivate the ability to identify areas for investigation, experimentation, and exploration.
• Through research, critical evaluation, and reflection, establish a coherent set of theoretical and practical concerns that guide your UX design practice.
• Develop an informed response to the potential for multi-disciplinary practice through written assignments, showcasing your ability to synthesise knowledge across diverse fields.
• Construct and demonstrate an appropriate critical framework around the research and development of start-up businesses/collaboration projects in the UX design landscape.
• Develop a practical understanding of different ways to engage with the creative world and explore practical ways of creating impact within your chosen creative industry.
• Demonstrate the ability to manage learning, exercise initiative, ethical and personal responsibility, and decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations, preparing you for the challenges of the UX design field.

Career Progression

MA User Experience students armed with a solid foundation in UX principles and methodologies can start as UX designers or researchers in various industries. As they gain experience and expertise, they may advance into leadership roles such as UX managers, design directors, or product strategists, where they oversee teams and drive the strategic direction of user experience initiatives.

Entry Requirements

• Minimum Age: 21
• Academic Qualifications
  • Successful completion of a bachelor’s degree from a recognised university
  • Consideration will also be given to applicants with a minimum of 3 years relevant managerial experience, demonstrating an ability to study at postgraduate level.
• English Requirements
  • Access the Proof of English Guide (UCA) here.

Technical Entry Requirement

• Computer Equipment
  • In recent developments of hybrid learning, we require each student to arrive equipped with a laptop. We, therefore, recommend the purchase of a design-friendly mobile laptop.

Portfolio Submission

• Your Portfolio Submission
  • You are required to submit an online portfolio via our BSBI Applicant Portal.
  • Before submitting your artwork, please have a look through the Portfolio Cookbook
  • What is a Portfolio?
    • Your portfolio is a collection of your best work. We want to see what inspires you, how you develop your work, your creative thinking processes, how and what you create and what makes you a unique creative individual.
  • What Should My Portfolio Contain?
    • Your portfolio might contain sketches and paintings, digital art and design. It might also contain sound work, short films.
    • Upload up to 12 pieces of work which can include audio or video files.
  • How Do I Submit My Portfolio?
    • We’ll only be accepting portfolios digitally. You can do this once you’ve applied via our online submission system within the Applicant Portal.
    • You can also link to external websites such as Vimeo and YouTube.