User Experience (UX) Design, MSc

Program Overview

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User Experience (UX) Design

MSc

Attendance

• Full-time
• Part-time

Campus

• Preston Campus

Start

• September 2025

Duration

• 1 year

Delivery

• In-person

Placement option

Our MSc in User Experience (UX) Design course follows a human-centred design approach to understanding, designing, and evaluating digital experiences. User Experience includes all aspects of an end-user’s interaction with a product/service. We use UX to drive change within context, content, and users. Empathising with a user’s needs, motivations and behaviours is critical in today’s evolving digital landscape.

Why study with us

• You’ll have access to bespoke HCI labs for ideating, developing, and evaluating. Helping you craft the skills to become a competent UX design professional. Both the ChiCI Lab and our innovative Imaginarium support your learning, development, and research.
• You’ll study a curriculum based on industry and academic input with applied learning and research.
• You'll have the opportunity to enhance your CV by undertaking a professional placement. This will extend your study time by six to twelve months.

What you'll do

• Learn in a small group environment, providing plenty of opportunities for developing your practice, networking, and getting involved with research activities.
• On this User Experience master's degree, you'll use emerging technologies. From the latest mobile devices to virtual reality headsets.
• Learn in an environment that demonstrates how academic research can respond to real-world industry needs.

Course Breakdown

The course covers seven modules, you'll learn how to conduct UX research, demonstrated using practical skills to develop solutions as a response to challenges. Learning content is provided through lectures, guest lectures, labs, and seminars. We promote the co-creation of materials and assessments. You'll work collaboratively and independently on industry and academic challenges.

During the course you’ll develop theoretical understanding, knowledge of trends, emerging ideas and ongoing research activity. Alongside becoming familiar with planning, self-management, communication, critical evaluation and technical skills.

Modules

Year 1

Compulsory modules

• Master's Project
• Research Methods
• IT Projects and Programmes
• User-Centred Design
• Industry Project
• Advanced Topics in User Experience
• Prototyping and Evaluation

Entry requirements

• Applicants should hold at least 2:2 degree in related subject such as Computer Science/Computing/Software Engineering/Games Development, Games/Product/Graphic/Interaction Design, Psychology, Media/Creative/Interactive Technologies, Web Design/Development
• Students with non-standard qualifications or who have work experience will be considered on a case by case basis
• Some taught or self-taught programming experience is expected
• IELTS: 6.0 with no component lower than 5.5

Fees and funding

2025/26

• UK: Full-time £9,450 per year, Placement year £2,625 for the placement year, Part-time £1,050 per 20 credits
• International: Full-time £17,900 per year

Additional costs

As part of your course there may be additional costs to consider that are not included in your tuition fees. Most of these will be optional, but some courses have essential additional costs.

Scholarships and bursaries

We offer many scholarships, bursaries and funds to support you during your studies.

Learning and assessment

The course covers industry and academic knowledge, encouraging best practices. You'll learn to adopt industry frameworks and tools mixed with academic methods and methodologies. These create the foundations for designing, developing, and studying emerging technologies. Our academic experts specialise in designing content and interactions for core, ubiquitous and future technologies. They have expertise in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Computer Science, and Software Engineering. This knowledge will guide you through UX applied research and help you develop skills in applying design principles. You'll also learn about data collection, analysis and evaluation for both qualitative and quantitative data. You'll apply this knowledge by developing a portfolio of low and high-fidelity digital prototypes. This work will be rooted in research problems and industry challenges.

Future Careers in UX Design

The course will encourage you to follow a career in UX either via industry or further academic study. We aim to produce UX designers who are competent in essential UX skills and have theoretical and practical knowledge.

Typical roles include:

• UX designer
• UX researcher
• UI/UX developer
• Information architect
• Interactive designer
• Usability analyst

Previous graduates of the User Experience course have been successful within the industry. Many also complete further academic study in the form of a PhD degree.

Example careers include (but not limited to):

• User Research
• Design Research
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Interaction Design
• User Interface Design
• Usability Testing
• Software Development (mobile, web, IoT)