• Institute
• Information
• Courses
• Locations

Opleiding: MSc Interaction Design

Learning purpose

Interaction design is rapidly becoming the key design skill of this century and graduates from this programme will be in demand in a variety of product and service design consultancies and companies.

 

This course brings together Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Product Design to consider product definition in terms of form, function, semiotics and semantics as they relate to interactions with and through products and services.

 

 

Programme

As a multidisciplinary course, it is run by a team consisting of computer scientists, interaction designers, human factors specialists and product designers who are passionate about making technology work better with users on all levels.

 

You will develop the ability to apply systematic techniques to conduct research to analyse the needs of users, create innovative product designs to address these needs, construct physical and screen-based interactive prototypes that can be used to evaluate the usability of the design concepts they embody and the user experiences they engender.

 

You will develop your ability to function as a member of a design team as well as your ability to conduct individual research-style projects, and present the results in high-quality written reports and presentations.

 

The course is built around development of a five-point generic skill set

• Understanding people and what motivates them;
• Designing the best possible interaction experience for users of products and services;
• Building experience prototypes to communicate across product development teams, to user-test new product concepts and to make compelling proposals;
• Work productively as design teams on real-world, professional level projects;
• Engage with leading edge research to develop the next generation of interaction experiences, for products and services with a tangible market advantage.

The course is based at Trent Park.

This is a full time course with taught activities held during two days of the working week. Students have access to department resources for the remainder of the week, to enable them to carry out preparation work.

 

Assessment is via coursework assignments, which consist of projects, reports and presentations.

 

Current Issues in Interaction Design (40 Credits) - Compulsory

This module aims to develop students knowledge of core topics that underpin contemporary and future developments of the field of Interaction Design. Through this experience students will encounter and develop a critical attitude towards a range of theoretical perspectives that are relevant to interaction design. Delivery is via a series of guest lectures on carefully chosen themes focussed on three primary areas; 1 Core Theory in Interaction Design, e.g. Usability, relevant cognitive psychology, etc 2 Emergent topics in Interaction design, e.g. Usability evaluation methods, product user relationships, affective design, etc 3 Design methods and constraints, e.g. empathic design approaches, standards and legislation accessibility, usability , etc. The students will engage with this content via a reflective journal, a thematic, synoptic essay and a thesis proposal.

Interaction Design Practice (80 Credits) - Compulsory

1 To provide students with an appreciation of the methods available to investigate users, user needs and contexts of usability and to build their skills in selecting and deploying appropriate methods. 2 To provide students with the ability to create experience prototypes for usability testing and evaluation through physical, virtual and hybrid forms. 3 To provide students with an appreciation of user testing methodologies and the ability to carry out appropriate user testing. 4 To provide an opportunity for students to undertake a self-managed interaction design project.

Interaction Design Thesis (60 Credits) - Compulsory

This modules aims to provide an opportunity for students to extend their personal specialism that has been emerging through the programme and will aid them in positioning themselves in the employment marketplace on exit from the programme. It is envisaged that a proportion of students graduating from this programme will exhibit the potential to continue in academic research. This module will play a critical role in enabling them to define a possible future research agenda.

 

Entry Requirements

All suitable candidates will be interviewed.

We welcome applications from graduates with a good honours degree, or equivalent qualification, in an appropriate subject. We also consider candidates with other relevant qualifications and individuals with a minimum of three years' work experience. Those without formal qualifications need to demonstrate relevant work experience and the ability to study at postgraduate level.

 

English language requirements

You must have competence in English language and we normally require Grade C GCSE or an equivalent qualification. The most common English Language requirements for international students are IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL (paper based) 575 or TOEFL (internet based) 90 with specified minimum scores for each component.

 

 

 

Professional perspective and employment market

The MSc Interaction Design degree will prepare you for a wide range of roles within the product design industry and for further research.

 

• Bestel gratis brochure
• Pose a question