MS in User Experience & Interaction Design
At a Glance
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College
Kanbar College of Design, Engineering & Commerce
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Degree
Master of Science
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Campus
East Falls
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Format
Hybrid (Online and On Campus)
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Credits
37
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Duration
2 Years
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Starting Term
Spring, Fall
Contact
Curriculum
An Overview
The curriculum begins by establishing a shared foundation in visual thinking and conceptual skills, ensuring students from diverse backgrounds enter the program on equal footing. In the first term, you will master UX essentials through collaborative projects that produce immediate, portfolio-quality results. As the program progresses, the focus shifts toward advanced interactive design, where you have the opportunities to explore AI integration, service design, and spatial computing across both screen-based and immersive AR/VR platforms.
In your final semesters, you will expand your expertise in user research and design strategy through studios that tackle complex, real-world social and economic challenges. This culminates in a capstone thesis where you synthesize your skills to develop a high-fidelity prototype of a product or service. By emulating a professional design environment, this final project demonstrates marketability and functional success, ensuring you graduate with a competitive resume and a sophisticated portfolio.
Outcome Upon Graduation
Graduating students are required to demonstrate thought leadership in design. This is determined by exhibiting expertise in software manipulation and code development, design research, an understanding of the social implications of the emerging technologies, and an ability to produce aesthetically pleasing products that can inform and delight while serving the needs of a variety of commercial environments and complex problem spaces.
A student’s course schedule is based on whether they are on the traditional two-year track or the 18-month track, and whether they start in the fall or spring.
Two-Year Program – Fall Start
Fall I
- Interface & Interaction Design (3 credits)
- Design Thinking & Strategy (3 credits)
- Research & Design Process Methods (3 credits)
Spring I
- Digital Experience Design (3 credits)
- Information Architecture (3 credits)
- Design Business and Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
Summer I
- Elective (3 credits)*
Fall II
- UXD Thesis Project Preparation (1 credit)
- Mobile Communication Design (3 credits)
- Cognitive Psychology for Design (3 credits)
- Elective (3 credits)*
Spring II
- UXD Thesis Project (6 credits)
Total: 37 credits
Two-Year Program – Spring Start
Spring I
- Interface & Interaction Design (3 credits)
- Research & Design Process Methods (3 credits)
- Design Thinking & Strategy (3 credits)
Fall I
- Digital Experience Design (3 credits)
- Mobile Communication Design (3 credits)
- Cognitive Psychology for Design (3 credits)
Spring II
- UXD Thesis Project Preparation (1 credit)
- Information Architecture (3 credits)
- Design Business and Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
- Elective (3 credits)*
Summer II
- Elective* (3 credits)
Fall II
- UXD Thesis Project (6 credits)
Total: 37 credits
18-Month Advanced Placement Program – Fall Start Only
The 18-Month Advanced Placement Program is awarded to students who demonstrate advanced skills and an established career in web, multimedia, interactive or UX design. Students cannot directly apply for this placement. Instead, a separate application for award is issued to all enrolling students during the month of July prior to the Fall term. To be considered, students require an advanced-level portfolio and a minimum of three-years of professional-industry experience reflected in a resume.
Fall
- Digital Experience Design (3 credits)
- Research & Design Process Methods (3 credits)
- Mobile Communication Design (3 credits)
Spring
- UXD Thesis Project Preparation (1 credits)
- Information Architecture (3 credits)
- Design Business and Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
- Elective (3 credits)
Summer
- Elective (3 credits)
Fall
- UXD Thesis Project (6 credits)
- Cognitive Psychology for Design (3 credits)
Total: 31 credits
Examples of Graduate User Experience & Interaction Design Elective Options
All students are required to complete six credits of electives to fulfill their degree requirements. Although electives are suggested for specific terms in order to balance workload, students may enroll in electives following the successful completion of their first term. Students in the 18-month advanced placement program may enroll in electives any time.
- Prototyping Interactive Interfaces I (3 credits)
- Prototyping Interactive Interfaces II (3 credits)
- Accessible Design (3 credits)
- Gamification & Habit Change (3 credits)
- Advanced Web Design & Strategy (3 credits)
- 3D Modeling (3 credits)
- Virtual Reality Design (3 credits)
- Special Topic (3 credits, 1 credit or .5 credit)
- Internship (3 credits, 1 credit or .5 credit)
- Independent Study (3 credits, 1 credit or .5 credit)
For complete course descriptions, please visit the Thomas Jefferson University Graduate Course Descriptions.