Master of Arts - User Experience Design
- 1 year
- Duration
- 18,000 GBP
- Price
- Rolling admission
- Start
- Rolling admission
- Deadline
- Master
- Degree
- Campus
- Format
- Farnham / United Kingdom
- Location
Program description
On UCA's MA User Experience Design degree programme at UCA Farnham, delve deeper into the world of user experience and examine its creative potential.
In the School of Communication, this course is offered in conjunction with other Master's programmes to provide a collection of specialised research fields. Through the development of your own personal research and professional engagement, you'll explore the creative potential of User Experience Design to challenge and influence the interactive systems that underpin and inform our digital experiences, including interface design, usability, and human computer interactions.
In a series of projects, workshops, and technical sessions that are relevant to your own research and aspirations, you will be introduced to and given the opportunity to examine the advanced specialist tools, methods, concepts, and processes pertinent to the practises of user experience design before forming your ideas and creating your framework to finish your Major Project. Along with real-world briefs and industry involvement, you'll do a thorough examination of current practises by reading, investigating, challenging, debating, and responding to important User Experience Design-related debates.
You can choose the Integrated International Pre-Masters, a year-long preparatory programme of study to get you ready for your master's in the UK, improving your speaking and writing skills in English along with your specialty skills, research knowledge, and self-confidence.
Program structure
Term one
- Launch
Your launch week is the chance get to know your peers and start working collaboratively, through a range of activities, including design sprint exercises, talks, field research trips and a special focus on international student integration.
- Studio 1
Your studies begin with an investigation into expanded forms of practice within Interface and Interactive Design. You will experiment with methodologies and processes, challenging established means of communication. By challenging pre-conceptions and approaches to practice, you will expand your understanding and skills to engage with new audiences.
- Research & Professional Contexts 1
You’ll learn the principles of research and the methodological approaches and how all practices are informed through distinct stages of research management.
Term two
- Opportunity
The hackathon week is an opportunity for students to work across year groups to produce and replicate industry practice.
- Studio 2
You will critically reflect on the development of your research and investigate multiple areas of study. A series of practice-based projects will enable you to consider and apply a range of methods, approaches and ideas which will inform and assist you in the development of your practice. By the end, you will have developed your project proposal along with your visual strategy for your Major Project.
- Research & Professional Contexts 2
There are two pathways on this unit, both intended to develop industry approaches within the creative industries.
- Collaboration
You will investigate the potential for collaborative practice, You will identify and make contact with an external partner, with whom you will agree a project plan and agree outcomes. By working with an external partner, you will have the opportunity to place your work in a wider contemporary context and engage new audiences.
- Creative Startup
In this option you will develop an idea, have it evaluated and potentially win a prize. Based on real-world experience (rather than simulation) of designing and developing a creative startup, you’ll work together with students from all disciplines.
Term three
- Major Project
The Major Project is a culmination and celebration of your studies. It is your opportunity to demonstrate your advanced understanding and application of the research techniques, concepts, and skills that you have engaged with over the course of your MA. By applying the learning developed from previous units, you will reflect professional acumen, social awareness and contemporary context, and will deliver a portfolio of work that is industry ready.
You will be required to direct your practice towards a final resolution that could take the form of an exhibition, publication or event.
Price
Fee for two semesters (1 year) is 18,000 GBP for international students
We have offer a range of scholarships and fee discounts.
Requirements for applicants
If you do not have qualifications from the United Kingdom, we will accept equivalent qualifications from your native country for admittance into our programs.
In addition to academic credentials, some of our courses require a portfolio of previous work.
For our Master's courses, we usually require that you have successful completion of your Bachelor's degree or equivalent from a recognised university.
English Language requirements for MA/MSc & MBA courses:
- IELTS UKVI or Academic - Listening 5.5, Reading 5.5, Speaking 5.5, Writing 5.5, Total 6.5
- Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) iBT - Listening 17, Reading 18, Speaking 20, Writing 17, Total 90
- Pearson Test of English (Academic) - Listening 59, Reading 59, Speaking 59, Writing 59, Total 59
- Cambridge English Advanced (CAE) or Cambridge English Proficiency - Listening 162, Reading 162, Speaking 162, Writing 162, Total 176
- Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE) - Listening Pass, Reading Pass, Speaking Pass, Writing Pass, Total ISE III
- LanguageCert International ESOL SELT - Listening 38, Reading 38, Speaking 38, Writing 38, Total B2 Communicator High Pass
Portfolio requirements
We'll need to examine your written or graphic portfolio for these courses in order to review it. Once you've applied, we'll send you an invitation to submit your portfolio via your applicant portal; more details will be given at that time. This can also be arranged for you if you would prefer to evaluate your work with the Academic Team in person while on campus.
About the university
The UCA team firmly believes that creativity enhances the vitality, innovation, and humanity of global communities. That is why the university has been a fervent supporter of creative research and teaching for the past 160 years.
Architecture, crafts, fashion, graphic design, illustration, fine art, photography, film, media, the performing arts, and creative business are among areas of study offered by the university. Employers in the creative sector hold a high regard for this programs because of their excellent teaching standards.
We want to inspire people to use their creativity to drive change, overcome challenges and improve the lives of others.
So we’ve designed our university to be an inclusive, dynamic environment. Our campuses across Surrey and Kent, our Institute for Creative Innovation in Xiamen, China, and our homes within partner organisations such as the Maidstone Television Studios all have one thing in common: they are places to forge inspiring partnerships, make work with purpose and build real solutions to human problems across the globe – whether that’s as part of our vibrant teaching and research community, or as a student on one of our courses.
Read more about University for the Creative Arts (UCA), United Kingdom
