User Experience Design MSc

In order to complete your programme successfully, it is important to have a good command of English and be able to apply this in an academic environment. Therefore, if you are a non-UK applicant* you will usually be required to provide certificated proof of English language competence before commencing your studies.

For this course you must pass IELTS academic test in English with an overall score of 6.5, with no element below 6.0, or meet the scores listed on the alternative online tests. Please note that we do not accept Standard XII as proof of Academic English.

Applicants who do not meet the English language requirements may be eligible to join our pre-sessional English language course.

Please make sure you read our full guidance about English language requirements, which includes details of other qualifications we'll consider.

* Applicants from one of the recognised majority English speaking countries (MESCs) do not need to meet these requirements.

Country-specific information

You will find more information on country specific entry requirements in the International section of our website.

Find your country:

• Asia
• Africa
• Americas
• Europe
• Middle East

Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. You may prefer to buy your own copy of key textbooks, this can cost between £50 and £250 per year.

There are open-access networked computers available across the University, plus laptops available to loan. You may find it useful to have your own PC, laptop or tablet which you can use around campus and in halls of residences. Free WiFi is available on each of the campuses. You may wish to purchase your own computer, which can cost between £100 and £3,000 depending on your course requirements.

In the majority of cases written coursework can be submitted online. There may be instances when you will be required to submit work in a printed format. Printing, binding and photocopying costs are not included in your tuition fees, this may cost up to £100 per year.

All field trips that are compulsory to attend to complete your course are paid for by the University. There may be small fees incurred for optional field trips such as travel costs and refreshments.

Travel costs are not included in your tuition fees but we do have a free intersite bus service which links the campuses, Surbiton train station, Kingston upon Thames train station, Norbiton train station and halls of residence.

Placements

If the placement year option is chosen, during this year travel costs will vary according to the location of the placement, and could be from £0 to £2,000.

Usability test report

A local GP surgery website and PatientAccess.com were usability tested to see how quickly and easily patients can register for the NHS Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).

The test results showed that, whilst almost everyone was able to complete the registration page for EPS, only a third of participants understood what they needed to do to register in the first place, and after registration, only half understood which services were now available to them. The perceived ease of use of both sites was in the 'Unacceptable' range. If the top 10 redesign recommendations were implemented, the registration experience could be improved significantly.

Game localisation

This project involved three students – an animator, a games designer and a user experience designer. The project brief was to show how multiple versions of the same game could be more appealing for different audiences – Asia, USA, Europe. The user experience student conducted the design research, project management, and obtained player feedback about the localised prototypes.

Game biometrics

This project involved three Ux students and two games design students. The project brief was to research, design, prototype and get feedback about the concept of a 'biometrics dashboard' – software that integrated data from various physiological sensors attached to users (EEG, GSR, etc) and then displayed this data to games designers, so that they could more fully appreciate the player experience. The user experience designers created the prototype for their game designer 'clients' and domain experts.

Here are some examples of projects undertaken as part of the User Experience Design (Content) module.

Presentation

An app that helps you take better pictures. With 91% of mobile users taking a photo at least once a month compared to 73% of digital camera owners, it's now accepted that smartphone pictures are equal or better than those from your point-and-shoot. Normally people use apps to edit their mistakes - how about an app which improves the photo during the process?

Prototype

This prototype knows the user's intended destination. It serves as the user's ticket, letting the user in and out of stations, guiding them around the tube system, prompting them when to get on and off, and bills their account.

Case study of Contextual Inquiry: a gift app for small groups

This coursework researched Karen Holzblatt's 'Contextual Inquiry' method (an approach to interviewing informed by ethnography), and then used the method to analyse a gift selection app for small groups.

Style guide for data tables

This coursework researched the design of various user interface components and showed how these components can be combined to create an easy-to-use data table.

Here you can see some examples of final projects undertaken on this course.

A diary study and redesign of Fitbit app sleep monitor

Four volunteers were asked to use the Fitbit wristband to monitor their physical activity for a five-week period, and to record the way they used Fitbit in a diary.

The diaries identified various barriers to the adoption of Fitbit, and its sleep functions in particular. Consequently, the Fitbit sleep monitoring app was redesigned to be more intuitive, and more supportive of informed intervention.

Responsive design

Modern websites must display well on screens of all sizes. This ‘Body of Work' project developed a prototype online photo gallery using Adobe Fireworks, TAP engine and the Dolphin browser. The prototype was then evaluated on 7" Android devices in a naturalistic setting. The key visual design challenge was to provide intuitive navigation to high impact content and a compact layout.

Usability testing

This 'Dissertation' project was keen to go 'beyond human-computer interaction' and so conducted a detailed study of the usability, credibility and persuasiveness of a travel website. This clip, recorded on our old analogue equipment, shows an interaction which could cause a user to abandon the site:

Recorded on our previous analogue kit. Usability testing is also covered on the User Design (Systems) module.

This experiment looks at user requirements of a mobile wardrobe:

Mobile interaction is also covered on the User Experience (Content) module

Optimisation for conversion

This project applied a user-centred process to a design agency's web pages. The redesign highlighted calls to action, displayed important options visually, and removed unnecessary text. Information seeking became easier and conversions increased significantly.

The work brings together persuasive design (User Experience Design (Content) module), with user-centred evaluation (User Experience Design (Systems) module) with traffic studies and web analytics (Media Specialist Practice module).
Usability test of interactive seating plans (from CIM506 Usability Engineering 2008/09)

A student compared part of an existing website with a prototype of its replacement

The design of interactive seating plans is critical to the success of website selling tickets. Proposed designs are often tested on a selected audience before being released to the public at large.

Working with a major ticketing website, a student tested two versions of an interactive seating plan with users from different European countries, and compared the results. The use of pop-up windows, the representation of seating options, and the means of navigating around the arena, all turn out to have important impacts upon ease of use and user preferences.

Interactive Seating Plan (copyright Ticketmaster)

Philosophy and outlook

Online everything

Online services increasingly pervade all aspects of everyday life. User experience is recognised as a key element in the differentiation and success of these services - on the internet, customers must understand and enjoy, or they will go elsewhere.

The trend towards 'online everything, anytime, anywhere, anyhow' seems set to continue. New computing and communications technologies are in the pipeline, online businesses are growing, and digital content is accumulating.

Design for quality and innovation

This trend raises many professional challenges for user experience design, notably:

• how to guarantee that the routine steps of online life can be completed quickly and easily;
• how to innovate and create genuinely novel experiences; and
• how to organise for distributed, collaborative projects, demonstrate the value of user experience design work, and how to operate within integrated, digital media agencies.

Digital studio

We created the User Experience Design MSc to meet these challenges. The course provides:

• a project-based curriculum in a 'digital studio' environment;
• opportunities for industry-based learning (start-up incubator projects, 'live'/externally hosted projects)
• the opportunity to tailor in-depth studies to suit your background, interests, and practice niche.

Digital Media Kingston

To support delivery of the course, we created Digital Media Kingston. This collaboration between the School of Computing and Information Systems and the School of Design provides the multidisciplinary perspective needed to accommodate students with backgrounds in art and design, computer science and the humanities, and to fully address the range of user experience design issues.