M.F.A. – User Experience Design

Master of Arts Degree Requirements

First Year

First Semester = 15-16 Credit Hours

Course #Course TitleCredits
DGR 601Graduate Communication1*
IXD 601UX Design Studio I3
IXD 606UX Research (User Testing)3
IXD 621Human Factors3
IXD 625Sound Design for Interaction3
DGR 613Graduate Seminar3
*Contingent upon the English Proficiency Exam

Second Semester = 15 Credit Hours

Course #Course TitleCredits
IXD 602UX Design Studio II3
IXD 605User Interface Design3
IXD 636Artificial Intelligence3
DGR 620Graduate Research Methods3
— —Elective3

Second Year

Course #Course TitleCredits
DGR 711Thesis Project I6
IXD 701UX Design Studio III3
DGR 631Written Thesis3
IXD 715Metaverse Design3
Course #Course TitleCredits
DGR 712Thesis Project II6
IXD 702UX Design Studio IV3
DGR 644Rapid Prototyping: PLA-Y3
— —Elective3

Catalog Year 24/25

Total Credits 30-31

Elective – Studio or Lecture course from the Graduate (or Undergraduate) level. Must be approved prior to registration by the Graduate Department Chair. Additional permission may be required for confirmed UG credits.

Students enrolled in Graduate Level Programs must maintain the required 3.0 cumulative GPA.

M.A. – User Experience Design

Master of Arts Degree Requirements

First Year

First Semester = 15-16 Credit Hours

Course #Course TitleCredits
DGR 601Graduate Communication1*
IXD 601UX Design Studio I3
IXD 606UX Research (User Testing)3
IXD 621Human Factors3
IXD 625Sound Design for Interaction3
DGR 613Graduate Seminar3
*Contingent upon the English Proficiency Exam

Second Semester = 15 Credit Hours

Course #Course TitleCredits
IXD 602UX Design Studio II3
IXD 605User Interface Design3
IXD 636Artificial Intelligence3
— —Elective3
DGR 650Final Project3

Catalog Year 24/25

Total Credits 30-31

Elective – Studio or Lecture course from the Graduate (or Undergraduate) level. Must be approved prior to registration by the Graduate Department Chair. Additional permission may be required for confirmed UG credits.

Students enrolled in Graduate Level Programs must maintain the required 3.0 cumulative GPA.

IXD-701 UX DESIGN STUDIO III

The Graduate Studio I, II, III, and IV courses are,designed to address projects of increasing,complexity and progressively strengthen your,problem-solving skills in UX Design. Students will,solve a design problem rooted in a creative,industries-related context, requiring substantive,research and concept development phases,,refinement, and execution phases. Research,methodologies, design approaches, and techniques,students learned in the UX-centered courses will,be applied to develop and evaluate their,solutions. These courses are structured to,simulate the professional studio environment with,formally scheduled milestones and defined,deliverables and will be reviewed by faculty and,industry professionals through formal,presentations.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: IXD 601, IXD 602

IXD-702 UX DESIGN STUDIO IV

The Graduate Studio I, II, III, and IV courses are,designed to address projects of increasing,complexity and progressively strengthen your,problem-solving skills in UX Design. Students,solve a design problem rooted in a creative,industries-related context, requiring substantive,research and concept development phases,,refinement, and execution phases. Research,methodologies, design approaches, and techniques,students learned in the UX-centered courses will,be applied to develop and evaluate their,solutions. These courses are structured to,simulate the professional studio environment with,formally scheduled milestones and defined,deliverables and will be reviewed by faculty and,industry professionals through formal,presentations.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: IXD 701

IXD-715 METAVERSE DESIGN

In this course, students study the conceptual and,related UX design approaches to metaverse,creation. Metaverse is a broader term encompassing,technologies such as augmented reality (AR),,virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and,virtual 3D environments where interaction will,take place. Students explore various platforms,,technical aspects, and design approaches,applicable in a non-physical environment. The,virtual worlds today are more than just,technology. They have become humans’ alternative,habitat to the physical one. Such tendencies,require full attention from the new generation of,UX designers and a profound understanding of the,media phenomena from different perspectives. This,is a hands-on course where priority is given to,engagement on real-industry projects and searches,for design solutions that include using metaverse,and 3D virtual environments for video games,,virtual classrooms, augmented chat platforms,,artificial intelligence-generated content, and,many other emerging applications.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: IXD 621

IXD-775 GRADUATE STUDIES-INTER DES INTERNSHIP

Participation in an internship experience allows,students to use classroom-learned skills in a,related employment experience. Students must work,a minimum of 135 hours over the course of the,entire semester. Students must have a minimum,cumulative GPA of 3.0. All internships must be,approved by the graduate program department,chairperson.,

Credits: 3

Prerequisites:

IXD-775 GRADUATE INTERNSHIP 6 CREDIT

Participation in an internship experience allows,students to use classroom-learned skills in a,related employment experience. Students must work,a minimum of 135 hours over the course of the,entire semester. Students must have a minimum,cumulative GPA of 3.0. All internships must be,approved by the graduate program department,chairperson.

Credits: 6

Prerequisites:

IXD-790 INTERACTION DESIGN INDEPENDENT STUDY

Independent Study is available to graduate,students with a cumulative grade point average of,3.00 or above. The student may receive approval to,work in an area or on a project that is not,otherwise offered or addressed in the regular,curriculum. An Independent Study should include,opportunities for individual student voice and,provide a space for diverse perspectives. Students,may receive credit toward graduation for no more,than 6 credit hours. The student must,submit to the chairperson of the department in,which they wish to study, an Independent Study,Proposal of 150 words (no less) of the student’s,plan for study and her/his reason for choosing to,study,independently. Once the department chairperson,provides approval and the instructor for the,Independent Study is determined, the faculty,member must write an Independent Study Syllabus,with,education goals, learning outcomes, meeting dates,,course expectations, timelines, and due dates.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites:

IXD-601 UX DESIGN STUDIO I,PROTOTYPING

Based on a foundation of web technologies, this,class teaches students the concepts and use of,programming languages to complement and extend,their capabilities as designers. Students learn,how to think like a computer and to structure code,(functions and algorithms, not markup) to perform,data manipulation tasks, to enable user,interaction that incorporates devices and,services, and to gain facility across multiple,programming languages. As a result, students will,better understand the strengths and limitations of,digital systems and, therefore, how programming,may enhance (or limit) their user experience,design goals. With this foundation, students will,gain a solid stepping stone towards entering the,realms of mobile and web applications development,,physical computing, and the exciting world of the,Internet of Things, or the Internet of Everything.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites:

IXD-602 UX DESIGN STUDIO II

,,In preparation for the impending era of Extended,Reality (XR), the exciting realm of emerging,technologies, and rising artificial intelligence,,user experience designers must fully understand,the contemporary technology landscape and,environment and face the challenges in the UX,design field further development. In this,immersive studio environment, students are,involved in a dynamic triad of activities:,prototyping, coding, and design. By engaging in,these modes of creative endeavor, they acquire the,skills to envision and resolve profound design,challenges. The synthesis of these activities,empowers them to harness the potential of mixed,reality (XR) and related emerging technologies,,shaping the future of user experience design.,Students gain tech skills while seeing beyond,today’s technology to formulate and solve,essential design problems and understand the,creative processes and practical challenges of,making a better world through design.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: IXD 601