User-Centered Design Online Curriculum
Curriculum Details
30 Total Credits Required
Unlike similar programs and certificates focusing primarily on UI design, our online program explores human-computer interaction to understand what customers need and want in an optimized customer experience. Customize your online degree with one of three tracks – Design, Strategy, or Research and Analytics – to align your skills with your long-term career goals. Tracks are optional, allowing you to create your focus by choosing from more than a dozen in-depth elective courses.
Our online program is flexible but rigorous. We recommend that students allocate 9–12 hours per week to each course. Our small class sizes allow for connections with your peers and instructors.
Required Courses
Information Architecture (IA) is defined as “the art and science of organizing and labeling shared information environments (websites, intranets, online communities and software) to support usability and findability.” (source: iainsitute.org). This course balances theoretical grounding of IA with practical design work. We will cover principles of IA as a professional practice and how to design effective, research-supported, user-centered information systems. Students will understand and apply information organization concepts; design and apply appropriate assessment techniques for particular information environments; and develop strategies to effectively communicate design rationale and advocate for users.
Design Concentration Courses
The opportunities to develop innovative user experiences are no longer limited to web and mobile interfaces. This course will introduce students to challenges that extend beyond the digital screen, including design for services, devices, and emerging technologies. The service design portion of the course will focus on techniques for understanding context of use and designing cohesive experiences across multiple touch-points. The UI design portion will introduce tools for designing and testing specialized UIs for embedded systems, Internet of Things (IoT), voice, and immersive environments.
Agile project management techniques are being applied within a growing number of companies of various sizes and industries, from the entrepreneurial to the conservative. This course covers characteristics and delivery frameworks for agile project management. The course also explores how agile methods differ from traditional project management, along with how to recognize projects that may be suitable for agile techniques. Additional topics include the values, roles, deliverables, and practices of Scrum; additional agile and iterative methods; scalability and enterprise-wide considerations.
Strategy Concentration Courses
The goal of universal design is to build products and interfaces that are usable and accessible to everyone, not just a small subset of normative or ‘average’ users. This course will provide an introduction to universal design for digital and physical accessibility. Students will gain an understanding of the range of physical, cognitive, contextual, and social disabilities that challenge technology users, and how inclusive design benefits everyone. Topics covered include accessibility guidelines, assistive technologies, plain language, and legal and ethical considerations.
Business Intelligence can be described as the process of transforming data into knowledge. This transformation involves the use of processes and applications to extrapolate meaning from a company’s data. This meaning usually ends up on dashboards, so that senior management can monitor assumptions and key performance metrics that are part of long-term planning cycles. As Business Intelligence processes mature, they begin to focus on using data to gain new insights. We call these processes Business Analytics, and this information is the key to Strategic Decision Making. This course provides students the opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of the modern uses of business intelligence processes. Many companies now commonly use analytics to bridge the gap between existing business intelligence processes and current day needs. Students will be able to understand the business goals and objectives driving these needs. The course also explores the importance of various types of information systems and infrastructure as a framework for business decision making.
Research & Analytics Concentration Courses
Description coming soon.
Description coming soon.
Elective Courses – Choose 3
The goal of universal design is to build products and interfaces that are usable and accessible to everyone, not just a small subset of normative or ‘average’ users. This course will provide an introduction to universal design for digital and physical accessibility. Students will gain an understanding of the range of physical, cognitive, contextual, and social disabilities that challenge technology users, and how inclusive design benefits everyone. Topics covered include accessibility guidelines, assistive technologies, plain language, and legal and ethical considerations.
The opportunities to develop innovative user experiences are no longer limited to web and mobile interfaces. This course will introduce students to challenges that extend beyond the digital screen, including design for services, devices, and emerging technologies. The service design portion of the course will focus on techniques for understanding context of use and designing cohesive experiences across multiple touch-points. The UI design portion will introduce tools for designing and testing specialized UIs for embedded systems, Internet of Things (IoT), voice, and immersive environments.
Prerequisites: Prior or concurrent enrollment in all required UCD courses and permission of the chair.
The Internship course provides students with an opportunity to learn and gain hands-on experience related to their individual career goals and/or field of study. There are many benefits in pursuing an internship, including valuable workplace experience, learning from professionals, meeting new contacts, and testing your “fit” in a field.
UX internships offer students the opportunity to apply the design and research skills they have mastered through UCD coursework. Students are responsible for securing the internship and the support of a site supervisor with a UX background who is willing to commit to actively mentoring them throughout the session. The internship has to have a specific focus on one or more aspects of user experience or an adjacent field (user research, UX design, service design, etc.). Students cannot earn internship credit through their current position/employer. Students must work at least 100 hours at the internship site, and complete a portfolio piece, reflection paper or case study based on their experience.
Students are limited to completing one internship for graduate credit as part of their Master’s degree. Internships must be secured by the student and approved by the chair at least 45 days prior to the start of the session. The internship must include a supervisor to whom you report for your work at the company or organization.
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