User Experience & Interaction Design Major
What is User Experience & Interaction Design?
In User Experience & Interaction Design (UXID), we explore the intersection of technology, design, and human behavior to create intuitive and effective digital experiences and to better understand how users interact with and derive value from these creations. We study how user interfaces and digital products have evolved, how they function across various platforms, and how they both shape and are shaped by technological, social, and business contexts. The UXID program at Drexel encourages students to develop a versatile skill set, including user experience design (UX), user interface design (UI), interaction design (IxD), full stack development, information architecture (IA), content strategy and project management. This interdisciplinary approach, drawing from fields such as psychology, computer science, and visual arts, provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the digital ecosystems we navigate daily.
Why Study User Experience & Interaction Design at Drexel?
The undergraduate User Experience & Interaction Design program incorporates Drexel's nationally renowned co-op experience through which students, while pursuing their degree, have the opportunity to complete three six-month jobs in relevant professional contexts such as agencies, in-house, and at startups. Philadelphia boasts a robust tech community, where students have landed positions at the Academy of Natural Sciences, COMCAST, Craft, CSL Behring, EPAM, Neuroflow, Night Kitchen Interactive, Oracle, Perpay, Scoir, SEPTA. UNISYS, Urban Outfitters, Vanguard Group, Wawa, and many more. Students have also gone outside the Phialdelphia region and secured postions at world reknowned companies like Adobe, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.
Through hands-on projects, co-op experiences, a 6-mont junior level project, and a 9-month capstone senior project, students learn to create accessible and meaningful digital experiences that enhance users' lives. The program prepares graduates to adapt to the rapidly evolving tech industry, equipping them with the skills to see projects from start to finish and to understand both the technical and human aspects of digital product design.
Robust Course Offerings: In addition to the core required courses like User Interface Design I & II, Interaction Design, Human Factors Engineering, User Experience Design I & II, Web Design I & I, Scripting for Interactive Media I & II, Microinteractions, and Content Management Systems, we also offer a wide range of elective courses that allows the student to dive deeper into areas of their own specific interest (courses like UI for Immersive Media, WebVR, Internet of Things, Validating Product Ideas, User Research Methods, and more).
Excellent Faculty: Our faculty have years of industry experience, and bring that knowledge into the classroom so that students get classroom experiences that mimic industry practices.
What Skills Does User Experience & Interaction Design Help You Develop?
User Experience Design (UX) — Researching and advocating the needs of people who will be using technologies, prototyping digital products, and working with agile methodologies
User Interface Design (UI) — Using tools, like the Adobe Creative Suite, to create visual experiences for technology products
Interaction Design (IxD) —The design of behaviors, animations, and sounds for digital products
Development — Programming the code (HTML/CSS, JavaScript, PHP/MySQL, etc.) that makes products work in a variety of media (websites, apps, augmented and virtual reality, Internet of Things, etc.)
Information Architecture (IA) — Organizing and planning information systems for digital products
Content Strategy — The planning, creation, delivery, and governance of content, including text and imagery
Project Management — Managing work flows to keep teams on track
User Experience & Interaction Design at Drexel: Paths of Study
At Drexel, we provide a five-year Bachelor of Science degree in User Experience & Interaction Design that includes three 6-month coops, offering a flexible, thorough curriculum to enable students to tailor their coursework to fit their personal career aspirations. The undergraduate User Experience & Interaction Design degree provide san excellent interdisciplinary liberal arts education with a sound foundation in research, critical thinking, writing, visual design, and computer programming. It prepares students for a variety of tech-related careers.
See complete degree requirements and a BS User Experience & Interaction Design sample plan of study .
Careers in User Experience & Interaction Design
Careers in User Experience & Interaction Design are not limited to user experience design, user interface designer, interaction designer, product designer, web designer, graphic designer, digital media designer, user researcher, multimedia artist, interactive designer, product manager, web programmer, and web user interface designer. A whole world of career possibilities can be found across technology-related organizations.
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