The BS in User Experience Design is an interdisciplinary, hands-on program that integrates creative and technical disciplines including artificial intelligence, data visualization, design research, graphic design, industrial design, and information technology. Students in the UXD program prepare to work in the expanding fields of user experience design, interaction design, and social computing by developing their skills as designers, coders, and researchers. In project-based, collaborative courses, students learn a user-centered software development process to conceptualize, design, build, and conduct research on interactive systems such as web and mobile applications, game systems, designed objects and spaces, and other products and experiences.
| Program Requirements | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|
| Liberal Studies Requirements | 76 |
| Major Requirements | 100 |
| Open Electives | 16 |
| Total hours required | 192 |
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Plan and conduct a variety of user research methods for developing empathy, understanding problems, and identifying user needs and design opportunities.
- Evaluate, critique, create, and rationalize interfaces with respect to visual design principles, affordances, interaction design principles, and interaction design patterns.
- Transform user research and apply design principles and patterns to create wireframes, mockups, prototypes, and experiences that simulate interfaces and have enough functionality for usability testing with participants.
- Read, comprehend, and write code relevant to contemporary web and mobile devices at a basic level, use code to create rough prototypes, and research, evaluate, and rationalize design decisions as they relate to code.
- Effectively communicate user research findings, design concepts, and design rationale in written and verbal forms.
Liberal Studies Requirements
Honors program requirements can be found in the individual Colleges & Schools section of the University Catalog. Select the appropriate college or school, followed by Undergraduate Academics and scroll down.
| First Year Program | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Quarter | ||
| LSP 110 or LSP 111 | DISCOVER CHICAGO or EXPLORE CHICAGO | 4 |
| Focal Point | ||
| LSP 112 | FOCAL POINT SEMINAR | 4 |
| Writing | ||
| WRD 103 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC I 1 | 4 |
| WRD 104 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC II 1 | 4 |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| Not Required | ||
| Sophomore Year | ||
| Race, Power, and Resistance | ||
| LSP 200 | SEMINAR ON RACE, POWER, AND RESISTANCE | 4 |
| Junior Year | ||
| Experiential Learning | ||
| UXD 394 | USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN CAPSTONE I | 4 |
| Senior Year | ||
| Capstone | ||
| Required in major 1 | ||
- 1
Students must earn a C- or better in this course.
Learning Domains
Arts and Literature (AL)
- 3 Courses Required
Historical Inquiry (HI)
- 2 Courses Required
Math and Computing (MC)
- Not Required
Philosophical Inquiry (PI)
- 2 Courses Required1
Religious Dimensions (RD)
- 2 Courses Required1
Scientific Inquiry (SI)
- 1 Lab Course Required
Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry (SCBI)
- 3 Courses Required
- PSY 105
- 2 Additional Courses
- 1
Students must take one of the following ethics courses: CSC 208 (PI), IT 228 (PI), PHL 248/MGT 248 (PI) or REL 228/MGT 228 (RD).
Notes
Specified required courses within Liberal Studies may have grade minimums (e.g. C- or better). Please consult your advisor or your college and major requirements.
Courses offered in the student's primary major cannot be taken to fulfill LSP Domain requirements. If students double major, LSP Domain courses may double count for both LSP credit and the second major. Students who choose to take an experiential learning course offered by the major may count it either as a general elective or the Experiential Learning requirement.
In meeting learning domain requirements, no more than one course that is outside the student’s major and is cross-listed with a course within the student’s major, can be applied to count for LSP domain credit. This policy does not apply to those who are pursuing a double major or earning BFA or BM degrees.
Major Requirements
First Year
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GD 105 | INTRO TO VISUAL DESIGN | 4 |
| IT 130 | INTRODUCTORY COMPUTING FOR THE WEB | 4 |
| IT 240 | INTRODUCTION TO DATABASES | 4 |
| UXD 101 | DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN | 4 |
| UXD 210 | INTRODUCTION TO USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN | 4 |
| UXD 220 | PROTOTYPING METHODS I | 4 |
Second Year
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| INTD 151 | DESIGN RESOURCES EXPLORATION | 2 |
| GD 232 | TYPOGRAPHY: SYSTEMS | 4 |
| UXD 225 | CODING DESIGN FRAMEWORKS | 4 |
| UXD 260 | USER EXPERIENCE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION | 4 |
| UXD 270 | USER-CENTERED WEB DESIGN | 4 |
| UXD 320 | PROTOTYPING METHODS II | 4 |
| One (1) 2 credit hours Tools Courses | 2 | |
Third Year
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CSS 378 | COMMUNITY-BASED TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS | 4 |
| INTD 251 | DESIGN PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT | 2 |
| IT 223 | DATA ANALYSIS | 4 |
| UXD 222 | INTRODUCTION TO DATA VISUALIZATION DESIGN | 4 |
| One (1) 2 credit hours Tools Courses | 2 | |
| Eight (8) credit hours in Focus Area Electives | 8 | |
Fourth Year
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| UXD 329 | AI IN USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN | 4 |
| UXD 394 | USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN CAPSTONE I | 4 |
| UXD 395 | USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN CAPSTONE II | 4 |
| Sixteen (16) credit hours in Focus-Area Electives | 16 | |
Focus Area Electives
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CMNS 201 | BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION | |
| CSEC 345 | HUMAN-CENTERED CYBERSECURITY (FORMERLY CNS 345) | |
| GD 109 | WEB DESIGN TOOLS WORKSHOP | |
| GD 110 | WEB DESIGN | |
| GD 200 | GRAPHIC DESIGN: FORM | |
| GD 215 | WEB DESIGN FOR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS | |
| IT 212 | APPLIED OO PROGRAMMING | |
| IT 238 | INTERACTIVE WEB SCRIPTING | |
| IT 320 | CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS | |
| IT 330 | USER INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT FOR INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS | |
| UXD 227 | COMPUTING HUMAN LIVES | |
| UXD 381 | QUANTITATIVE DESIGN RESEARCH METHODS | |
| UXD 382 | QUALITATIVE DESIGN RESEARCH METHODS | |
| UXD 390 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN |
Tools
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| DESIGN AND FABRICATION FOR PHYSICAL SPACE WORKSHOP | ||
| HARDWARE DESIGN BASICS WORKSHOP | ||
| ILLUSTRATOR WORKSHOP | ||
| PHOTOSHOP WORKSHOP | ||
| INDESIGN WORKSHOP | ||
| UI/UX PROTOTYPING WORKSHOP |
Open Electives
Open Elective credit hours are required to meet the minimum graduation requirements of 192 hours. Open Electives may be taken from any unit at DePaul.
Degree Requirements
Students in this degree must meet the following requirements:
- Complete a minimum of 192 credit hours (generally 48 courses)
- Earn a grade of C- or higher in WRD 103, WRD 104, and all Major and Minor courses
- Earn a grade of D or higher in all other Liberal Studies and Open Elective courses
- Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher
Program Combination Restrictions
Students pursuing the BS in User Experience Design are forbidden from pursuing the Minor in User Experience Design.