Dec 10, 2024  
2023-2024 University Catalog 
    
2023-2024 University Catalog

Interaction Design, BFA


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Program will launch in Fall 2023.

Juan Parada, Program Coordinator
jparada@uarts.edu
215.717.6471

C O N T E N T S

Application

Learn more and apply to the Interaction Design​ program.

Description

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Interaction Design (IxD) at the University of the Arts offers a broad, interdisciplinary curriculum that integrates technological skills with a critical, theoretical and historical understanding of design, technology, and the arts.

As an Interaction Design student, you will learn:
- User Interface and Experience Design;
- Web design and development;
- Mobile application design and development;
- Physical Computing;
- Internet of Things.

This program is for designers, makers, tinkerers, and producers—those with unique perspectives and unconventional approaches to technology— with the goal of producing capable technologists with design expertise. Delivering diverse and adaptable skills, the program equips graduates to address a wide range of 21st-century challenges and growth opportunities within the creative economy.

Our interaction designers learn how to identify and support strategic partnerships and collaborations inside and outside the university that enhance their educational experience. Students have access to facilities and resources that round out their interaction design projects, including the Center for Immersive Media, the UArts Makerspace, and The Corzo Center. 

Program Objectives

Interaction Design graduates will be able to:

- Design usable digital interactive products on screens, virtual and physical space to create a human experience;

- Use critical thinking to define, manage, and execute solutions by applying a design process that includes parameter setting, human factors, research, analyzing, prototyping, testing and evaluating outcomes;

- Master different programming languages and technology required for development of user interfaces for interaction design projects;

- Discover the languages, concepts, relationships, and practices across design through exploration and study of related disciplines, and build bridges that effectively leverage different skillsets into multi-disciplinary creative outcomes; 

- Incorporate new and emerging technology to design experiences in the virtual and physical world 

- Prepare for a career in interaction design by developing the skills and practices necessary to succeed in the creative economy and by understanding the future in terms of the “internet of things.”

Program Requirements (120 credits)

Discipline History (12 credits)


Critical Studies (30 credits)


Writing (6-12 credits)


Students are placed into one of the following writing sequences after the completion of a writing placement exam. Students who do not complete the exam may be placed based on standardized tests scores (if available) or high school GPA.

Standard


Increased Support


CRIT Choice (9 credits)


  • Select 3 courses from subject CRIT

Critical Studies Electives (12-15 credits)


Students who complete the increased support or ESL writing sequence complete 9-12 credits of CS electives; all other students complete 15 credits.

  • Though not representative of all options, students can select from the following subjects:
    • ​AHST (Art History), HIST (History)
    • AMSL (American Sign Language), FRCH (French), LITT (Literature)
    • PHIL (Philosophy), RELI (Religion)
    • SCIE (Science)
    • ANTH (Anthropology), PSYC (Psychology), SOCI (Sociology)
    •  : Critical Studies Elective.

General Electives (9 credits)


  • Complete 9 credits. This requirement is satisfied by any undergraduate course that isn’t required by the program.

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