Full-time: 12 months (15 months with option of three month internship)
Part-time: 24 months
Full-time course will be 12 months if not taking internship option, 16 months if taking internship.
Full-time: £10,000
Part-time: £5,000 per year *
Full-time: £20,000
Part-time: £10,000 per year *
Northampton Square
This course is for people who want to design technology that meets user needs, creating interactive systems that are useful, easy-to-use and engaging. It is for people who get frustrated when they interact with unnecessarily complicated websites, mobile apps or other interactive systems and want to improve them. This course will help you appreciate design technology based on an understanding of users' needs and ensure that the products you and others design meet those needs.
This course will help you to:
Accredited by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT for the purposes of partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered IT Professional.
If you do not meet the entry requirements, INTO City, University of London offers a range of academic and English language programmes to help you prepare for study at City, University of London. You will learn from experienced teachers in a dedicated international study centre.
These programmes are designed for international students who do not meet the required academic and English language requirements for direct entry. To prepare for this degree course, learn more about the Graduate Diploma in Informatics.
If you are an overseas student whose first language is not English, the following qualification is required:
IELTS is the only accepted English language qualification for entry.
Don't meet the English language requirements? INTO City, University of London offers English language programmes to help prepare you for study at university. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to degree courses.
If you are not from the European Economic Area / Switzerland and you are coming to study in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa or entry clearance to come to the UK to study.
The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course. There are different rules for:
For more information see our main Visa page.
Thank you for having decided to apply to study a postgraduate course at the School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering. Please note that the deadline for applications for the 2020/21 academic year is 31st August 2020, however we may close earlier if all places are filled.
You will be expected to submit the following:
Please note: Academic references are not required when you submit your application. However, the admissions tutor may request them at a later date to help make a decision on your application.
Tel: +44 (0)20 7040 0248
Email: smcsepg@city.ac.uk
Postgraduate Courses Office, A302
School of Mathematics, Computer Science & Engineering
City, University of London
Northampton Square
London
EC1V 0HB
Fees in each subsequent year of study (where applicable) will be subject to an annual increase of 2%. We will confirm any change to the annual tuition fee to you in writing prior to you commencing each subsequent year of study (where applicable).
If a student leaves City after commencing but before completing their course, City reserves the right to charge the student the tuition/course fee for the full academic year (or full course for capacity limited post-graduate courses - up to a maximum of 2 years fees) in question. The student may be charged the full fee for that year or course as applicable unless the student is able to present justification that exceptional and unforeseeable reasons for their withdrawal exist.
City has introduced an instalment payment scheme which is available to certain categories of students, including taught postgraduate students. For students following the normal academic year, the annual fee may be paid in two equal instalments: the first on registering, the second on 31st January. If you wish to pay your fees by instalment you must pay the first instalment at or before registration, by cheque or credit/debit card. You must also supply your bank details or credit card details for payment of your second instalment which will be deducted automatically from your bank or credit card account on 31st January.
We offer a range of generous scholarships, bursaries and prizes to applicants for this course, including:
Academic staff, alumni and students discuss the benefits of the MSc Human-Computer Interaction Design at City University London.
After the taught part of the course is completed, you will have the opportunity to take part in a six-month internship which gives you valuable work experience and increases your employability. Internships offer an exceptional opportunity to make you stand out in a competitive job market place. We have extensive experience in helping students to secure placement employment in the IT industry.
Learn more about internships in Industry at City.
You will benefit from the use of the City Interaction Lab - a combined commercial and research lab, where we have undertaken UX consultancy for prestigious companies including Virgin Atlantic.
The lab is fitted with the latest technologies including:
We employ student consultants on some projects, providing the opportunity to work on real client projects.
We offer a variety of accommodation options and support services for postgraduate students.
Read more about our postgraduate halls.
Our Accommodation Service can also help you find private accommodation.
We offer a free language course for City, University of London students.
Course timetables are normally available from July and can be accessed from our timetabling pages. These pages also provide timetables for the current academic year, though this information should be viewed as indicative and details may vary from year to year.
Please note that all academic timetables are subject to change.
We offer an extensive support network during your time here at City, University of London – from Learning Support (including disability support) and counselling to financial and career advice – leaving you free to enjoy every opportunity campus life has to offer.
Find out more about the different types of student support available.
The course is delivered by distinguished academics from City University London's Centre for HCI Design, who all have a passion for user-centred design. We also have close links with industry. Industry professionals help inform and shape the curriculum, setting briefs for the assessments and participating in teaching and learning - by giving guest lectures and running practitioner tutorials. They also provide feedback on students' design outputs and input into module content, ensuring that students learn the knowledge and skills most valued by industry.
The course is delivered through a combination of lectures, online activities and interactive workshops and tutorials. It is assessed in a variety of ways, including:
Each of these account for around one-third of the total course assessment. However, the exact balance varies according to the chosen elective module.
A 12-month full-time option during which you attend all the taught modules during Semesters 1 and 2, and complete your Project within the 12-month period of the degree. Teaching will be on 2-3 days per week, during the daytime (9:00-18:00).
A 24-month part-time option during which you attend half the modules in a first 12-month period, followed by the other half the next year.
Students are expected to complete all the modules in this two year period. The teaching periods are structured to deliver core modules in a sequence which permits engagement by part-time students alongside full-time students. The dissertation project is undertaken by part-time students in their second year.
Teaching takes place on one full day per week (with the possibility of some modules, such as elective modules, taking place on a different day). If studying alongside paid work, we recommend you ask your employer for at least 2 days per week to attend classes and for independent study.
There is an optional series of industry talks, usually scheduled to run in the evening, on the same day as lectures. There are sometimes optional activities, e.g. user research boot camps in City Interaction Lab, scheduled during reading weeks (in the middle of each term). You will be invited to our Centre for Human-Computer Interaction Design research seminar series, where possible scheduled during your lunch break on the same day as lectures.
You will study seven core modules and one elective module that cover the entire user-centred design and evaluation process. Modules are delivered through a combination of lectures, online activities and interactive workshops and tutorials. These include sessions delivered by guest lecturers from industry.
If we have insufficient number of students interested in an elective module, this may not be offered. In rare cases, one or two elective modules may not run due to low interest or unanticipated changes in timetabling, including scheduling clashes, room and staff availability. If an elective module will not run, we will advise you at the beginning of every academic term or as soon as possible, and help you choose an alternative module.
Full-time students spend eight hours per week in lectures and four hours per week in seminars and tutorials. Part-time students spend half this time in classes.
Overall workload is around 36 hours per week for full-time and 18 hours per week for part-time students.
You will also undertake an independent Research Project, for which our module on Research Methods and Professional Issues will prepare you.
A series of optional, but recommended, practitioner tutorials supplement the taught modules. These include talks, workshops and field trips. Previous tutorials have featured HCI/UX practitioners from prestigious companies, such as Foolproof, Futureheads and eBay.
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The programme specification contains more information on how the course is organised, the requirements for progression for each part and credits required for awards.
This course enables you to make informed decisions on how to apply your knowledge in original and creative ways. As a result, this course empowers you to succeed in a variety of User Experience (UX) roles in leading digital agencies, business consultancies, IT companies and commercial/government organisations.
Roles include:
There is an increasing need for specialists with a deep knowledge of Human-Computer Interaction design. As the industry continues to expand, there is no better time to become a Master in this field. The course is also an excellent starting point for those wanting to pursue a PhD in HCI.
City alumna Emily shares her experience of studying the Human-Computer Interaction Design MSc at City, University of London and how undertaking this postgraduate course has helped her in her career.
Find out more about City and all our postgraduate degree programmes.
