The user experience specialization prepares students to consider the design, creation and evaluation of interactive information systems. This specialization will prepare you to develop a UX strategy, design, prototype, and formally evaluate interactive information interfaces, systems and experiences from a user-centered perspective. Students often pair this specialization with business intelligence, information architecture, or program/product management & consulting.

Availability: Residential, daytime classes only

Skills you will develop

• Learn to align UX initiatives with organizational objectives, create UX roadmaps, and drive accessible and inclusive user-centered decision-making.
• Develop skills in planning and conducting user research, as well as interpreting research findings to gain deep insights into user behaviors, needs, and motivations.
• Create user interfaces and digital experiences that are intuitive, aesthetically pleasing, inclusive, and optimized for usability across various devices and platforms.
• Design and conduct usability tests to identify design improvements to enhance the overall user experience.

"My engineering mindset used to make me jump to solutions without even thinking whether it is the right problem to solve for or not. This course helped me in understanding the user mindset when it comes to solving problems.”

— Saurabh Patil, ‘23

Elective courses in the User Experience specialization

This specialization consists of three courses that will help you master the methods and techniques used to create and evaluate interactive information systems. Additionally, students may be interested in taking related courses from the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering, Human-Centered Interaction & Design, or in the iSchool’s Ph.D. program.

Learn more about the core, elective and Capstone/practicum courses in the UW MSIM curriculum. 

• IMT 540 Design Methods for Interactive Systems (4 credits) Examines design methods for identifying and describing user needs, specifying and prototyping new systems, and evaluating the usability of systems. Examines design methodologies such as contextual design and value-sensitive design, giving specific emphasis to human-information interaction.
• IMT 561 Visualization Design (4 credits) Students develop a human-centered visualization design practice using real-world data. This process includes applying graphic principles of visual encoding to data; conducting design explorations using sketches and prototyping; and gathering user feedback to assess output. Take either IMT 561 or IMT 562.
• IMT 562 Interactive Information Visualization Design (4 credits) Provides experience creating interactive visualizations for the web. Exposes students to cognitive science, statistics, and perceptual psychology principles. Students design and evaluate visualizations using perceptual and statistical accuracy. Take either IMT 561 or IMT 562.
• IMT 565 Designing Information Experiences (4 credits) Explores experience design including user experience, customer experience, and service design. Covers the philosophical foundations of experience, how to design and evaluate experiences, and the business aspects of customer experience.

Career outcomes

Students who specialize in user experience frequently find roles with titles including technical program manager, data analyst, senior product manager, design researcher, UX designer, and product designer.