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The MA Program in Applied Cognitive Psychology: User Experience offers you training in cognitive psychology research and theory, with a focus on how human information processing informs the design of products and services.

User Experience (UX) is an empirical approach that puts human needs, cognitive capabilities, and behavior first, and then designs to accommodate them. Good design starts with an understanding of psychology and technology, and requires successful communication, especially from machine to person, about what is happening, what is about to happen, and what actions are possible. In this program, you will study the cognitive principles most relevant to determining human capabilities and design needs, and develop empirical methods for assessing the effectiveness of implemented designs and the overall user experience.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

This 48-unit terminal MA program will train you in three critical domains: cognitive psychology, user experience, and research methods and statistics.
A unique feature of this program is the practice component: you will be required to do either a field internship or a practicum project in human-centered design, to be completed as an independent study project with a core faculty member in the program.
You will have the unique opportunity to work in the CGU Game Lab, where you will design and build an interactive game as part of a transdisciplinary team.
UX researchers are highly employable, and land jobs at companies across a broad range of industries, from tech to healthcare. Read the Nielsen Norman Group report on UX careers.

CURRICULUM

Cognitive Psychology (8 units)

Applied Cognitive Psychology (4 units)

Cognition (4 units)

User Experience (12 – 16 units)

User Experience Design & Strategy (4 units)

Interaction Design and Usability Testing (4 units)

User Experience Research Methods (4 units)

Independent Study: Field Internship (0 – 4 units)

Statistics & Research Methods (12 units)

Research Methods (4 units)

Intermediate Statistics (2 units)

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) (2 units)

Applied Multiple Regression (2 units)

Categorical Data Analysis (2 units)

Electives in Cognitive Psychology, Methods, and Related Fields (12 – 16 units)

You are encouraged to take elective courses in advanced methods and statistics as well as in cognitive psychology. You are also able to benefit from related courses offered by the Center for Information Systems & Technology, including programming courses. Electives are selected based on your interests and with the approval of your academic advisor. Popular electives include:

Design Thinking & Creative Problem Solving

Advanced Qualitative Research Methods

Data Analytics in Practice

Creating the Future with Emerging Technologies

Mobile App Development