• Home
• Applied Information Technology
• Simulation and Digital Entertainment
• Interaction Design and Information Architecture
  • Program Requirements
  • Course Descriptions
  • Upcoming Classes
  • Student Work
• D.S., Information and Interaction Design
• Graduate Certificates
• Faculty
• Research
• Current Courses
• Usability Lab
• Computer Labs
• News
• Contact Us

M.S. Interaction Design and Information Architecture

Program Description:

Increasingly, every business, nonprofit, school, and family counts on digital resources to grow and prosper. People who can deliver those resources go by many titles--Interaction Designer, User Experience Manager, Information Architect, User Researcher, or Creative Director.

Whatever their job titles, these people are essential to the way we live today and the ways we wish to live tomorrow. With an M.S. in Interaction Design and Information Architecture, you’ll find yourself in high demand for creative and satisfying positions here in Maryland or elsewhere. We currently have a 100% placement rate of our graduates in relevant and rewarding jobs.

What you will learn:

In the core sequence you'll study Information Architecture; Interaction and Interface Design; Research Methods for Interaction Design; Humans, Computers, and Cognition; and Information Culture. You'll also take one of three programming classes. Current options include Ajax, PHP, or HTML 5.

You may choose your five elective courses from among the more than 50 offerings in the curriculum, including approved courses at other institutions. You may concentrate your electives in one of four focus areas: Technical, Interaction Design, User Research, or Management. Or you can develop your own focus in consultation with your faculty advisor.

Working closely with your advisor, you will demonstrate your achievements by completing a Master's Thesis or Project. Among the options for this capstone experience are original research leading to a conference presentation or publication, development of software or other information resources, and significant cultural or creative work.

As a student in this program you will become proficient in specific applications of significant information technologies, well-versed in methods for understanding and structuring human interactions with those technologies, and critically aware of social and cultural implications arising from technological developments.

When you graduate you will be able to:

• develop structures of information directed to specific audiences (for example, a complex Web site)
• describe the content and interactive features of computer-mediated communications systems
• define the organization, navigation, labeling, and searching systems
• apply principles of user-centered and iterative design to the development process
• test aspects of the system for its usability and appropriateness to its intended audience
• plan for change and growth over time
• understand social and cultural effects of information systems and their implementations
• develop new media genres

Students who choose to complete the program by pursuing a Master's Project will be well prepared to become working Information Architects or User Experience Designers. Students who choose to complete the program by writing a more traditional M.S. Thesis will be prepared to pursue doctoral studies.

Research Opportunities

You'll encounter nationally prominent faculty with active projects in interface design, application development, organization of information services, new-media rhetoric, electronic publishing, and the digital arts. These projects closely inform our curriculum, assuring you of contemporary, challenging learning experiences. In addition, funded research creates opportunities for some students to work directly with faculty. You'll be encouraged to attend national conferences in order to present significant work and build your professional identity.

Facilities

Our labs offer excellent support for usability research, visual design, digital audio/video, and interactive development. You'll be able to work with major production tools across multiple platforms. We also maintain a complement of servers and other on-line resources to support coursework and research in World Wide Web publishing, Internet application development, interface design, and advanced media experiments.

Admission Information

The IDIA program is open to students from all disciplines, but it is especially appropriate for people with degrees in the humanities and social sciences who want to apply their liberal arts backgrounds to an emerging technology field.

Candidates for admissions to the M.S. in Interaction Design and Information Architecture must have received a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution with an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better.

You may:

Request more information.

Apply online.

Contact the UB Office of Admissions at gradadmissions@ubalt.edu or 410.837.4777 or 1.877.ApplyUB (1.877.277.5982) for more information, or visit http://www.ubalt.edu/admissions.

Application Deadlines:

• April 1: Fall semester (to be considered for an assistantship)
• July 1: Fall semester
• December 1: Spring semester
• April 1: Summer session
  

Support

A small number of fellowships for full time students are available on a competitive basis. In order to compete for a fellowship for full time study, you must complete your application by March 1. Students may also apply for loans through the University of Baltimore's Office of Financial Aid at http://www.ubalt.edu/financialaid or 410.837.4763.

To apply you must supply the following to the University's Office of Graduate Admissions:

• the University's application for graduate admission or apply online at www.ubalt.edu/apply
• application fee
• Maryland in-state residency status form if you are applying as a Maryland resident
• a letter of intent explaining your educational and professional goals
• current resume or curriculum vitae
• two letters of recommendation using the University's recommendation forms
• two official copies of transcripts from all universities and colleges attended
• official GRE or Miller Analogies Test scores.

Please send all materials to:

Principal Faculty:

Encounter nationally prominent faculty with active projects in interface design, application development, information services, new-media rhetoric, electronic publishing and the digital arts.

• Kathleen Austin
• Nancy Kaplan
• Mohammed Ketel
• Deborah Kohl
• Jeffrey Livermore
• Aaron Oldenburg
• Anastasia Salter
• Kathryn Summers
• Cecelia Wright Brown

Affiliated Faculty

• Lucy Holman
• Micah Adams
• Randy Souza
• And faculty in Instructional Technology from Towson University

See faculty bios for more info.

Contact Information: Program Director or Program Coordinator