Education Directory
PÅ SVENSKA
Malmö University
Programme syllabus autumn 2021
Programme syllabus autumn 2021
Title
Interaction Design, Master's Programme (Two-Year)
Swedish title
Interaction Design, Master's Programme (Two-Year)
Programme code
TAIND
Credits
120 credits
Programme establishment date
2006-12-10
Syllabus approval date
2019-09-25
Syllabus valid from
2020-08-31
Decision-making body
Faculty of Culture and Society
Entry requirements
Bachelor's degree or equivalent in subjects relevant for interaction design. Examples of relevant subjects include, but are not limited to: computer science, informatics, information systems, human-computer interaction, new media arts, fine arts, design (industrial, product, graphic, interaction), communication studies, media studies and cognitive science.
Approval of the following submitted material: two work samples of previous, relevant work and an individual response to the application assignment. Please see the 'Selection' tab on this page for further information.
General eligibility + the equivalent of Swedish higher secondary school English course B.
Level
Advanced level
Organisation
The programme comprises full-time study for two academic years, divided into eight courses as follows:
Year one:
  • Introduction to multidisciplinary interaction design (15 credits)
  • Embodied interaction (15 credits)
  • Relational design (15 credits)
  • Thesis Project I (15 credits).
Year two:
  • Design and social innovation (15 credits)
  • Play and ludic interaction (15 credits)
  • Design-based research (15 credits)
  • Thesis project two (15 credits).
In year two, the studio courses on design and social innovation and play and ludic interaction can be substituted with studio courses on equivalent contemporary topics in interaction design research. This is possible after individual approval by the Study Programmes Board, in order to facilitate exchange with comparable education programmes in Sweden and internationally.
With regards to design methodology, there is a progression from participatory approaches with heterogeneous groups in public settings to participatory approaches where the border between design and use is dissolved, and further to design practice as part of academic knowledge production.
Academic maturity is developed throughout the course, as students work towards an advanced independent project in the first year, and, in the second year, towards state-of-the-art approaches to practice-based research within interaction design.
Programme contents
Semester 1, autumn 2021
Introduction to multidisciplinary interaction design
KD640A, 15 credits (COMPULSORY)
Main field of study: Interaction Design
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Embodied interaction
KD641A, 15 credits (COMPULSORY)
Main field of study: Interaction Design
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Semester 2, spring 2022
Relational design
KD642B, 15 credits (COMPULSORY)
No main field of study
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Interaction Design: Thesis Project I
KD643A, 15 credits (COMPULSORY)
Main field of study: Interaction Design
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Semester 3, autumn 2022
Design and Social Innovation
KD644A, 15 credits (COMPULSORY)
Main field of study: Interaction Design
Go to course homepage
Play and ludic interaction
KD645A, 15 credits (COMPULSORY)
Main field of study: Interaction Design
Go to course homepage
Semester 4, spring 2023
Design-based Research
KD646A, 15 credits (COMPULSORY)
Main field of study: Interaction Design
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Interaction Design: Thesis Project II
KD647A, 15 credits (COMPULSORY)
Main field of study: Interaction Design
Go to course homepage
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
In order to receive a master's degree in Interaction Design, the student shall demonstrate:
  • a broad understanding of the field of interaction design: its transformative character, history and development;
  • substantial knowledge of current research themes and different genres within interaction design, including a broad repertoire of design examples from these genres, and the situations and qualities of their usage;
  • substantial, in-depth knowledge of the individual research area chosen for the second year thesis project;
  • broad knowledge of the various materials used in interaction design, including their properties, limitations and possibilities;
  • substantial knowledge of design methods, approaches and practices when designing for interactions, in individual, multidisciplinary and collaborative settings; and
  • sound understanding of the relationship between details and overall strategies when designing (networks of) products, services, tools and/or events for experiences and interactions.
Competencies and skills
In order to receive a master's degree in Interaction Design, the student shall demonstrate:
  • the ability to apply a design practice of learning-by-doing;
  • the ability to contribute to multi-disciplinary interaction design work;
  • the ability to engage with users and other stakeholders in iterative co-designing processes;
  • the ability to formulate and re-frame fruitful design problems, challenges, openings and questions in complex design situations;
  • the ability to reach beyond design assignments as originally stated and to explore a range of possibilities as a means to ground design decisions;
  • the ability to select and use relevant methods, techniques, tools and approaches in design work, including a broad repertoire of techniques for representing interaction designs;
  • the ability to evaluate and critique design concepts, prototypes and finished systems with regard to functional, spatial, aesthetic, sustainable and ethical aspects of quality, with a particular emphasis on methods and theories focusing on use situations;
  • the ability to reflect upon the design process and its results, and to promote a conceptual development of the interaction design field by articulating knowledge contributions on a research level; and
  • the ability to account for and discuss knowledge contributions developed through design work, including the arguments for these contributions, spatially, verbally and in writing, with various target groups.
Evaluation and approach
In order to receive a master's degree in Interaction Design, the student shall demonstrate:
  • the ability to exercise judgement accounting for relevant societal and ethical concerns within interaction design as an area of knowledge development;
  • insight into the roles of interaction design in society, and the responsibility of interaction designer to develop meaningful technologies, services, tools and experiences from a humanistic standpoint; and
  • the ability to reflect upon and learn from group work and individual design processes and practical experiences, in order to identify new knowledge needs, and thereby take responsibility for one's own continuous learning.
Degree
Master's Degree (120 credits)
Master of Science (120 Credits) with a major in Interaction Design.
Additional information
Language of instruction: English