A bachelor’s degree in User Experience Design (UXD) is the newest offering in 91ֿ’s College of Communication and Information (CCI), aimed at training graduates for one of the fastest-growing career fields.
“There’s been a growing presence of these roles across sectors, across industries,” Michael Beam, Ph.D., director of the School of Emerging Media and Technology (EMAT) and professor in the School of Communication Studies, within CCI, told 91ֿ Today. “People are hiring user experience designers.”
The field, he said, incorporates how to communicate with design, as well as understanding how people interface with design, particularly in the field of digital technology.
“It’s a connection that exists between design and technology,” said Daniel Alenquer, director of the School of Visual Communication Design (VCD). EMAT and VCD faculty crafted the new Bachelor of Science degree program between their two schools.
The college previously had offered a minor in user experience design, and a master’s program in the field; the bachelor’s degree, which was three years in development, completes the degree programs.
91ֿ is the first, and currently the only, public university in Ohio to offer a bachelor’s degree in user experience design, which brings together the tech-focused discipline of the School of Emerging Media and Technology with the graphic design sensibilities of the School of Visual Communication Design, Beam said.
Together, the two areas of study give students the skills to craft engaging experiences for end users, whether in a digital or physical space.
“It relates to the process of designing products – physical products like computers, smartphones, keyboards – and systems, like websites and apps -- anything that humans interact with – and then the third area is services. The way that user experience design works is that it is focused on how users interact with these three: products, systems and services,” Alenquer explained.
Although the degree was not officially offered until September, Chelse Knight, a junior from Cleveland, Ohio, discovered the offering over the summer when she saw a flyer about it posted outside the Taylor Hall advising office and immediately switched her major to UXD.
She is 91ֿ’s first student to pursue the UXD bachelor’s degree.
The new bachelor’s program is just what Knight had been looking for when she transferred to 91ֿ from Cuyahoga Community College in January 2025 to study visual communication design.
“I had UXD as my minor and I’m really interested in going into that field,” Knight said, explaining why she opted for the new degree. Knight believes that offering UXD as a bachelor’s degree program will draw more students to 91ֿ.
Beam and Alenquer said the college knew there would be interest in the degree based on the number of students they saw opting for the UXD minor, those returning for the master’s program, and those who had been basically crafting their own UXD majors by putting together courses from EMAT and VCD.
“I really wanted to focus my classes and gain more skills with my learning more focused on user experience design to prepare for a future career in user experience design,” Knight said. “I feel like this major will definitely allow me to gain more skills and be prepared. I enjoy problem-solving and designing digital interfaces.”
Problem solving is one of the main goals of user experience design, Alenquer said, with the others being usability, ease of learning, accessibility and desirability.
At the heart of the degree is the connection between design and technology, a growing area within digital technology.
User experience design is a fast-growing job field. From 2024 to 2034, jobs in the field are expected to grow by 7%, considered much faster than average, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which also reports a median annual salary in the field to be $98,000.
When developing the degree program over the past several years, Alenquer said the team received favorable support from Ohio-based companies, including Goodyear, Progressive and Safelite.
“UXD is a growing but relatively young field,” Beam said. “Since we’re the first bachelor’s degree program at a public university in Ohio, I think that shows that we are training our students for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”
In the future, Knight is hoping for a job as a designer in the tech industry, but she is not particular about what segment of the industry she lands in as long as the work is meaningful and she can put her problem-solving skills to use.
Knight is interested in obtaining an internship in the design field in Tokyo, Japan, this summer.
“I want to create meaningful, user-friendly designs that make a real impact,” she said. “That’s the kind of work I see myself doing after graduation.”
Learn more about 91ֿ's User Experience Design bachelor's degree.