Interaction Design blends the fields of design and technology, with a focus on ensuring that products are appealing, effective, and intuitive for their users. Interaction designers work closely with programmers to create smart objects and systems that optimize the user experience. There is strong demand for more interaction designers in today’s hightechnology industries.
Selected to participate in the pilot California Community College Baccalaureate degree program, Santa Monica College now offers courses that meet the requirements for its new Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in the field of Interaction Design. This degree will provide students with the skills necessary to enter this well-paying and exciting field. Students interested in the Bachelor of Science degree in Interaction Design should visit smcixd.org for more information and to sign up for email updates about the program.
Interaction Design, Bachelor of Science Degree
Interaction Designers help create useful, meaningful, and delightful interactions between people and the products and services they encounter. They collaborate on the design of the behavior, organization, usability, and aesthetics of interactive systems. The discipline was developed in response to the need to provide seamless connections between high-tech systems and their users. By now, it is integral to the development of modern digital technology.
The Interaction Design Bachelor of Science degree program prepares students for a successful career in the rapidly developing media and technology fields. It covers a wide range of topics from visual design, user experience, multimedia, and technology, through hands-on project-based learning focused on building a strong portfolio of work. Students are also introduced to the fundamentals of adjacent fields of psychology, computer programming, product design, and architecture.
This two-year program covers the junior and senior college years; applicants are expected to have relevant previous college experience before applying.
Program Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the program, students will demonstrate knowledge of Interaction
Design/User Experience Design history, practices, methodologies, tools, and project-based
processes in designing for the user.
Students will utilize human-centered design principles, user-testing outcomes, and
ethnographic research insights, and will employ critical thinking, sketching, and
iterative processes to define, develop, conceptualize, and solve problems.
Students will design and prototype correct affordances, interaction paradigms, and
patterns for a range of platforms including web, mobile, and tangible systems.
Students will collaborate with customers and clients, and in team projects, brainstorming
sessions, and in-class critiques.
Students will exhibit proficient visual, verbal, and written communication skills,
particularly presentation skills necessary in the design industry.
Area of Emphasis: (65 - 105 units)
Lower Division Preparation for the IxD Major:
These courses, or equivalent, are required prior to enrollment in the IxD courses. SMC has several articulation agreements with other institutions for these courses.
DESIGN 11,Design Foundations (formerly GR DES 31)(3)
DESIGN 12,Typography 1 (formerly GR DES 33)(3)
DESIGN 13,Digital Design Tools (formerly GR DES 18)(3)
DESIGN 23,User Experience Design 1 (formerly GR DES 61)(3)
DESIGN 31,Interactive Advertising(3)
DESIGN 32,Communication Design(3)
DESIGN 33,User Experience Design 2 (formerly GR DES 62)(3)
DESIGN 41,Industry Project(3)
DESIGN 42,Information Design(3)
DESIGN 43,Design Portfolio (formerly GR DES 67)(3)
Required Lower-Division Courses: (31 units)
AHIS 3,Global Art History Since 1860 (3)
or
AHIS,(any AHIS course satisfies requirement; AHIS 3 highly recommended)(3)
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BUS 20,Principles of Marketing(3)
or
BUS 63,Principles of Entrepreneurship(3)
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CIS 54,Web Development and Scripting(3)
or
CS 7 ,Programming for Non-Computer Science Majors(3)
or
CS 87A,Python Programming (3)
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ARC 45,Designing Spaces: Enhancing the Human Experience(3)
ENGL (1),Reading and Composition (see ENGL C1000)(3)
ENGL C1000,Academic Reading and Writing (formerly ENGL 1)(3)
ENGL C1001,Critical Thinking and Writing (formerly ENGL 2)(3)
ENGL (2),Critical Thinking and Writing (see ENGL C1001)(3)
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MATH (54),Elementary Statistics (see STAT C1000)(4)
STAT C1000,Introduction to Statistics (formerly MATH 54)(4)
or
PSYCH 7,Research Methods in Psychology(3)
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MEDIA 4,Introduction to Game Studies (may substitute with COM ST 16 only if taken prior to Fall 2016)(3)
MEDIA 20,Introduction to Media Writing and Producing Short-Form Content(3)
PSYC C1000,General Psychology (formerly PSYCH 1)(3)
PSYCH (1),General Psychology (see PSYC C1000)(3)
Upper-Division Major Requirements: (31 units)
IXD 310,Interaction Design Studio 1(3)
IXD 320,History and Practice of Interaction Design(3)
IXD 330,Interaction Design Studio 2(3)
IXD 360,Product Design(3)
IXD 410,Project Management for Design(2)
IXD 420,Design for Social Innovation(3)
IXD 430,Interaction Design Studio 3(3)
IXD 460,Tangible Interaction(3)
IXD 470,Interaction Design Senior Studio(4)
IXD 480,Design for the Future(3)
Upper-Division General Education: (9 units)
ANTHRO 300,
Ethnographic Research Methods for Designers
(3)ENGL 300,Advanced Writing and Critical Thinking in the Disciplines(3)
PSYCH 320,Cognitive Psychology(3)
Optional Internship or Independent Study:
DESIGN 90A,Internship(1)
DESIGN 90B,Internship(2)
DESIGN 90C,Internship(3)
IXD 481,Independent Studies in Interaction Design(1)
IXD 482,Independent Studies in Interaction Design(2)
IXD 483,Independent Studies in Interaction Design(3)