White background with navy text that says "Welcome: Chat with the Chair of User-Centered Design." Below, two people work on a design using sticky notes.
Amanda Doctor speaks: Wonderful. And thank you so much for joining us today for our chat with the Chair of User-Centered Design here at Brandeis Online with Brandeis University. Very, very excited to have you with us to talk about this incredible program. We're very fortunate to have members of the program here to discuss sort of a higher level view of what this program has to offer, and I'm here to sort of supplement with admissions information and so on. But again, thank you so much for joining us.
We do ask that attendees keep their microphones muted during the session to avoid any sort of background noise or audio issues. Toward the end of today's presentation, we will open the floor for a live Q&A. I will stop recording, so at that point, anyone in attendance is more than welcome to unmute themselves. You can turn your camera on, so that we can have… we can have more of a discussion toward the end.
If you have any questions along the way as we work through our presentation, I do invite you to enter those questions into the chat field, and we can address them toward the end, in case you just didn't want to lose track of the question that you had in mind.
Slide switches to show a headshots of Eva Kaniasty (ekaniasty@brandeis.edu), Program Chair.
Amanda Doctor speaks: I am joined today by our program chair, Eva Kaniasty. Eva, if you wouldn't mind, introducing yourself to our attendees today, I would truly appreciate that.
Eva Kaniasty speaks: Sure. So I have been chair of the program for over 7 years at this point. And I've worked in the user experience field for over 15. Within the program, I currently teach two courses, Human Factors and Ergonomics, as well as, Survey Methods. And I also work as a consultant in the user experience field, doing a mix of UX research and digital strategy work.
I personally am a big proponent of evidence-based design, so using science and research to support design decisions, and that's something that I always try to make sure is reflected in the curriculum. Some of the industries that I've worked in include, healthcare education and UX for startups. I've also been involved in the, local UX community in Boston and New England. I served as president of UXPA Boston for several years. Last year, I served as, co-chair for Emerging Tech at UXPA International Conference, and this May, I will be, leading the, mentoring and table topics session at UXPA Boston. I also have an interest in community design, and I'm working with a collaborative that's attempting to design a toolkit for organizers who are looking for guidance.
Slide changes to show a headshot of UCD faculty member Elizabeth Rosenzweig (erosenzweig@brandeis.edu).
Amanda Doctor: Wonderful. Thank you so much. I appreciate you sharing an introduction. We're also really fortunate today to have with us another member of our faculty, Elizabeth Rosenweig, who is in attendance to talk a little bit more about our capstone course, and also share our insights on the world of user-centered design. Elizabeth, would you mind sharing a little bit about your background with us?
Elizabeth Rosenzweig: Sure, thank you for having me. So I've been teaching, user-centered design capstone for the last 5 years at Brandeis, and I also teach the internship course. I've been teaching user-centered design in the Boston area for about 20 years, and, internationally for, like, 20, 25 years, doing workshops. I've been a consultant, I've worked in companies, I'm one of the co-founders of iPhoto, and have some patents in that area. But I have to say, one of my favorite things right now is teaching online at Brandeis, because it's a very nice way of bringing together a lot of what I've done. So I've also founded World Usability Day, which has been running for over 20 years. It's on the second Thursday in November. We have, an average of about 25 different countries involved each year. What has been really fun and exciting in Boston, has been the UX Fair, which I believe was started by Eva when you were president of the job.
Eva Kaniasty: That is correct.
Elizabeth Rosenzweig: And it's great, and it's running on World Usability Day now. I think they're trying to do it every year at Mass College of Art, which I actually also teach at. And it's really fun because it's centrally located in the Boston area now, so, like, students… each year I go, there's, like, students from Brandeis, and Bentley, and Northeastern, and Mass Art, and it's just, like, such a wonderful community. And so that's one of the reasons I started World Usability Day, was to try to get everyone together and build community and share our mission, which is that, usable technology can change the world for the better. So, in that regard, I also wrote a couple of books, the… the primary book that I wrote myself is, called Successful User Experience, Strategies and Roadmaps, and just about 6 months ago, published the second edition of that, which we use teaching, I use it, and it's used in a lot of course, courses, and then through World Usability Day, we started a series of edited volumes where we're getting chapters from people all around the world, called Usability for the World, and the last, volume was, Building Better Cities and Communities, so it's all about, urban design and how, human-centered cities, can also help people achieve a better quality of life. So, this year, I'm also speaking at several international venues, and it'll be on the book. So I'll be speaking at the Muhammad Ben Zaid University of AI, about smart cities, and then a few other conferences, in the summer and fall. One is the Human Computer International, Conference, and the other is World Usability Congress, and they'll be about the same thing, smart design, ethical AI, and how it all fits into human-centered design. So, thanks, I'm excited to be here.
Screen changes to say "Brandeis University."
Amanda Doctor: Thank you so much, that was wonderful, I appreciate your introduction.
Before we dive into our agenda, I just want to, introduce to you all, if you're… in case you're not familiar with Brandeis University, a little bit about who we are. While this program in particular sits within the Brandeis Online portfolio. We are part of Brandeis University at large. We are located about 9 miles, or 14 and a half kilometers, west of Boston, in Waltham, Massachusetts. We do sit on a campus of about 235 acres. We're a nationally ranked research institution, and we host approximately 3,300 undergraduates per year and 1,400 graduate students, and this is across multiple schools and disciplines.
We were founded in 1948 and are named for Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. And I think it's really important to think about our founding principles. Those are rooted in social justice, equity, and access. And quite frankly, I feel that, you know, this… this particular topic today, as well as the ability to participate in online learning, is really increasing, access and opportunity for people to participate in master's-level coursework from anywhere in the world without having to uproot yourself or, you know, to relocate or give up your day job. I think that is really important, and I think it speaks to the founding values of the institution. And just a word of note as well, that we are institutionally accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, or NECHI. I think that this just serves as a testament to the academic rigor that you will experience in our programming. We are supported by institutional accreditation, and they do hold us to a very high standard of transformative and rigorous academic experience. So thank you for listening to that. We will now move into our agenda.
Slide switches to say "Agenda."
Amanda Doctor: So thank you for listening to that. We will now move into our agenda. Today we're going to give a little bit of an overview of Brandeis Online, what to expect as a student enrolled in an online program here, and then I will turn it over to our guest panelists today to talk a little bit more about the program itself, certain curricular highlights that we want to share with you, provide a little bit of marketplace insight and discussion around, sort of, what the industry is looking like, what's happening now, what's happening around the corner. And then I'll share information with you about the admissions process and tuition, and at that point, we will open it up to our Q&A session.
Slide switches to say "Brandeis Online Overview."
Amanda Doctor: So, an overview of Brandeis Online. For those of you who are not familiar with participating in online programming, it can be done in a number of different ways. Here at Brandeis Online, we are 100% online asynchronous. It means that you will not have a live session that is mandatory at any point. Asynchronous, however, does not mean fully self-guided. Each of our courses is facilitated by a member of faculty. You will receive a syllabus at the top of each course that will outline all of your assignments and responsibilities, and it will keep you on track. It lets you know at what dates, you know, certain assignments will be due, or discussion board posts, or things of that nature. But the asynchronicity does give you the flexibility from week to week to achieve this coursework in a time that befits your schedule and accommodates your competing priorities. So I'd just like to point that out, that it's not… it's not fully flexible in terms of you have 8 weeks and it's a free-for-all. It is guided. And within that time period, you also know that the faculty establishes office hours for each course, so online does not mean impersonal. I highly encourage our students, whenever possible, stay connected, take advantage of office hours with your members of faculty. It's a great way for you to receive clarification on any of the work, or to sort of build your professional and academic network, and community. It's an opportunity to receive some one-on-one mentoring. So again, online does not mean impersonal. Certainly take advantage of what the online learning experience can offer you in return.
We do offer five eight-week academic sessions per year with rolling admission. So, in the span of a traditional semester, it is feasible to take two courses without having to take them simultaneously. So, in the fall and spring, we offer two independent sessions, and new this academic year, we are now offering a summer enrollment session as well. We feel that this is an opportunity for students who are looking to expedite their time to completion. Or want to maintain continuous enrollment without breaks to have that opportunity to do so over those 5, 8-week sessions each year.
The majority of our master's programs are 10 courses, or 30 credit hours each. We do have one or two outliers that require a few additional courses and credit hours toward completion. We also offer stackable master's certificates. So, master's certificates, and we're going to talk about these a little bit further into the presentation, but in general, a master's certificate is a great opportunity for students who are perhaps looking to just gain a quicker, very specific skill set or knowledge base in a particular area under the umbrella of the full academic program. It can also serve as an opportunity for students who are perhaps looking to, just get a sense of what the experience of online learning is, and still walk away with a credential without enrolling first in the full master's. But the stackable nature of our certificates means that the credits that you've earned within the certificate can stack into the completion of a master's degree. So, they are generally made up of required coursework or electives from the umbrella program. So you would not need to take those courses again were you to decide to roll them into the master's. You can typically finish within 12 to 18 months of starting a program. I would say, most likely, if you were to maintain continuous enrollment, you might be looking at a time to complete of about 24 months or 2 years.
And then it is something to note that we do allow prospective students the option of taking one to two courses on a non-matriculating basis, so without applying officially to a program or certificate, it is possible to take a course or two, which will be credit-bearing. So, if you determine that you do want to, in fact, continue on to a certificate or to the master's program, that course that you took, as long as you maintained strong academic eligibility, will be eligible to transfer into the larger program.
Some insights here about what our students experience while they're enrolled in the program. As I mentioned, I think that online learning is a great opportunity for students who are, you know, sort of in a non-traditional pursuit of a master's. They… 98% of our students across Brandeis Online are working full-time while they are enrolled in their program. Again, that flexibility allows them that opportunity to pursue the degree. I don't want to say, however, that it's completely, you know, easy, and, you know, we do want to stress, this is an academic program. There is rigorous coursework involved. You should anticipate approximately 13 hours of work per week per course. You know, that's… that is something to bear in mind, too, if you are looking to double up on courses? You know, what do you have the bandwidth to do?
We do have student support, student advisors, who will help our students navigate those challenges of whether or not to enroll in more than one course, or, you know, if you need to take a little time off because you understand that maybe your competing priorities are going to require too much of a pull for you to participate in a course. While I always advise students to try to stay actively enrolled wherever possible. There is a lot of flexibility in how you can achieve the degree. So again, just keep in mind that the rigor, might set you at one course per session, and again, that's a conversation you can have with our team internally.
Also stressing again, while online does not mean impersonal, we do have a small staff… a student-to-faculty ratio for each of our courses that is by design, and that is intentional, so that our students feel as though they're getting the most reward out of the connectivity to their fellow students, to faculty. It just creates a space where, even though it's online, you still have that opportunity to really engage one-on-one with other members of the program, as well as our faculty members. And then it's just worth noting that across all of Brandeis Online, our alumni typically state that they… they see an average salary increase of about 25%. So I think if you're really considering what is the return on investment, I mean, it could be myriad, points for the individual, but there is… there is something to be said for, you know, continuing your studies, progressing in a field, you know, learning new skills, knowledge, current and relevant information to your particular field of study can really pay off in dividends in the long run.
Slide changes to say "User-Centered Design Program Defining Features." Grid with four features listed: "1. Human Factors/Cognitive Psychology, 2. UX Research Methods, 3. Interaction Design/Info Architecture, 4. Leadership Skills/Design Process."
Amanda: So thank you so much for allowing me that opportunity to speak more in depth about Brandeis Online. And I'm going to invite Eva to talk a little bit more specifically about the user-centered design program.
Eva Kaniasty: Sure, so just to give you a quick overview of the, curriculum, this is a, 30-credit program with 7 required courses and 3 electives. The program does go through a redevelopment every, I believe, 3 years, and we just completed that. And as part of that, we are developing two new courses. One of them is, an AI for User Experience course, as well as a technology futures course. And this is, to address, kind of, the rapid pace of change in the field and in tech in general. We also have an internship course for those who are, changing careers or are looking for a foot in the door within the user experience industry, and that's actually, a four-credit internship that is taught by Elizabeth. And this, it's basically a learning experience that's going to complement what you're learning on your internship site. And we really… this is specifically designed for students who are, transitioning into a career in… in user experience. If you could go to the next slide, Amanda.
Slide changes to say "Program Curriculum." Required courses include: RUCD 101 — User Experience Design, RUCD 120 — Human Factors Psychology, RUCD 130 — Information Architecture, RUCD 140 — Research Methods, RUCD 150 — Design Ideation and Prototyping, RUCD 170 — Design Operation and Leadership, RUCD 190 — Capstone in User-Centered Design.
Eva Kaniasty: So to speak briefly about, the courses that are required, and electives, so I will, highlight a couple of courses. In a minute, but speaking more generally about electives, we have a number of electives within the user-centered design curriculum that you can see on the slide. Notably, we… In the last couple of years, we added two in-depth user research courses, survey methods, which I also teach, and contextual research methods, as we've had more students coming in with a specific interest in user research. And I already mentioned where we have junior courses under development
Slide changes to say "Other Electives." Electives in design, project. management, analytics, strategy, and leadership are listed.
Eva Kaniasty speaks: And then, if you go to the next slide, we also have a range of electives from other programs within Brandeis Online, and this is, kind of to ensure that whatever your specific interest is. Whether, let's say, you're already working in the field, which actually might allow you to wave out of some of the foundational courses, you have a range of electives that you can, you can explore, whether those are within UCD or within, kind of, related or adjacent Topics of Specialty. And you are not locked into any kind of track, other than having to take the required courses, you're not locked into a specific, area or domain. You can really kind of design the learning experience that makes sense to you. So, I think I will end here for the electives.
Slide changes to list UX master's certificates in Digial Accessiblity and UX Research.
Amanda Doctor speaks: I think maybe… maybe it might be helpful to talk about the… the certificates that we currently offer in this program, and sort of what their specific area of focus is, and sort of your thoughts on how they could benefit someone who is… who is perhaps just looking at a certificate option versus… versus a full master's.
Eva Kaniasty speaks: Sure. So, Amanda already mentioned that these are kind of stackable certificates, so you could start with a certificate. You could complete both, or you could go straight into the master's program, and achieve one or both of these certificates as part of the master's program.
And, I don't know off the top of your head if it actually adds up, if you can… if you take the master's and choose do you, like, run out of electives or not? But, I think you can get pretty close. The… I highlighted one of the courses here, so currently, the digital accessibility Certificate actually has, they use a research course in it as part, instead of the human factor psychology, and based on my recommendations, we're actually going to replace that with the Human Factors course, because that is, more topical to digital accessibility. So these, certificates are kind of, you know, unique in what they are, covering within that… within that very specific domain. Is there anything else that I missed, Amanda?
Amanda Doctor speaks: No, I don't think so. I mean, I think it's just helpful for… for, prospective students to see that there are… there are different pathways, or if they're just looking to focus in one particular area, you know, these are… these are still credentials that can be earned, that can help. You can add this to your resume, or you utilize a certificate as an opportunity to sort of delve into something that perhaps you were not able to do so before professionally. So I think it's just another thing to keep in mind of the options available to you as a prospective student, that a full master's is not always the end-all be-all for everyone, depending on what their needs or interests are.
Slide switches to say "Required Course Spotlight." RUCD 101: User Experience Design. Bullet points say, "Discover key methodologies for understanding users, including personas, stories, and storyboards; Develop foundational interactional design skills, including sketching, wireframing, and prototyping; Understand common approaches to usability evaluation, including heuristic evaluation and usability testing."
Amanda Doctor: What I would love to do is really highlight a few, specific required courses, so that… so that our prospective students can really think about, okay, well, what are… what is being taught? What… what is sort of the benefit, or what is the… what is the, kind of learning outcome for… for these particular courses and why they're required, and then… and then, obviously, we've invited Elizabeth to… to discuss the capstone. So, Ava, if you wouldn't mind sharing your thoughts on… on user experience design as a course?
Eva Kaniasty: Sure, this is, really our foundational course for folks who are not already working in the field or who are, coming into the program straight from undergrad. And this is really… Kind of a survey course of the… and an introduction to the key methods and, skills that you'll need to, to have as a well-rounded user experience. If you do have previous experience, you can actually wave out of this course and take another elective in its place.
Slide switches to say "RUCD 120: Human Factors Psychology." Bullet points say, "Understand the historical context and future trends in fields of human factors, ergonomics, inclusive design, and user-centered design; Examine the capabilities and limitations of human perception and cognition, and their relationship to effective design."
Eva Kaniasty speaks: And, if you could go to the next slide, I'll just talk about the human factor psychology. Actually, this is now called human factor psychology and ergonomics And it's really our most... I would say Academic and theory-driven course. That really does cover the range of the, kind of underlying factors of inclusive design, human factors, a little touch of ergonomics, so really kind of the origin of the field. And how to… whether you're designing, you know, physical products or devices, or if you're designing apps or screens, the, kind of underlying ethos is really focusing on the human factor on human, capacities and limitations. And also, this is some… a course where you will explore, kind of, the, capacities and limitations of humans, as well as AI, and how the two, you know, come together within user experience design. So I think I'll end here for this one, and I'll pass it to Elizabeth for the, capstone course.
Slide switches to say "Capstone."
Amanda Doctor speaks: Elizabeth, I'm very excited. We get asked about capstone courses all the time in admissions, and it's… it's hard for us to articulate as, you know, as admissions generalists, what the specific outcomes or what people are working toward. So any… any insight you can share about this? It's… is so greatly rewarding for us.
Elizabeth Rosenzweig: Great! Well, I really enjoy teaching the capstone because it brings together everything, and so what I enjoy is that I get to work with the students when they're… when you're, like, at, you know, you've just, like, fresh off of learning everything time to put it all together into one project. So, the idea is, they… they… it's pretty much soup-to-nuts user-centered design, right? We start off with some discovery of a problem area, do a little research on how we know it's a problem area, so there's a little piece of it that's academic, where you've got to actually find some peer-reviewed papers that tell you why this is a pro… right? Like, I don't… we're not just here to build. It's like, well, what problem are you solving? And then once we figure out what problem we're solving, then starting to dive in and really do, like, the user-centered research, and then building prototypes, and then applying, you know, do usability testing on the prototypes, and then iterating the prototype, and all along, learning how to keep your narrative going.
So, a little bit of storytelling thrown in, so that at the very end, what the students come out with is what I like to call a very keystone piece for their portfolio, something that they did from beginning to end. It's all them, their idea. And then I also work with them to, work on their presentation skills, as I just mentioned, and storytelling. So there's a piece where they're doing, recordings of their presentations. And then I and the other students in the course provide feedback. So that by the end, the students can really build, strong presentation skills, which is very important as well. And I think you might talk about this later, Eva, but there is an advisory board that the students get to, present, for to get feedback, and that is just invaluable.
And so, the way I do the course is I'll have a one-on-one meeting in real time, with the student, just to kick it off, because I like to ask them where they are in their UX journey, and then what they know so far, and then we talk about the idea for the project. So the idea… the way that works is once I have an understanding of how a student might want to, you know, move in their career one way or the other, so then we can, create a very successful experience for them in the capstone, where they're putting together a very, very strong portfolio piece and presentation around a direction they want to go. So they can basically get their degree and hit the ground running.
So I… I just get super excited about it. We do have, office hour… I hold office hours once a week. It's optional, as Eva said, but what I've been finding really kind of fun is that, you know, students will come and will go over their work in real time, so sometimes it's like a little critique. But then they'll ask more general questions, and there was one time I remember we got through all that, and someone started to ask about, you know, career advice, and that sort of… and how the portfolio would help. And so, it's just a great opportunity to bring everything together and help make the students successful right out of the gate, so… Thank you for letting me tell you about it.
Amanda Doctor: Well, thank you, and I think what's really important to note, too, is, you know, Eva touched a little bit on this before, this program, there's an opportunity for people who haven't been working in this space, so maybe you're looking to make a career transition, maybe you don't have a portfolio. If you're looking to, you know, start applying to roles, you don't have a portfolio, then this is an opportunity for you to have, you know, something actionable, something you can build toward, that has really been thoroughly vetted by faculty and run through an advisory council. So I think there are a lot of opportunities for students to really think differently about what the outcome is for them, you know, or… or, you know, perhaps you are looking to change jobs, and maybe your portfolio, you aren't able to take some of that work with you. It's proprietary. This is, again, an opportunity for you to build a piece of work that is… that has really been, it's the culmination of all the coursework you've done, and the guidance you've received, and your own ingenuity that you're putting into this project. So I think that's… it's really exciting, and it's something that students should think about as they… as they sort of work toward a program.
Slide switches to say "Marketplace Information." Bullet points say: "10.9% industry growth over the next decade; In the past year, over 74, 839 user-centered design related jobs posted in the U.S.; Median salary: $109k; UX managers make on average $150k, user researchers $107k, designers $115k."
Amanda Doctor: So we'll talk a little bit about industry insights. I can share some information about, you know, where we see user-centered designers, user experience. I think that, really, it exists in many spheres, opportunities exist in many spheres, and I know that Ava will talk to that a little bit more, and Elizabeth, you're welcome to share perspective as well. We do see that there is an uptick in the healthcare industry, in fintech and finance, and that e-commerce. They're driving demand for these professionals in their sectors. Median salary is approximately $109,000 a year. I mean, that's going to vary, obviously, and you can see some… some figures here in terms of what UX managers are… are making on average versus U.S. researchers and designers. So, just a few thoughts around, you know, what your earning potential might look like in today's economy. And Eva, I don't know if you had anything you wanted to add, any insights you'd like to share, or Elizabeth as well, in terms of the nature of the market right now.
Eva Kaniasty: Yeah, so… I guess to talk briefly, as I'm sure, is, nobody's surprised, kind of, the rapid adoption of AI has led to some upheaval within the tech industry in general. In my experience, these types of, kind of, times of change tend to lead to new opportunity, especially for folks who are newer to the field, because they can, kind of fill emerging roles, and roles that, have not been available before. I think what's not going to change is that UX, by kind of by its very nature, has to remain human-centered and collaborative. And, most of the UX jobs will continue to require strategic… strategic thinking skills, that are, difficult to develop, kind of, outside of a, structured educational experience.
Whatever happens in the future, you know, I don't have a crystal ball as far as what, you know, shape UX careers will take. But having a master's level credential has always made a difference in, getting your foot in the door in this field. This is how, you know, what did it for me. And also for folks who are already working in the field to, you know, transitioning to a leadership position. We also do have a leadership course in the program to kind of address this need. And we have a range of electives for those who are interested in working on product teams. And, work within, let's say, processes like Agile. So that is my take on this topic. I don't know, Elizabeth, if you have any… any thoughts.
Elizabeth Rosenzweig: Oh yeah, lots of thoughts, but I'll only share a few. So, you know, the field is… like, tech's always gonna have jobs. I'm not actually concerned about that, and I know there's a big… as Eva was saying, oh, there's a big fear of AI, but the truth is, if you learn about AI, there's a lot of ways to use AI and to use it to get things done, but it's not gonna replace people. I just… it's just not. So here's an example. Healthcare industry has medical devices. Medical devices has regulations by the FDA to do human factors testing on medical devices. Oh, did I just say human factors testing on medical devices? You can't actually release a medical device into the field to be sold unless you've done human factors testing. And human factors, like Eva was saying, is super rigorous. And I know this because I've done some of these, and it's like… You could bet the FDA is gonna watch all 25… first of all, you're gonna do 25 user tests. And the FDA will watch every single one of those to see if you've veered off from your script. But you won't if you take this degree, because you'll know for sure what you're supposed to do. So, like, here's just one example. The other one that I… so there's two I've worked on where there's guidelines and regulation in the law about human factors and usability testings, and the other one is voting machines. Very relevant. I wrote about it in my book, and that's more like civic engineering, or like the stuff I was talking about, about the human-centered city, and there is so much going on there. But the idea with the voting machines is that they won't be certified to be used in elections unless they've gone through… actually, they call it usability testing! So you've got to walk, and I've done those too. So, like, those are heavy lifting user experience jobs, user-centered design jobs, and that's just some of them. And even the unregulated industries like e-commerce still has pain points that we can solve, and a lot of it is just, you know, helping users get their stuff done more. So, I think there will always, always be jobs and opportunities, and as I like to tell my students, this field is evolving.
And with a degree like this, with programs like this, they're actually on the front line of this evolution. Oh, maybe they're even driving it. Maybe they're even helping push it to be better than it already is. So, I think there's an enormous amount of opportunity, and what's great about this program over, like, all the ones I've taught in is that it's very, it makes it easier for people who have, like, jobs and lives to actually do it. It… it doesn't mean it's not hard. And I'll tell a funny story. I have a daughter-in-law who's in a graduate program, and there was one time we were doing something, watching my son run a marathon, and she's sitting there watching the marathon and writing her paper at the same time, and I was like, okay, all right, so you guys might have a little of that happening, but then it's, like, so worth it. And I know a couple other people who had that, and then when they were done with the degree, they said, oh my gosh, I have so much time? How relaxed is the life? So, you know, there's a lot of benefits to doing it this way, and I think I'll turn it back over to you guys.
Amanda Doctor: Thank you, that's… that's very interesting.
Eva Kaniasty: I will add, I don't recommend multitasking, because it's not possible.
Amanda Doctor: I think… but I think that speaks to the point, that it is something that you're taking on. It becomes another priority, but I say it is finite, and the time and energy you invest in the short term into successfully completing the program, I assure you, it can pay off in dividends. And I think you both touched upon, sort of, this fluid nature of… of… What is happening, but, you know, in the marketplace, but that there will always be that need for the human factor of all of it.
Slide switches to say "UCD Faculty Job Titles." Bullet points say: Principal UX Architect for Cox Automotive, User Experience Lead at Dell Technologies, Head of UX and Digital Accessibility at Harvard University Library, Corporate Vice President of User Experience at New York Life Insurance."
Amanda: And I think that we want to highlight some of our faculty expertise, as well as our advisory council, expertise, and I think what's really important is to know that you know, you can see that individuals associated with this program are coming to us from many different sectors, many different industries, and that is what is actually being translated, through the, you know, the virtual classroom. Knowing that, you know, if someone is in a financial institution versus a non-profit. The challenges are actually quite similar, even though the arena might be very different. And it's learning those perspectives, and the perspectives and the insights, and the experience that our faculty bring to the table that I think is really important. And Eva, I want to turn it back to you, if you had any specific thoughts or points that you wanted to share with prospective students.
Eva Kaniasty: Sure, and I want to be, be mindful of, leaving time for questions, so I'll just be brief. So, our faculty do work in the field, we hire them part-time. And, we kind of teach them to teach using our Standards, but they are, you know, engaged in what's happening in the real world. Actually, something else I wanted to mention is, I think Amanda mentioned this, so I actually do, even though this is an asynchronous program, so you can do it at your own pace, you can do it, Kind of, you know, in your… Whatever your availability is throughout the week.
But I do require that the faculty offer, standing office hours that students can drop into, and then, you know, some of my courses, I have all students coming to office hours almost every week, which, you know, is, I just find that the live office hours are… a great experience for students to engage with each other, to engage with the faculty, and also, to kind of replicate the real-world experience of work today, which actually does include a lot of remote interaction and remote presentations, etc. And all of that is part of the coursework that you're doing. You're practicing that. And the, office hours, or if you're doing, presentations for assignments in the capstone, as Elizabeth mentioned. And, as far as building your network, we also have a pretty, relatively large team of industry mentors. I think, Amanda, you've got a list of some of, those roles. And these are folks who are either on our advisory board or part of a… of a panel, and they are available to, mentor and coach students throughout, their time at Brandeis and beyond. And this could be, you know, ad hoc mentoring, portfolio review, informational interviews, career coaching, really, whatever you need at that point in time, you can find folks who are working in the field that you're interested in, or I should say subfield or domain. And it's a… it's a great opportunity for… for students to kind of pick the… Not just have the program be about academics, but really about meeting folks who are kind of at the forefront of UX. So, if I just end here. I feel like I went longer than...
Amanda: No, but I think that's really… it's that sort of insight that I don't think prospective students necessarily are aware of in terms of, yes, here is the curriculum, here is the degree. And then, there is also this access to this network of professionals who… these are the individuals, our faculty, our advisory council, these are the individuals who are part of that, three-year comprehensive, in-depth review of each program, who are influencing our curriculum to make sure that it is addressing the needs of the moment, that it is flexible to what is coming around the corner, that it is addressing concerns and issues that are… that are relevant to today. So I think it is really beneficial for students to see the types of profiles and backgrounds that… that come together to help, guide this particular program.
Slide switches to say "Application Checklist." List says: "1. Online Application, 2. Official transcripts, 3. Resume, 4. Statement of goals, 5. Letter of recommendation." NO GRE or GMAT required.
Amanda: So I do want to be mindful of time as well, so I'm gonna… I'm just gonna kind of go through this. This is all available on our website, or you can contact me directly, or are online@brandeis.edu for this information or questions. But for the degree, the full master's application, you an go online and start your application. There's no fee to apply. We do not require standardized test scores, so no GMATs, no GREs. But we do ask that you complete the form online, that you request official copies of your transcripts from all colleges and universities you've attended, especially those showing the conferral of your undergraduate degree. Just a side note, we can administer an admissions decision on a conditional basis. If you've provided copies of your transcripts, just know that were you to be admitted. And by the completion of your first term, you would need to submit official transcripts for your record.
We do ask for a copy of your resume. This is just a great opportunity to show the admissions committee what your, sort of your timeline has been, both academically and professionally, maybe adding insights into your work experience as they pertain to this particular program, cite any other sort of professional achievements, certifications, courses that you took, sort of one-off workshops that might, feed into this particular program in some way, shape, or form to show some motivation toward it.
The statement of goals, I highly recommend that while people should not be overly personal in their statement of goals, this is a great opportunity to create a narrative for the admissions committee in terms of, you know, sort of what your background is, what your motivations are academically, what you're hoping for as far an outcome. And then to fill in any gaps, maybe where there was a… there was a gap in employment, or perhaps there was a gap in your undergraduate academic career, something of that nature. Just give a little insight, a little self-reflection, sort of Where you've come from, what's brought you to here, and what you're hoping to achieve.
We do require one letter of recommendation. You are welcome to upload more than one. However, that recommender should be someone who is appropriately credentialed to speak to your strengths and your abilities as they pertain to participation in the rigors of a master's level program. The application requests that you complete that section with your recommender's contact information, so I highly recommend reaching out to the person that you are listing as a recommender, they will receive an auto-generated response from our system that prompts them to fill out a checklist, and then provide a separate narrative as well, so just if you want to prepare them for that. While we don't technically have, you know, we have rolling admission, we do have these sort of deadlines that if you were looking to start in a next available term, you just want to be mindful of from an administrative basis. We want to make sure that students who receive a decision that are accepted have enough time to really kind of get their ducks in a row, make sure that they are prepared, they have been onboarded properly, they have connected with what additional resources they need on campus. You've had an opportunity to meet with your student advisor. Every program has a student advisor within our student advising team. Our student services team, they're phenomenal. They help you through everything from registering, knowing what deadlines are, knowing what the academic calendar is, and any concerns or questions you might have. They're a great primary point of contact for you throughout your academic journey at Brandeis Online. So just a heads up that our next available term of entry is going to be summer, with classes beginning in early July, I believe June 3rd, and the deadline for that application process is May 5th. If that's a little too soon for you, and you want to start in the beginning of the fall semester. The Fall 1 application deadline is July 28th, and I believe courses begin around August 28th-ish? Sorry, I don't have my academic calendar in front of me, but just know that that's the start of the first fall term.
Slide switches to say "Tuition."
Amanda: Just a point of reference, that whether you take a non-matriculating course, a certificate course, or the master's… a course within the master's degree, our cost per credit is $1,220. I do not anticipate that increasing in the next academic year, so, just to sort of help keep in mind what the total master's degree, and in this case it is a 30 credit hour degree program versus the certificate option. We are a low-fee institution, so for the most part, those are all of your direct expenses. That $500 deposit is not an additional fee, that is strictly an enrollment deposit. So, were you to be admitted to the program. Paying that deposit secures your spot in the program. It sort of triggers the back-end issuing of your credentials, of setting up your onboarding, and then that $500 deposit is rolled into the tuition of your first course. And you do want to anticipate your indirect fees being your materials, your reference, your text fees, depending on the course, depending on the professor, that can really… it can fluctuate, but we anticipate an estimated cost of materials per course of approximately $25 to $100. One thing to also keep in mind is that we do have a number of corporate partnerships here at Brandeis Online. If you have any questions or concerns about whether or not your employer is a partner to us, you're more than welcome to reach out to us in the admissions office. Or, if they are not a corporate partner, you may just want to check with your HR department in general. We are FAFSA eligible. We offer payment plans through our billing department, and again, if your employer offers any sort of tuition assistance or remission, it is worthwhile for you to investigate that, because oftentimes people aren't even aware that's a benefit to them through their employer.
Slide switches to say "Master's Certificate."
The master certificate application is a little bit of a lighter lift. You would go to our website, you would complete the master certificate application for the certificate that you are interested in. It will ask you to upload a copy of your resume, and it may also ask you to upload a copy of your transcripts. That is a change that we are instituting for the upcoming academic year. And then we would want you to consider as well, if you're just looking to get a sense of whether or not you have the time for this, whether or not online learning is right for you, I highly encourage you to enroll in a single course. As a non-matriculating student, you can do so by filling out the first-time registration form on our website as well. And then just a reminder of the upcoming term, our summer courses are running June 3rd through… oh, that says May 19th. That's embarrassing. Sorry. I glanced right over that, but I'm going to assume that that is… that is August. So, apologies there for… for the typo.
Slide switches to display contact information for Amanda (amandadoctor@brandeis.edu) and Eva (ekaniasty@brandeis.edu).
Amanda: And then we are going to open it up to questions at this point, but I want to take an opportunity before we stop our recording to introduce myself, because I don't know that I did that at the top of the presentation today. My name is Amanda Doctor, the Associate Director of Admissions and Enrollment here at Brandeis Online. There is my email address. In case you have any questions, concerns, or issues, you are more than welcome to reach out to me as a primary contact at this point in your journey. I want to reintroduce Eva Kaniasty, who is our program chair of user-centered design. I want to thank you so much for all that you've shared with us today. Elizabeth Rosenzweig, thank you. You've got me excited. I want to jump right into the capstone course. I'd probably have to do all the prerequisites first, though, I'm sure, so I guess we might have to wait to meet each other at the end of this journey, but thank you so much for your time, your… your knowledge and your insight. I think, again, what you both have been able to offer our prospective students today is invaluable, so thank you.