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.
Thomas Screnci speaks: Excellent, all right. So thank you for joining us again for this chat with a chair of user center design. We're going to begin with our introductions and jump into our content here of the program, and then jump into admissions information as well.
So as discussed. You know, this is a recorded session. So for those watching the recording please enjoy for live people. Just ask that you at least stay muted, so there's no audio issues, and cameras can be on or off, based on your comfort level.
Slide switches to show two headshots: Eva Kaniasty (ekaniasty@brandeis.edu) and Tom Screnci (tscrenci@brandeis.edu).
Tom Screnci speaks: So with that out of the way we'll jump into introductions. I am Thomas Screnci. I'm the Associate Director of Admissions and Enrollment. I am one of your main contacts for the admissions process. You have my direct email there (tscrenci@brandeis.edu). The online@brandeis.edu email address is our general inbox, which I check with the admissions team staff fully check. So you can reach me. Either one of those ways is totally fine, and you can, of course, call us, too, and we're as happy to schedule Zoom Meetings if you'd like to meet over Zoom as well.
I hand it over to Eva Kaniasty! Who can introduce herself and talk to us a little bit about her background and expertise as program chair.
Eva Kaniasty speaks: So a little bit about me. I've been chair of the program for over 5 years and actively working in the Ux field for over 15 years at this point. In addition to teaching, I work as a consultant doing primarily research and strategy, and I am in general a big proponent of evidence-based design, so using science and research to support this design decisions. So I try to incorporate that into our curriculum. Some of the industries I've worked in include healthcare, education and UX for startups. I've been pretty involved in the ux community in New England, including serving as President of UXPA Boston for several years. And a couple weeks ago I was at UXPA International Conference, where I gave a presentation and also served as co-chair for Emerging Technologies. Back to you.
Thomas Screnci: Thank you, Eva.
Screen changes to say "Agenda." Bullet points say: "Program overview, Marketplace information, Admissions info, Open Q&A."
Tom Screnci speaks: So next we cover the quick cover over agenda, which we already briefly mentioned. So first, it's introducing you to Brandeis Online in general, basic information to give you context of what our university offers here. Then, we're going to jump into the overview of the program discussing the marketplace, the industry of our program of our user-centered design program, the industry that it is most impactful to for those in those fields. Then we're going to wrap up by discussing the emissions, information, and then time for Q&A at the end.
Slide changes to say "Brandeis Online Overview."
Tom Screnci speaks: The first step is still with me, introducing you to Brandeis Online. So, Brandeis University, if you're unfamiliar with the school in general, we are. We have a physical campus in Waltham, Massachusetts, which is the suburbs of Boston, directly west of Boston.
This division, Brandis Online, as you could guess, is a hundred percent online program. We provide a hundred percent online master's degree and certificate programs. The vast majority of our programs are degree programs are 30 credits, which is 10 courses, this program and user-centered design included. And we do offer a variety of master's certificates, which the most of our certificate programs are 4 courses, with all of our user-centered design related certificates being 4 courses.
Our certificates are pathways into the degree. So if you started with one of those certificates, and did those 4 courses, all of them are fully stackable or transferable into the degree track. So you're welcome to start with a certificate, and then stop and be done, or keep going with the degree, or start directly with the degree as well. Whatever suits your interests and needs. We offer a bunch of different options for that.
All of our programs are asynchronous. So there's no required meeting times. Materials for courses are always posted early Wednesday morning, based on the Eastern time zone where we are. And you have basically a full week to do the work at your own pace. You may have projects that require, you know, coordinating times with classmates, with teammates you may want to meet, live with an instructor, with your academic advisor. So those will, of course, require specific time meeting times, but you are fully free to work at your own pace each week within the materials, which could be readings could be videos could be projects like I mentioned does change based on the course and the content.
But our courses are 100% online, 100% asynchronous, making it very available for those who are working. 98% of our students work full time. So we are very much geared towards the working professional. A lot of our students come in with years of experience. Some are recent grads who are looking to gain a degree or certificate before moving on. So we have a very big focus on the working professional and the convenience of the working professional. We keep our classes small, so you can have nice conversations, access the material and instructors very easily.
Admissions is rolling. So while we do have deadlines when applications are due, by decisions are rolling. So as you complete a application for a certificate or a degree, we send out decisions as soon as we can, so you can get a decision pretty quickly. If you applied months ahead of time you'd get a decision which you can, of course, deposit with or sit on and decide later on. So we do provide that flexibility as well in the admissions process.
If you're new to online learning, you're not really committed to Brandeis Online or or a program you can take up to 2 courses without applying. There's a form on our website called The 1st Time Registration, and you can take up to 2 courses without enrolling in a certificate or degree program. So it makes the opportunity to kind of dip your toes into online learning very, very available.
Slide switches to list all master's degrees and certificates at Brandeis Online, which can be found at brandeis.edu/online/academics.
This is just a general overview of all of our programs that we do offer a few certificates in user centered design. And of course, our master's degree in user-centered design as well, which is a master of science program. So this is just a brief overview of all of our programs. We are here, of course, to discuss user-centered design. So we're not linger on this page far too long. We're happy to move forward and jump into the user-centered design program, which is where I hand it off to Eva to discuss the defining features of our program.
Slide changes to say "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."
Eva Kaniasty: Sure. So, despite the fact that our program has offers you the convenience of being delivered online, it is still instructor facilitated. So it's not something like, you know, Coursera, where you're just going and watching videos. So it is a, you know, a semester structure with an instructor leading each course, and although there are no required in-person meetings, we do have zoom standing office hours in each course, because, you know, I find that students really benefit from having that not literally face to face contact, but at least you can see your fellow students and instructor and engage with them live.
In this, in this specific program we are pretty rigorous in teaching you human factors and cognitive psychology to really give you that advanced knowledge. And at the same time we focus on practical skills and projects that you can include in your portfolio. So you know, by the time you leave the program you will have practiced a number of ux processes and methods and should be able to start contributing at a pretty high level, whether it is your 1st ux role or your next ux role, where you're advancing into leadership.
Our student body is very diverse in every way, and I think that's because, you know, in this day and age it's pretty difficult for people to put their life on hold to do in-person learning. So we're, you know, trying to remove some of those barriers that might limit you otherwise in the program that you can you can access.
And I would say the difference from something like a boot camp is that, as I mentioned, our courses are instructor facilitated, and have, you know, a traditional weekly semester structure. So you have the opportunity to interact with faculty and other students. And you also get those advanced courses that you're not going to get in a in a boot camp
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: Just a quick overview of the curriculum. So it is a 30 credit program with 7 required courses and 3 electives. What you're looking at are electives in our program, and our program is continually improving. And we're adding new and special topics courses. We are just launching 2 new research courses, one on contextual or field research and one on survey methods, since over time we found that more students are interested in the user research track rather than just the the design track. So you know, if that is part of your background, you could tackle those more advanced topics as opposed to kind of starting at the at the very beginning and getting an overview.
And you know, it's no surprise to anyone that AI and machine learning is something that the field is grappling with. So I am currently planning on adding a course that tackles this topic and really covers how what the future of Ux in the context of AI means.
Lastly, I want to mention that we do have an internship course. This is a 4 credit internship where students obviously work at internship site and also at the same time, they're going through the the course and getting mentorship from the instructor for that course. And you know, these courses are usually very small. So it's a very hands-on facilitated experience. And we really designed this for career changers, for them to get a foot in the door and practice what they're learning before they graduate and are looking for their full-time roles.
Slide changes to say "Other Electives." Electives in design, project. management, analytics, strategy, and leadership are listed.
Eva Kaniasty speaks: So in addition to having the electives that are in our program, we have a number of other electives that are related to our field analytics, business strategy, ethics. So anyone who has a special interest in either these, or even other courses that are offered through Brandeis GPS can apply for special permission permission, and take one or more of these as their electives.
Slide changes to list UX master's certificates in Digial Accessiblity and UX Research.
Tom Screnci speaks: So I mentioned before, we do have certificate programs that are pathways. As you will maybe notice from the course listed here, they're all part of the degree curriculum as well. So there are wonderful pathways into the degree wonderful ways to achieve a certificate, and then also achieve a degree in the same timeline. And for certain students it might be sufficient for their educational needs, is just a degree just a certificate rather in digital accessibility or user experience research.
So these are options we do offer for our students like the user centered design program. These certificates can be started any time of the year. We offer 5 sessions each year. They're all 8 weeks long, and you can start these set these courses at any of those 5 sessions that are convenient for you. So these are 2 opportunities to earn a certificate if that is your goal, and of course, like I mentioned pathways as well.
So now we're going to spotlight 2 different courses, 2 of our entry level course. You could say that most students, every student is going to take really. So I hand it back over to Eva to discuss more about these courses.
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."
Eva Kaniasty: Sure. So user experience design is really our foundational course with the goal of introducing students to the UCD process and some of the associated methods. So things like design thinking, interaction design, usability testing. Even though this is a foundational course, you will still gain practical experience in creating realistic deliverables. This isn't something where you're, you know, writing papers or kind of exploring theory. You're really always working pretty hands on. And this is really important to students who may not have, you know, a portfolio already or are really starting from scratch in their in their UX career. Or, you know, you might have portfolio work but it's under NDA from your current employer. So we really try to facilitate the process of you coming out of the program with a great portfolio.
One thing that I'll mention while I'm talking about this course is that all our courses go through a redevelopment process every couple of years to make sure that they're up to date. So if there are, you know, new methods or new technologies like, you know, AI, that are training very quickly, the course is always current, and it's always relevant to what people are doing in the real world.
This is also a course that students can wave out of. So if someone is already working in the field and has that background, you can ask for permission to to waive it. Or sometimes, if I'm reviewing your application, and I see you have experience, I will make a note that to offer you that that option, and it's always a choice. Some some students choose to, you know, kind of start at at the beginning and make sure they have that foundation.
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 then on the next slide, I think we're having one of our other. I don't want to call this a beginner course, because it's I would say it's 1 of it's probably our most difficult courses, but it is a required course. It's the most academic in terms of the content that's covered. But even though there are, you know, lots of advanced readings and theory in the course, the projects are still real world projects. So something like a heuristic evaluation or expert review. Where you're you're applying the concepts to real world design. It's not something that's abstract.
Tom speaks: Alright. So thank you, Eva. Next we'll shift over to industry insights kind of marketplace, and what we've seen in that regard, so I'll hand it back over to Eva to discuss more about this.
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."
Eva Kaniasty: Sure. So the one constant in the field has been change, and that's been, you know, true, since I've been around. And it's just the nature of technology. So there is definitely still opportunity. The field is changing very quickly. It's very collaborative in nature. So on the one hand, there's a lot of opportunity. On the other hand, you really need to have strategic thinking and leadership skills to be effective, and there do still tend to be fewer, purely entry level jobs. And I think that's where you know, a master's credential can really make a difference.
Having said that, you're probably aware that the tech industry in general has been going through some ups and downs recently. I personally hope that it will actually lead to more entry level hiring as companies kind of begin to ramp up again. Like I said, whatever happens, I think a master's level credential makes a big difference. It really allowed me to start my user experience career. And I, you know, I know so many, so many folks from who graduated from the program that I graduated from, who have been very successful. And I it really is attributable to both the having a master's level degree and having the network of your fellow students who are then, you know, either already working in UX or are going out into the world, and they become your, you know, your cohort, really becomes your your network that's going to start you on your career.
We also have a required leadership course to make sure that you have those leadership skills, even if you are transitioning to UX. And we have a number of electives to prepare you to work on product teams, applying processes like agile, which you kind of again need to need to have a background in.
The last thing I'll mention here, you know, the pandemic is kind of fading into memory, but it definitely had an impact on the availability of more hybrid and remote work opportunities. So I think going forward, we're just not going to be as limited by geography as we were in the past, especially with UX research. You know, most UX research these days is conducted remotely all right.
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."
Eva Kaniasty: So speaking a little bit more about our faculty. You know, as I mentioned, we do make sure to keep our courses and curriculum relevant and current. And one of the ways that we do this is that we don't hire people who are strictly academics. Our faculty work for us part-time. They're also working in the field. And we teach them how to effectively teach online following our best practices and standards. And just like, you know, with jobs because we are online, we're not geographically limited to hiring faculty. So we can really hire the best person for the job. Because of that, we've actually recently hired someone from Canada for the 1st time, which is pretty interesting.
So what you're looking at here are obviously some of the job faculty, job titles. And speaking of industry, Tom, if you could go to the next slide, we also have a very engaged Advisory Board and Industry mentor group.
Slide switches to say "Advisory Board."
Eva speaks: They are really helping us develop the curriculum over time, and they are also available to students for either ad hoc, mentoring or ongoing professional development. And again, the goal here is to get feedback on your portfolio, make connections with folks who are working in the field, and really kind of help. You build that network that's going to advance your career to the next level.
And this is something. It used to be that I would require students to kind of complete 2 courses to request a mentor. But we have a mentor group that's large enough at this point that folks can ask to be connected to a mentor at any point if they think that that would be helpful to them.
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.
Tom Screnci speaks: Thank you, Eva. So now I'm going to give Eva a break and switch to the admissions side of things. So, thanks again to Eva for all the details.
First, I wanted to cover the application requirements for the degree certificate is definitely different. So if you're thinking of a degree program. This is the requirements. Firstly, there is no fee or any standardized testing requirements, so makes it very accessible in that regard.
The aplication is on the Brandeis Online website. So starting the application there for free is where you would start. We do require transcripts from all schools related to your bachelor's degree. Some students have master's degrees, and you can submit transcripts from them if you want, but not required of you to submit. Master's Degree transcripts as only a bachelor's degree is required for these programs. Official transcripts are required. We can make decisions with copies, but we will require official copies eventually. So it's best to start with that if you can.
A copy of an updated resume is also required. Now these resumes can be as long as you want them to to. I've seen 4 or 5 pages long. An old kind of standard, or thought was, they should only be one page long for hiring, but this is not for hiring. This is for an educational program. So giving us a lot of detail of your experience projects you've worked on is more than welcome. So please feel free to dive into a lot of detail of the work you've done, trainings you've been through any courses or professional development you've done. It's always great to have as much context as possible.
The next item, the statement of goals is typically 500 words or more. It's really you just saying why you're interested in this program. Why, you maybe you're choosing Brandeis, which hope to get out of it. Some students may give the context of their professional background, career changes, educational struggles or changes as well. But it's still up to you as to what you think makes, you know, for the best, most complete information in terms of your story or your side of things. So whatever helps you answer the question, why, you're planning to Brandeis, why do you want this program in 500 words or more is is sufficient. So please, you know, give as much detail as you feel meets that requirement.
We only require one letter of recommendation. You can submit 2 or 3 or more if you wanted to. Only one is required ideally, it is on a current or former manager, supervisor boss. You know, whoever in the description is ideal colleagues, others who know you in any professional capacity are also welcome for younger students who might be newer grads who don't have a detailed, more robust experience. People who have overseen internships or research projects, or maybe different jobs, are also welcome letters of recommended as well. So that is typically the parameters of the letter recommendation. When you apply, you can put your recommenders information in the application. This lets us communicate with them directly. Let them be aware of the recommendation requests, give them prompts on what to write. So if somebody is more shy, more introverted, doesn't talk a whole bunch, but knows a lot about you, we'll give them prompts as to what to write about, so if they're very apprehensive about writing a letter of recommendation, we'll give them help along the way. So it's best to put them in the application right away, so they kind of have those prompts and are ready to go.
There are 2 application deadlines open currently. (July 29 and September 30). Our next one is coming up soon with classes starting in the end of August. August 27 is when classes start next. If that's too soon, which it might be, we have our next classes starting in the end of October, and the application due in the end of September, as you see here and again, there 3 other application terms to start. So this is not the complete list. Just the list of applications that are open right now.
Eva speaks: Tom, if I could just jump in. Something you said just prompted a thought for the statement of goals. That's really an opportunity for me to get to know you. So don't use Chat GPT to write it, because if you do it, it means that I really can't get that personalized view, and it makes it more likely that you'll be admitted conditionally. The statement of goals doesn't have to be, you know, five pages long. It's just really something that that personalizes your application and sets it in context.
Tom speaks: Thank you for sending that Eva. Absolutely. We're truly trying to get to know you. So we're not going to be going through with a fine tooth comb to critique your grammar and phrasing and everything. But it's just an opportunity for us to get to know your background and your motivations for moving forward with this. So if you're telling Chat GPT to write a letter, then it's hard to get to know you, and it makes us apprehensive. And, you know, like Eva said, you'd be conditionally admitted, which would mean there'd be conditions based on your admission meaning, you'd have to, you know, submit other coursework achieve certain grades in your 1st session before being fully admitted. So definitely being authentic is great. Again, it's 500 words or more, typically less than a page in length is required. So whatever you like to write about is great. And that's a great point to emphasize.
Slide switches to say "Enrolling in a Certificate or Single Course."
Tom speaks: So if we started with a certificate in the application, it is much more brief. As you can see, there's an application form on our website where you upload your resume, you tell us about your your background related courses, your undergraduate work, your bachelor's degree as well. There are no official transcripts required from there we can review it, be in communication, if we need to, before allowing you to be admitted and start your 1st course.
If you move from a certificate to a degree, you would need to complete the degree application. So we would require the other materials at that point. But that is a very simple process for a certificate start and for a up to 2 courses. If you didn't want to be in a certificate or degree program and wanted to do just one or 2 courses. You can do the 1st time registration form. And again, these courses can be transferred into a certificate curriculum, or a degree curriculum. So these courses, they're not worth nothing. They are absolutely transferable and used in your curriculums. But it is a way to try out one single course or 2 courses before committing further, if you didn't want to. So definitely some great pathway opportunities for those out there.
Slide switches to display contact information for Tom (tscrenci@brandeis.edu) and Eva (ekaniasty@brandeis.edu).
Tom speaks: Which brings us to the end of our presentation. So thank you for for joining. We're in the recording in a moment. So for those who are watching the recording, please feel free to reach out to Eva (ekaniasty@brandeis.edu) or myself (tscrenci@brandeis.edu).
You can always reach us directly in the admissions office with the online@brandeis.edu inbox, which is checked, checked very regularly, of course. And you can call us at any time as well. The admissions team typically holds office hours and schedules Zoom Meetings. So if you wanted to meet over Zoom to discuss things, we're just happy to do that as well. So please be in touch with us. If we can answer questions about program transfer credits, curriculums, outcomes anything. Really, we're always happy to help some of those watching the recording.
We're about to wrap up. So thank you for tuning in for us. We hope to hear from you soon, and have a good rest of your of your day.