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No matter the digital product's goal or target audience, web design and user experience blend creative, technical, and research skills together. The pioneers and leaders in this industry have been talented designers, developers, researchers, and problem-solvers - helping to shape the modern digital experience.
As a Web & User Experience Design student, you will be part of a vibrant, multi-disciplinary creative community at our School of Digital Arts (SODA). With an innovative curriculum that ignores the narrow limits of any one discipline, you’ll have ample opportunity for collaborating with fellow SODA students – whether they’re studying games, photography, animation or sound design (to name a few). It’s an approach designed to mirror the real working practice...
3 years full-time
4 years full-time with placement
4 years full-time with Foundation
Our BSc course offers a range of modules shaped around both aspects. Considering the technical and the aesthetic side by side, you will gain an insight into the past, present and potential futures of web and user experience design. The course also offers a space for investigating user experience as a discipline – a method of understanding what users need and creating exciting experiences that meet both user and business needs. It’s a course that will help you develop the key practical and personal skills that today’s digital agencies need, or that can pave the way for further study and research – in areas including User Experience, User Interface, Service Design, Web development and Project Management.
You will investigate the methods and practices digital designers use to create websites and products, and the complexities of creating usable and meaningful user experiences.
This module introduces the fundamentals of design principles such as form, layout, space, symmetry, tension, perspective, gestalt and colour. You will practice using these fundamentals at different levels of detail within the bounds of the computer, or using more traditional techniques and tools. During this module you will also become familiar with how to control and specify these fundamentals within the web browser by working with HTML and CSS.
In this module, you will get a theoretical introduction to the complexities of user experience. You will learn how to critique current websites based on the user experience. This will be done through introduction to various web design theories, interpretations, expert review methods and user testing methods.
In this module you will use creative learning methodologies to develop your understanding of design fundamentals and storytelling and begin to judge and develop your work within a framework of accessibility and usability. You will also begin to appreciate the particular demands of design within the constraints of screens, web browsers and internet technologies. This module also offers you the opportunity to collaborate across the wider SODA community.
In this module you will apply what you have learned in the other modules to identify how to improve a website. You will critique a current website, identify issues, and prototype solutions to improve the user experience.
This module provides the space where the four SODA research themes of Body, Machine, Society and Storytelling are introduced and explored. The module initiates transdisciplinary thinking and collaborating with others. It forms the beginning of developing your hybrid skills set.
Within each thematic of this module, you will choose a Co-Lab project that best suits your interests. The module will introduce you to research methodologies, creative thinking, technical languages and problem-solving techniques and ideas. It also constitutes the beginning of developing your employability skills.
The Body thematic will introduce and enable you to explore the changing role of our bodies within digital technologies and environments, researching the interaction between what we call a user and the machine through concepts of embodiment, the senses, movement and cognition. The module will establish how creativity and computational practices, when combined, enable new and exciting methods of production and innovation.
The Machine thematic will introduce and enable you to explore disruptive systems, researching what machine learning is and how it operates. The module will establish how creativity and computational practices, when combined, enable new and exciting methods of production and innovation. Machine encompasses a range of different approaches to thinking about creative automation.
The Society thematic will introduce and enable you to explore the relationship between digital culture and society, researching the ways in which technology is developed within and in response to our societies. The module will provide an opportunity to explore how technology can be used for social good.
The Storytelling thematic introduces you to new narrative dynamics, researching the new forms and/or functions of stories in the digital age. You will learn how innovation in storytelling is key to both the production of new digital creative forms and our understanding of them in culture and society. You will also recognise the powerful effects of storytelling in the way we understand ourselves and the world.
This module provides the space where the four SODA research themes of Body, Machine, Society and Storytelling are introduced and explored. The module initiates transdisciplinary thinking and collaborating with others. It forms the beginning of developing your hybrid skills set.
Within each thematic of this module, you will choose a Co-Lab project that best suits your interests. The module will introduce you to research methodologies, creative thinking, technical languages and problem-solving techniques and ideas. It also constitutes the beginning of developing your employability skills.
The Body thematic will introduce and enable you to explore the changing role of our bodies within digital technologies and environments, researching the interaction between what we call a user and the machine through concepts of embodiment, the senses, movement and cognition. The module will establish how creativity and computational practices, when combined, enable new and exciting methods of production and innovation.
The Machine thematic will introduce and enable you to explore disruptive systems, researching what machine learning is and how it operates. The module will establish how creativity and computational practices, when combined, enable new and exciting methods of production and innovation. Machine encompasses a range of different approaches to thinking about creative automation.
The Society thematic will introduce and enable you to explore the relationship between digital culture and society, researching the ways in which technology is developed within and in response to our societies. The module will provide an opportunity to explore how technology can be used for social good.
The Storytelling thematic introduces you to new narrative dynamics, researching the new forms and/or functions of stories in the digital age. You will learn how innovation in storytelling is key to both the production of new digital creative forms and our understanding of them in culture and society. You will also recognise the powerful effects of storytelling in the way we understand ourselves and the world.
Study
Assessment
SODA Placement Year
As part of your studies with SODA, you will have the chance to take a year working on placement within the industry. During your year, you will spend at least 36 weeks working within an organisation in the industry, developing workplace skills, practical understanding and genuine industry experience.
SODA Study Year Abroad
You can choose to spend an academic year studying with an approved partner university overseas, developing your core skills while demonstrating your initiative by engaging with a challenging curriculum at a foreign institution. This offers practice credits from the host university, after you’ve completed Level 5 of your SODA programme.
If you take the four-year placement route, Year 3 will be spent on placement.
Designers understand their work is judged within many contexts: technologically, creatively, economically, and culturally. By building, testing and working with others, you will continue to evolve your design practice, moving closer to the processes and software used in industry.
This module offers a rapid series of small focused project briefs that will encourage you to work in multi-disciplinary teams to continue to develop your practice. Working on multiple projects during this module, you will illustrate how the demands of the brief, the development process, and the solutions chosen can affect the success of the final product. In this series of short challenges, you will also explore the way in which storytelling is embedded in product design.
In this module you will be introduced to the user experience design process. You will learn the process of developing a unique web or app prototype through the user experience design process. You will learn how to identify and research competitors, your audience, and understand how to translate the results into initial design requirements. You will learn to empathise with the users by understanding the tasks that users may complete and create user testing plans.
In this module you will work collaboratively across SODA’s multi-disciplinary community on a series of projects and begin to use content management systems. You will research how coding and design processes need to change to be able to cope with streams of content. The module further develops your research, design and skills development. At the end of these series of assignments you will be able to identify the area of the web and UX industries you will wish to enter.
This module offers you the opportunity to actively apply the user experience design process to a project. You will develop a unique web or app prototype utilising this process. You will also identify design requirements through research and techniques such as competitor analysis, personas, storyboards, and user journeys.
This module provides the space where the four SODA research themes of Body, Machine, Society and Storytelling are further explored. You will further develop and enhance your transdisciplinary thinking, collaboration with others and development of your hybrid skill set.
Within this module you will again choose a Co-Lab theme that best suits your interests. Through this you will expand your knowledge of critical research methodologies, conceptual thinking, technical languages, including problem solving and problem posing skills.
The Body thematic further investigates the role of our bodies within digital technologies and environments, researching the interaction between user and machine through concepts of embodiment, the senses, movement and cognition. The module will further establish how creativity and computational practices, when combined, enable new and exciting methods of production and innovation, making us reconsider what body means in a technological space.
The Machine thematic further investigates disruptive systems, researching and learning how creativity and computational practices, when combined, enable innovative methods of production. Machine encompasses a range of different approaches to thinking about creative automation.
The Society thematic further investigates the relationship between digital culture and society, researching the ways in which technology is developed within and in response to our societies. Students will further explore how technology can be used for social good and to enhance and improve people’s lives.
The Storytelling thematic further investigates new narrative dynamics, researching the new forms and/or functions of stories in the digital age. You will learn how innovation in storytelling is key to both the production of new digital creative forms and our understanding of them in culture and society. You will further explore the powerful effects of storytelling on how we understand the world and ourselves.
This module provides the space where the four SODA research themes of Body, Machine, Society and Storytelling are introduced and explored. The module initiates transdisciplinary thinking and collaborating with others. It forms the beginning of developing your hybrid skills set.
Within each thematic of this module, you will choose a Co-Lab project that best suits your interests. The module will introduce you to research methodologies, creative thinking, technical languages and problem-solving techniques and ideas. It also constitutes the beginning of developing your employability skills.
The Body thematic will introduce and enable you to explore the changing role of our bodies within digital technologies and environments, researching the interaction between what we call a user and the machine through concepts of embodiment, the senses, movement and cognition. The module will establish how creativity and computational practices, when combined, enable new and exciting methods of production and innovation.
The Machine thematic will introduce and enable you to explore disruptive systems, researching what machine learning is and how it operates. The module will establish how creativity and computational practices, when combined, enable new and exciting methods of production and innovation. Machine encompasses a range of different approaches to thinking about creative automation.
The Society thematic will introduce and enable you to explore the relationship between digital culture and society, researching the ways in which technology is developed within and in response to our societies. The module will provide an opportunity to explore how technology can be used for social good.
The Storytelling thematic introduces you to new narrative dynamics, researching the new forms and/or functions of stories in the digital age. You will learn how innovation in storytelling is key to both the production of new digital creative forms and our understanding of them in culture and society. You will also recognise the powerful effects of storytelling in the way we understand ourselves and the world.
Study
Assessment
SODA Placement Year
As part of your studies with SODA, you will have the chance to take a year working on placement within the industry. During your year, you will spend at least 36 weeks working within an organisation in the industry, developing workplace skills, practical understanding and genuine industry experience.
SODA Study Year Abroad
You can choose to spend an academic year studying with an approved partner university overseas, developing your core skills while demonstrating your initiative by engaging with a challenging curriculum at a foreign institution. This offers practice credits from the host university, after you’ve completed Level 5 of your SODA programme.
If you take the four-year placement route, Year 3 will be spent on placement.
Your final year gives you the freedom, supported by practitioners and researchers, to concentrate on the areas of design that interest you. We will take time to reflect on your student journey, so you are ready to take the next step into industry or further study.
This course offers you the opportunity to apply for a placement year option which can be taken in Year 3. During the placement year, you will be supervised directly by the company you are employed by, and you will also be allocated an Academic/Placement Tutor. They will provide support and guidance, and assess your progress during the time you are away from the University.
Where a placement is not undertaken, you will study the following final year units. If you have completed a placement in Year 3, you will study the modules outlined in Year 3 in a fourth year.
In this module you will bring your problem-solving skills to bear on a project in collaboration with the SODA community or wider research or industry communities. You will create a negotiated brief in collaboration with others to produce a single product demonstrating your mastery of the technical and aesthetic tools you have mastered. You will deliver a complete web-based response to the design, technical and usability problems identified in the brief that is researched and tested to meet user and client needs.
In this module you will reflect on your progress and map your future personal development. With the help of industry peers, you will prepare for your future career, investigate new technologies, and define your position in the industry. You will consider and create a digital online presence such as a social media feed or portfolio website, with the aim of increasing your online and offline network beyond SODA.
You will independently research, map and develop the terrain you wish to cover in your work through a developmental project by investigating previous and current solutions in practice alongside theoretical and academic approaches to the underlying problems you identify. By reflecting on your practice and creating initial prototypes, you will gain the confidence to develop a plan for a collaborative project.
You will reflect on and map the future of a world where digital products are the norm. You will explore the ethical dimensions of your own work and the work of others, the issues it raises and the emerging issues and concerns of the society. You will consider how your knowledge and skills will equip you to meet the anticipated future challenges of the industry. You will explore and critique the increasing importance of platforms within the digital social and cultural space and create a study that critically analyses and responds to digital materials, processes, outputs and devices.
This module provides the space where the four SODA research themes are investigated, explored. and applied. You will apply your advanced skills of transdisciplinary thinking, collaboration with others and synthesis of your hybrid skill set. Within this module, you will critically select a Co-Lab theme that best suits your interests. Through this you will consolidate your knowledge of research methodologies, creative thinking, technical languages, problem solving and problem posing techniques and ideas.
Body will further explore the role of our bodies within digital technologies and environments, researching the interaction between user and machine through concepts of embodiment, the senses, movement and cognition. The module will further establish how creativity and computational practices, when combined, enable new and exciting methods of production and innovation, making us reconsider what body means in a technological space.
Machine will further explore disruptive systems, researching and learning how creativity and computational practices, when combined, enable new methods of production and innovation. Machine encompasses a range of different approaches to thinking about creative automation and how this has become embedded in the technology we use and rely upon.
Society will further investigate the relationship between digital culture and society, researching the ways in which technology is developed within and in response to our societies. The module will provide an opportunity to explore the many ways in which society can benefit from the application of technologies to improve and enhance people’s lives.
Storytelling will further explore narrative dynamics, researching and applying new forms and/or functions of stories in the digital age. You will consolidate your knowledge of innovative storytelling and how it is key to both the production of new digital creative forms and our understanding of them in culture and society. You will explore the sophisticated was in which stories can change the way in which we understand our place in the world.
This module builds on the research methodologies, collaboration, creative thinking and problem-solving techniques explored in your previous Co-Lab modules. Following on from projects that have initiated transdisciplinary thinking and the development of a hybrid skills set, Creative Methodologies will encourage you to consider how you now deploy that experience in readiness for and in relationship to the needs of industry. The module offers the opportunity to explore and develop key employability skills.
Study
Assessment
SODA Placement Year
As part of your studies with SODA, you will have the chance to take a year working on placement within the industry. During your year, you will spend at least 36 weeks working within an organisation in the industry, developing workplace skills, practical understanding and genuine industry experience.
SODA Study Year Abroad
You can choose to spend an academic year studying with an approved partner university overseas, developing your core skills while demonstrating your initiative by engaging with a challenging curriculum at a foreign institution. This offers practice credits from the host university, after you’ve completed Level 5 of your SODA programme.
If you take the four-year placement route, Year 3 will be spent on placement.
Whether you’ve already made your decision about what you want to study, or you’re just considering your options, there are lots of ways you can meet us and find out more about student life at Manchester Met.
We offer:
Your studies are supported by a department of committed and enthusiastic teachers and researchers, experts in their chosen field.
We often link up with external professionals too, helping to enhance your learning and build valuable connections to the working world.
These typical entry requirements may be subject to change for the 2025/26 academic year. Please check back for further details.
GCE A levels - grades BCC or equivalent
Pearson BTEC National Extended Diploma - grade DMM
Access to HE Diploma - Pass overall with a minimum 106 UCAS Tariff points
UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma - grade of Merit overall
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma - grade DMM
T level - We welcome applications from students undertaking T level qualifications. Eligible applicants will be asked to achieve a minimum overall grade of Merit as a condition of offer
IB Diploma - Pass overall with a minimum overall score of 26 or minimum 104 UCAS Tariff points from three Higher Level subjects
Other Level 3 qualifications equivalent to GCE A level are also considered.
A maximum of three A level-equivalent qualifications will be accepted towards meeting the UCAS tariff requirement.
AS levels, or qualifications equivalent to AS level, are not accepted. The Extended Project qualification (EPQ) may be accepted towards entry, in conjunction with two A-level equivalent qualifications.
Please contact the University directly if you are unsure whether you meet the minimum entry requirements for the course.
GCSE grade C/4 in English Language or equivalent, e.g. Pass in Level 2 Functional Skills English
GCE A levels - grades BCC or equivalent
Pearson BTEC National Extended Diploma - grade DMM
Access to HE Diploma - Pass overall with a minimum 106 UCAS Tariff points
UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma - grade of Merit overall
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma - grade DMM
T level - We welcome applications from students undertaking T level qualifications. Eligible applicants will be asked to achieve a minimum overall grade of Merit as a condition of offer
IB Diploma - Pass overall with a minimum overall score of 26 or minimum 104 UCAS Tariff points from three Higher Level subjects
Other Level 3 qualifications equivalent to GCE A level are also considered.
A maximum of three A level-equivalent qualifications will be accepted towards meeting the UCAS tariff requirement.
AS levels, or qualifications equivalent to AS level, are not accepted. The Extended Project qualification (EPQ) may be accepted towards entry, in conjunction with two A-level equivalent qualifications.
Please contact the University directly if you are unsure whether you meet the minimum entry requirements for the course.
There’s further information for international students on our international website if you’re applying with non-UK qualifications.
UK and Channel Islands full-time foundation year fee: £9,535 for the 2025/26 academic year (subject to Parliamentary approval). On progression to any linked degree course, the standard UK and Channel Islands tuition fee would apply. For 2025/26, this is £9,535 (subject to Parliamentary approval). Fees for subsequent academic years may increase for inflation to reflect increased costs of course delivery (up to a maximum of 10% per academic year) and/or changes in UK government regulation. Inflationary increases will be calculated by reference to RPIx (RPIx is a measure of inflation in the UK). Fee increases are subject to limits imposed by UK government regulation.
EU and Non-EU international full-time foundation year fee: £21,500 per year. When progressing from the pre-degree foundation year to the linked degree. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study)
Full-time fee: £9,535 for the 2025/26 academic year (subject to Parliamentary approval). Fees for subsequent academic years may increase for inflation to reflect increased costs of course delivery (up to a maximum of 10% per academic year) and/or changes in UK government regulation. Inflationary increases will be calculated by reference to RPIx (RPIx is a measure of inflation in the UK). Fee increases are subject to limits imposed by UK government regulation.
Full-time fee: £21,500 per year. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
A degree typically comprises 360 credits, a DipHE 240 credits, a CertHE 120 credits, and an integrated masters 480 credits. For courses that offer a placement year option that starts in September 2025, the tuition fee is £1,907 (subject to Parliamentary approval). For courses that offer a study year abroad option that starts in September 2025, the tuition fee is £1,430 (subject to Parliamentary approval). Placement Year fees and study abroad fees for subsequent academic years may increase for inflation to reflect increased costs of course delivery (up to a maximum of 10% each academic year) and/or changes in UK government regulation. Inflationary increases will be calculated by reference to RPIx (RPIx is a measure of inflation in the UK). Fee increases are subject to limits imposed by UK government regulation.
You will have easy access to computing equipment and web and user experience equipment and resources. Software relevant to your study is available on campus and is regularly updated. In addition to desktop machines, you will also be able to access the university laptop loan service. If you are working off campus, you may wish to purchase your own photography equipment, computer and licensed software.
You are strongly advised to purchase a portable hard drive to continually back-up your work (£50-100). In cases where you need to print your work, additional costs may be incurred, which will be determined by the nature of the work.
There may be opportunities throughout the programme to attend local, national and international study trips which will incur costs. These costs are proportional to the distance and length of the study trip. You will be encouraged to market your work in forums relevant to your study, which may mean paying for materials or a digital service provider. All essential reading material and learning resources related to your programme of study are available in the library; however, you may wish to purchase your own books, subscribe to relevant online journals, or pay for access to online resources or memberships.
Students wishing to follow the placement year and/or study year abroad units will incur extra costs. These costs are variable and will usually be dependent on distance, and local costs of the country in which the placement or overseas study takes place.
Find out more about financing your studies and whether you may qualify for one of our bursaries and scholarships
Money MattersDigital products are at the heart of our lives. Survey after survey shows that those who can create, research and update them, who are curious about making them better, and who can communicate their ideas to others, are in high demand locally and internationally. These are all skills at heart of this programme.
You can apply for the full-time option of this course through UCAS.
UCAS code(s)WUE1
Institution code: M40
Get advice and support on making a successful application.
You can review our current Terms and Conditions before you make your application. If you are successful with your application, we will send you up to date information alongside your offer letter.
Programme review
Our programmes undergo an annual review and major review (normally
at 6 year intervals) to ensure an up-to-date curriculum supported by the
latest online learning technology. For further information on when we
may make changes to our programmes, please see the changes section of our
terms and conditions.
Important notice
This online prospectus provides an overview of our programmes of study
and the University. We regularly update our online prospectus so that
our published course information is accurate. Please check back to the
online prospectus before making an application to us to access the most
up to date information for your chosen course of study.
Confirmation of regulator
The Manchester Metropolitan University is regulated by the Office for
Students (OfS). The OfS is the independent regulator of higher education
in England. More information on the role of the OfS and its regulatory
framework can be found at
officeforstudents.org.uk.
All higher education providers registered with the OfS must have a student protection plan in place. The student protection plan sets out what students can expect to happen should a course, campus, or institution close. Access our current student protection plan.