Bachelor of Science in Design Intelligence and User Experience
This programme replaces standalone graphic design and fine art craft degrees, in the specific recognition that routine visual production is automating rapidly while the demand for people who can decide what should be built, for whom, and wh...
The four facts
What you actually need to compare
- Award and entry
- BSc (Hons)
- U
- Duration and mode
- 3 years (6 semesters)
- Hybrid. Includes 12 months of paid, assessed cooperative education.
- Cost
- UGX 2,700,000 per year
- Tier 1 laboratory classification. Includes UGX 300,000 annual laboratory premium.
- Outcome targeted
- Product designer, user experience and interaction designer, user researcher
- Reviewed by 2031. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed.
Pricing Model 5.1 · The Forward Standard
Bachelor of Science in Design Intelligence and User Experience fee
UGX 2,700,000 per year
- Laboratory tier
- Tier 1
- Annual premium
- UGX 300,000
- Per semester
- UGX 1,350,000
- Whole programme
- UGX 8,100,000
- Approximate USD
- ≈ USD 2,132
What this fee includes
- Teaching, practice tutoring, assessment and competency verification
- The Amagezi platform and AI tutor around the clock
- All learning materials
- Every examination, including first resits
- Identity card, library, guild, sports and basic wellbeing
- Co-op placement matching and the Capability Passport
- Graduation and the statutory NCHE fee
- Online application
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Product designer
- user experience and interaction designer
- user researcher
- service designer
- design systems specialist
- industrial and product design engineer
- conversational and intelligent interface designer
- design lead.
Employer types
- Technology and financial technology companies
- banks, insurers and telecommunications operators
- design and digital agencies
- manufacturers and consumer products firms
- government digital services
- development organisations
- and student founded studios.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- Among the strongest international remote work markets available to graduates in this School, with rising domestic demand from financial services and government digital programmes.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Science in Design Intelligence and User Experience. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| CTM 110 | Design Fundamentals: Form, Type and Composition Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| CTM 111 | Design Research and User Understanding Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| CTM 112 | Digital Prototyping and Interface Tools Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| CTM 113 | Design History, Culture and African Visual Language Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| CTM 130 | Interaction Design and Information Architecture Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| CTM 131 | Front End Foundations for Designers Performanc | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| CTM 132 | Service Design and Journey Mapping Performance | 4 | 1-0-6 |
| CTM 133 | Visual Systems, Brand and Identity Performance | 4 | 1-0-6 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| CTM 210 | Design Systems and Component Libraries Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| CTM 211 | Designing for Intelligent Systems Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| CTM 212 | Usability Testing and Design Evidence Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| CTM 213 | Industrial and Physical Product Design Performance | 3 | 1-0-4 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| CTM 230 | Design Practicum: Live Client Engagement Performance | 5 | 0-0-0 |
| CTM 231 | Accessibility and Inclusive Design Performance | 3 | 1-0-4 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| CTM 310 | Advanced Product Design Studio Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| CTM 311 | Design Operations, Collaboration and Delivery Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| CTM 330 | Design Capstone: Shipped Product or Service (client verified) Performance | 8 | 0-2-14 |
| CTM 331 | Design Enterprise, Pricing and Client Practice Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
Total credit units: 133
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Science in Design Intelligence and User Experience
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 23 CU
Cumulative
23
Programme total
132
23 CU of 132 CU completed by the end of this step (17%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems Fluency CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C4Communication and Persuasion CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and CraftLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial LiteracyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public Contribution CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
Critical capabilities for this programme: Intelligent Systems Fluency · Communication and Persuasion · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Stewardship and Public Contribution. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Conduct user research and translate findings into design decisions.
- PLO 2Design and prototype digital products and services at increasing fidelity.
- PLO 3Build and maintain a design system and work effectively with engineering.
- PLO 4Design interfaces for intelligent and probabilistic systems including failure states.
- PLO 5Test designs with users and iterate on evidence rather than preference.
- PLO 6Design for accessibility, low literacy, low bandwidth and constrained devices.
- PLO 7Present and defend design decisions to commercial stakeholders.
Why this programme exists
This programme replaces standalone graphic design and fine art craft degrees, in the specific recognition that routine visual production is automating rapidly while the demand for people who can decide what should be built, for whom, and wh...
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes in any subjects, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics and English. A portfolio or design aptitude assessment is required. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.