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Under review

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...

BSc (Hons)Hybrid3 years (6 semesters)Intake August 2027132 credit units
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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

Read the co-op commitment

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.

Question 1 of 70%

What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?

Requirement tested: A completed upper-secondary qualification (UACE, A-level, IB, high-school diploma or recognised equivalent), or a post-secondary award.

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

TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1Year 1
23 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 101
AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work
Both
42-2-0
CTM 110
Design Fundamentals: Form, Type and Composition
Performance
51-0-8
CTM 111
Design Research and User Understanding
Performance
51-0-8
CTM 112
Digital Prototyping and Interface Tools
Performance
52-2-4
CTM 113
Design History, Culture and African Visual Language
Objective
43-2-0
TERM 2 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 2Year 1
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 102
Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence
Both
42-2-0
CTM 130
Interaction Design and Information Architecture
Performance
51-0-8
CTM 131
Front End Foundations for Designers
Performanc
52-2-4
CTM 132
Service Design and Journey Mapping
Performance
41-0-6
CTM 133
Visual Systems, Brand and Identity
Performance
41-0-6
COP 190
Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term)
Performance
00-0-0
TERM 3 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 2, SEMESTER 1Year 2
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 201
Ethics, Society and the African Context
Both
42-2-0
CTM 210
Design Systems and Component Libraries
Performance
52-2-4
CTM 211
Designing for Intelligent Systems
Performance
51-0-8
CTM 212
Usability Testing and Design Evidence
Performance
52-2-4
CTM 213
Industrial and Physical Product Design
Performance
31-0-4
TERM 4 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 2, SEMESTER 2Year 2
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 202
Human Advantage: Argument,
Both
42-2-0
COP 290
Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months)
Performance
100-0-0
CTM 230
Design Practicum: Live Client Engagement
Performance
50-0-0
CTM 231
Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Performance
31-0-4
TERM 5 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 3, SEMESTER 1Year 3
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 301
AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing
Both
42-2-0
COP 390
Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months)
Performance
100-0-0
CTM 310
Advanced Product Design Studio
Performance
51-0-8
CTM 311
Design Operations, Collaboration and Delivery
Both
31-2-2
TERM 6 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 3, SEMESTER 2Year 3
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 302
Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy
Both
42-2-0
FDC 401
AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment,
Both
31-2-0
FDC 402
Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation
Both
31-2-0
CTM 330
Design Capstone: Shipped Product or Service (client verified)
Performance
80-2-14
CTM 331
Design Enterprise, Pricing and Client Practice
Both
42-2-2

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

Mandatory live session Flexible bite-sized lesson Optional event

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.

  1. PLO 1Conduct user research and translate findings into design decisions.
    C7C2
  2. PLO 2Design and prototype digital products and services at increasing fidelity.
    C6C7
  3. PLO 3Build and maintain a design system and work effectively with engineering.
    C6C8
  4. PLO 4Design interfaces for intelligent and probabilistic systems including failure states.
    C1C7
  5. PLO 5Test designs with users and iterate on evidence rather than preference.
    C2C11
  6. PLO 6Design for accessibility, low literacy, low bandwidth and constrained devices.
    C12C7
  7. PLO 7Present and defend design decisions to commercial stakeholders.
    C4C9

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.

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