The Postgraduate Diploma in Arts in Interaction Design is an advanced NFQ Level 9 programme focused on shaping digital products, environments, visual communication systems, and services for optimal human use and behaviour. Grounded in design psychology and complex system dynamics, the course equips designers to create robust, intuitive, and highly usable interactions tailored to real-world operating environments. Developed by South East Technological University (SETU) in direct consultation with industry leaders, the programme is tailored for honours graduates and early-career professionals in product design, multimedia, game design, visual communications, architecture, engineering, and related design disciplines seeking specialized expertise in human-computer interaction (HCI).
Practical Learning & Special Features
The programme provides a flexible, research-driven environment optimized for working professionals and career changers:
Interdisciplinary Research Environment: Housed within the Department of Humanities at SETU, fostering a collaborative culture of interdisciplinary, design-led research and practice.
Flexible Blended Delivery: Combines condensed on-campus block delivery with self-directed online learning, enabling students to balance postgraduate studies with full-time professional and personal commitments.
Work-Integrated Major Project: Centred on a substantial capstone project that can be either theoretical or directly rooted in the student's active workplace and professional design practice.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD): Formatted to serve as an applied workplace CPD pathway, allowing practitioners to immediately apply advanced interaction design methodologies to commercial projects.
Coursework
The Level 9 postgraduate curriculum integrates theoretical design psychology, user research, and advanced interactive system prototyping:
Design Psychology & Human Factors: Cognitive ergonomics, mental models, user behaviour analysis, and emotional design principles.
Interactive Systems & Interface Architecture: Complex system mapping, information architecture, micro-interactions, and visual communication frameworks.
User Experience (UX) Research & Usability Engineering: Qualitative/quantitative user testing, ethnographic observation, accessibility standards, and iterative prototyping.
Major Interaction Design Project: Applied capstone project incorporating user-centred research, system design, testing, and implementation.
Career Opportunities
Graduates earn a specialized Level 9 postgraduate qualification, preparing them to lead design strategy, user experience, and interactive product development across tech, software, creative agency, and consultancies:
Interaction Designer (IxD)
User Experience (UX) Designer / Strategist
User Interface (UI) Architecture Specialist
Product & Service Designer
Design Researcher & Usability Specialist
Progression to Master of Arts (MA) completion or Doctoral (PhD) Research in Interaction Design and Human-Computer Interaction
Upon completion of the Postgraduate Diploma, graduates possess the psychological insight, systems-thinking approach, and technical design portfolio necessary to build meaningful, user-centred digital interactions across global industries.
What subjects will I study?
Design Psychology & Framing User Experience
Principles of Interaction Design
Design Research Methods
Human Interaction Design
Prototyping Interactions
Communication Design (Online delivery)
Interaction Project Dissertation
Entry Requirements
A Level 8 Honours Degree in Product or Industrial Design, Games Design, Visual Communication Design, or other related design disciplines such as Architecture or Engineering (minimum 2nd class Honours). Candidates with significant experience in the design services sector (as determined by the Universitys recognition of prior learning policy), in addition to an Honours primary degree in another discipline area may also be considered for entry on a case-by-case basis through SETU RPL system. Applicants applying for entry via routes other than that listed above will be considered on a case-by case basis through SETU RPL system.
Graduates of the Postgraduate Diploma in Interaction design can go on to seek an MA qualification with the addition of a 30 credit disertation module
Study & Career Opportunities
Graduates may pursue Level 10 (PhD) study opportunities upon successful completion of this programme.
Postgraduate Diploma in Arts in Interaction Design is an embedded exit award (Level 9 - 60 credits).
Career opportunities for interaction designers span disciplines from medical devices, transport to app development encompassing and design system that is interacting with users or has an interface. Graduates see employment in Interface design, HCI, Human Factors Engineering and service design fields.
This programme will provide graduate swith a unique opportunity to increase their value in the growing field of interaction design and human factors. Graduates may also adopt research and advisory roles in relation to new product development and development of the provision of creative services in practice.
How has the MA in Interaction Design helped your career ? The Master of Arts in Interaction Design helped me immensely in my career; it helped to focus me towards the exciting new field of User Experience Design and opened up many doors for me. Throughout the MA course we learned the value of human centric design alongside the key technology and problem solving skills needed in this area. Working on both collaborative and individual projects we gained a real understanding of how Design Houses run their projects.
Would you recommend this course? The interaction design field is exploding right now with job opportunities appearing almost everywhere as it is the practice of designing for technology, interactive digital products, environments, systems and services. I have learned some very much sought after design skills through this Masters course.
