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Interaction design concerns the design of digital artefacts and digitally mediated communication, with a focus on user experience.
Interaction design is a rapidly changing discipline, and we maintain the relevance of our education by working with real-world design cases and external clients including local industry partners and cultural and civic organizations. Navigating a shifting design landscape also requires the critical mindset of a scholar, and we foster reflective design by teaching research skills and involving students in active research projects.
The Interaction Design master’s programme at Malmö University was founded in 1998, making it one of the most established English-language design programmes in the Nordic region. The programme provides a learning experience that is grounded in Scandinavian design traditions while simultaneously embracing transformations within the vibrant, international and interdisciplinary field of interaction design. Students who complete the degree will have a Master of Science in Interaction Design (two-year, 120 credits).
The two-year programme trains students to respond to unprecedented societal needs and professional challenges, teaching the practical, theoretical and critical skills necessary for designing relations between humans and technologies. With small classes of individuals from all over the world, students will become part of an interdisciplinary group exploring how interaction design methods and approaches can respond to the complex times in which we live.
Students enter the programme with different kinds of expertise, from art and design to engineering and social sciences. Upon graduation, they will have built a strong understanding of how their particular skills can be applied to interaction design and how these merge with the specialities of their fellow designers. Students will be ideally situated to work in industry, the public sector, or as researchers.
Please note that we offer one- and two-year versions of our master’s degree in Interaction Design. The degree granted for the one-year degree is Master of Science (60 credits). The degree granted for the two-year degree is Master of Science (120 credits).
In our 1 + 1 degree programmes, the first year of both programmes is identical for all incoming students. The curriculum difference between the two-year degree programmes is the additional four courses in the second year. To help choose the programme that feels right for you, please consider:
The one-year programme offers you a quick exit to industry, as well as the chance to deepen your understanding of the field at an advanced level for a year.
The two-year programme offers you a deeper dive into the field of interaction design in terms of content and approaches, further academic preparation, and is a must if you are considering PhD studies.
Once enrolled, transitioning between the programmes is an available option.
This master’s programme emphasises both studio-based design practices and theoretical engagement with the issues at the heart of design processes. Navigating a shifting design landscape requires agility in concept development and prototyping, as well as the critical mind-set of a scholar. This is achieved by structuring the education around courses that require both collaborative group projects and individual writing. Each year ends with a self-directed thesis project, comprising both practical design work and a written thesis.
Course content includes: participatory design and social innovation; tangible and sensor-based interactions; relational and embodied interactions; design-based research; and design theory. Students will work with real-world design cases and external stakeholders, including local industry partners and cultural and civic organisations. They will experiment with a range of design materials: from digital to analogue, organic to inorganic, electronic to imaginary, and social to bodily.
Courses are taught by faculty members with active research and professional profiles. The real-world relevance of interaction design is not far removed from teaching, as students are frequently involved in ongoing research projects, many of which emphasise the social, political and ethical consequences of design.
f you are interested in how designed artefacts, systems, relations and infrastructures can shape our world, and what we might do with them as designers and fellow human beings, bring your background in design, computer science, community development, arts, humanities or social sciences to work with others to make the vision of fair, caring and sustainable futures a reality.
Graduates can choose to direct their careers within a range of industries, including the political sector, or transition to academic/professional research. This programme is consistent with Malmö University’s vision of integrating academic learning with social change; creating powerful ties between teaching, research and the society at large. The programme aims to provide the tools, techniques and conceptual basis to enact change in the world, not just for the next few years, but for the next 50.
The programme comprises full-time study for two academic years. Click on the Syllabus tab for more information on courses.
The programme is based on learning-by-doing. This means that we encourage an iterative practice of experimentation and reflection. As teachers, we view ourselves as coaches guiding students in this process.
The programme is studio-based. Students will also have access to computer labs, a materials workshop and a prototyping lab for electronics, sensor and microprocessor programming.
The primary method of learning is through group work in multidisciplinary teams with classmates and stakeholders. The ability to work in teams and with others — including user communities — is an important part of our curriculum, and several projects are organised in order to practice these skills.
With our humanistic approach, students will be practising qualitative research approaches to support their design of tangible artefacts as well as digital and interactive services, systems and artefacts. We emphasise an understanding of people in their use situations. Students will be taught to develop a critical perspective based on: the close reading of relevant academic texts; participation in seminars; and writing of academic-style research papers. Two thesis projects will challenge students to deepen their practice and thought processes.
Prototyping in the studio and in real-world contexts is an integral part of becoming an interaction designer.
To practice reflective and experimental design activity, our projects and courses integrate seminars and hands-on workshops introducing students to, among other things, ethnographic fieldwork, critical and performative methods, low and high-fidelity prototyping, microprocessor programming and video sketching, as well as evaluation of use qualities. All these practices are backed up by literature references and examples.
Students’ thesis projects at the end of each year will be a combination of practical design processes leading to a prototype and a written document, plus the presentation and discussion of their design work in front of peers and an examiner.
Students have access to studio space, and we encourage a healthy studio culture. This is where we conduct group work, seminars, workshops, presentations and discussions. Students have access to a well-equipped materials workshop and a physical prototyping lab for electronics and sensor work. There is a vibrant culture of seminars at the faculty and the Medea Talks series frequently hosts high profile design researchers. Additionally, spaces in the University’s buildings (such as Storm and Niagara), and in central Malmö, can be used for final presentations and exhibitions.
Graduates of this programme have moved on to professional positions around the world in the design, media and ICT industries, as well as to academic research and entrepreneurship.
Many alumni take up positions as interaction designers, user experience specialists or usability specialists in the design, ICT, and media industries. For some, this involves critiquing or fine-tuning the interfaces and interactions of current products to users’ needs. For others, it comprises concept development for future products and services.
Some alumni choose strategic positions where the role of interaction design is considered in relation to market and business development, while others apply interaction design perspectives and methods to envisioning change or ‘future-making’ in politics, public organisations, the heritage sector, and NGOs.
Thanks to the close connections to world-class research, this programme also prepares its graduates to enter academic research institutes. Many alumni proceed to PhD studies and positions as teachers and researchers, at universities in Sweden as well as abroad.
Here you can find the entry requirements, as well as how the available study places are distributed between applicants in the selection. For general admissions enquiries please contact the Admissions Office: admissions@mau.se
Bachelor's degree or equivalent in subjects relevant for interaction design. Examples of relevant subjects include, but are not limited to: computer science, informatics, information systems, human-computer interaction, new media arts, fine arts, design (industrial, product, graphic, interaction), communication studies, media studies and cognitive science.
Approval of the following submitted material: two work samples of previous, relevant work and an individual response to the application assignment. Please see the 'Selection' tab on this page for further information.
General eligibility + the equivalent of Swedish higher secondary school English 6.
Applicants are selected in order according to precedence from work samples, design assignment and a letter of motivation in combination with interview if needed.
Please note that you are recommended to submit a supporting document with your application to this programme. If you apply in multiple admission rounds, you must upload supporting documents for each round. Please note that we only accept submissions that use the document form below.
To complete your application with the supporting document, follow the steps below:
Download the document to fill out here
Save your documents as one pdf and upload it to your account on Universityadmission.se. See Universityadmission.se for more information. Supporting documents submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
Love Lagerkvist studied the two-year version of the programme and now works as a lecturer in Interaction Design at Malmö University. With experience from several different professions connected to the field, Love says the education has given him a new perspective on how to approach work.
Love Lagerkvist studied the two-year version of the programme and now works as a lecturer in Interaction Design at Malmö University. With experience from several different professions connected to the field, Love says the education has given him a new perspective on how to approach work.
It is a new discipline that weaves my knowledge, experience, and interests together. Malmö University is one of the first universities in the world to offer Interaction Design as a programme.
I learned a lot during the programme, there is a good variation in the education that will let you dive deep into different aspects of interaction design. The education is quite theory driven compared to other design programmes, which I found rewarding. There is a focus and a starting point in the theoretical that we students had the opportunity to put into use in a practical way during our studies. The ‘academically abstract’ is not a separate world but applicable in real life situations. In that way, the master’s programme offers a nice mix between theory and practice.
Students might come from different fields other than programming or design, but if you have a need for that type of knowledge you can usually ask other students for help. This makes the education more similar to working life, because it challenges students in gaining knowledge that isn’t presented to you. It taught us to teach ourselves.
I learned how to work with people from different disciplines, to see and accept that things are complex and it isn’t possible to reduce them into simple models when things like political interests and assumptions you might have affect how you can carry out a project.
The students come from different disciplines, architects, designers, psychologists, doctors. This mixture and multidisciplinary way of looking at things is probably the most important thing I carry with me. The previous assumptions I had about how things should be done clashed with all the different viewpoints that came together. Being put into situations, where different views have to come together, create interesting discussions and experiences that will help you in your careers. Lastly, I learned that interaction design and digital media can be so much more than just digital screens.
“I would encourage you to apply if the programme sounds even a little bit interesting, I think it will get even more interesting once you start your studies. Because the programme is at master’s level, you’re given the freedom to design your education according to your interests. Consequently, the curriculum will be different between terms due to student interests and the programme’s development. I would urge you to apply and to do it with an open mind!
For Kevin Ong, studying interaction design has allowed him to engage with marginalised communities and reflect on what it means to design inclusively.
For Kevin Ong, studying interaction design has allowed him to engage with marginalised communities and reflect on what it means to design inclusively.
Before starting the master’s programme, Kevin was working at a design agency in Texas.
“I worked in industry for a year after my bachelor’s degree, but so much of my time was spent at a desk in front of a computer screen and I missed working with my hands. I wanted to break out and learn more about the field, which this programme has definitely given me the opportunity to do.”
Kevin has dual citizenship between America and Sweden, so Malmö was a natural choice.
“My mother came to Sweden as a refugee following the Vietnam war, so I have a lot of family in Malmö and knew the city pretty well,” he says.
One of the main things that appealed to Kevin about the course was the diversity of the classroom.
“The fact that our professional and geographical backgrounds are so different means you learn not only from the programme, but from what each individual has to offer.
“Team work is also really important, and we are continuously reminded that design is not an island. Interaction design is not just about the way we interact with digital media but about the way we interact with others and bring people together in this new age,” says Kevin.
One of his own projects — creating a light installation in a socio-economically disadvantaged neighbourhood of Malmö — reflects this sentiment.
“The idea behind the installation was to create a network where people in the community could share their skills. By meeting and getting to know each other, the hope was to close the generational and cultural gap in the neighbourhood.”
He also appreciates how broad the programme is in its scope and opportunities.
“For example, during our last project one person created a game, one worked with immigrants, another with machine learning, while I worked with food. I just love how interaction design can be augmented into all these different aspects of our lives with the goal of enriching and bettering it.”
Kevin was recently selected as one of nine finalists selected to compete at the Student Design Challenge, an international contest held in Lyon. His team impressed the judges with their take on designing for people with disabilities, and took first prize.
“I heard about the competition through one of my lecturers. I’ve never submitted anything to competition before so when I was chosen as a finalist, it was a pleasant surprise.
“The experience was exhausting but also incredibly rewarding. It was amazing to see brilliant minds come together, and know that there’s such a large community out there that are passionate about interaction design.”
Take a look at the thesis project "Tangible interfaces for children’s mental healthcare" by student Liza Shkirando. A good example of the kind of projects we work on at the Interaction Design master's programme.
