User Experience Design
Official name: Communication & Multimedia Design
Further develop your creative ideas with this degree programme. User experience is key to you.
Bachelor
Full-time
3 years
Starts in September
The Hague - Main Campus
English
Important deadline! Apply until May 1st for this programme via Studielink. Read more
For you?
Are you a creative person with an interest in technology? Do you strive to understand people and their needs and create engaging products and applications tailored to them? Then you’ll fit right into User Experience Design!
Smart tools are a part of everyday life. You always carry your smartphone, equipped with every social media app imaginable. You check your heart rate on your smartwatch while you exercise. Have you ever wondered what goes into designing user-friendly and meaningful products like these?
User Experience Designers tackle questions to make these products meaningful and user-friendly. We constantly ask questions like “How important is this to users?” “What value does this add to people?” “How can we make this application fun?” “How can we use technology to make people’s everyday life easier?”
The Hague University of Applied Sciences offers two versions of their Communication and Multimedia Design programme. The first one is Interaction Design (Dutch), and the second one is User Experience Design (UXD, English). Both versions appeal to the creative power of students. Interaction designers use this power to create smart applications that can be used immediately. User experience designers invent smart concepts. In both programmes, we are always looking for the best possible quality of interaction between humans and systems. Both directions lead to the same final qualification, a Bachelor of Science.
Does this programme sound like something for you? Feel free to contact us. We look forward to seeing you next academic year!
Admission requirements
Everything about admission
| Vorm | Required profile |
|---|---|
| Havo (senior general secondary education) |
|
| VWO (pre-university education) |
|
| MBO (senior secondary vocational education and training) |
|
Most HBO bachelor studies are four-year courses. UXD is a three-year programme. This makes this programme more challenging than regular HBO programmes.
You have a Dutch diploma
To start this programme, you should have a VWO diploma with an appropriate profile. This profile can be: Cultuur & Maatschappij, Economie & Maatschappij, Natuur & Gezondheid or Natuur & Techniek.
You have a non-Dutch diploma
If you want to start at the UXD programme, you need a secondary school diploma comparable to a Dutch VWO diploma plus a good command of English. Before deciding on your eligibility, we’ll need to assess your secondary school certificate. To make sure certifications are evaluated fairly, we work with NUFFIC, an organisation that specialises in the assessment of international education qualifications.
Language requirements
If you were not educated in the Netherlands you usually have to submit a language test to be admitted. Depending on the type and country of your diploma you may however qualify for exemption. Please check our entry requirements page for more information.
Don’t meet the entry requirements?
Perhaps your academic background is not at the required level, or you need some help improving your English skills. Don’t worry. There might be some alternative options to help you get in and prepare for a successful start of your studies at The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS).
Admissions Test 21+
If you’re 21 years of age or older before September 1st, but don’t have qualifications that meet the entry requirements, you can take the 21+ Admissions Test. The 21+ Admissions Test is offered on several dates between January and the start of the academic year. It consists of a digital general capacity test. Please note that you can only participate if you have an EEA-nationality or residence permit for the Netherlands that is valid on the test date.
English Academic Preparation Programme
Need help with your English? If you haven’t reached the right level of English for your chosen Bachelor’s or Master’s degree programme yet, you can enroll for the English Academic Preparation Programme. After successful completion of this programme, you’ll be ready to start your degree at THUAS and will already have gotten a taste of what studying and living in The Hague is like.
The Hague Pathway College
If you’d like to apply for a three-year bachelor's programme but don’t meet the academic entry requirements, you might be interested in joining The Hague Pathway College. This programme has two intake moments: One in September and another one in January. It offers you the chance to bring your academic skills and English Language Proficiency up to the required level at the same time. Please check www.thehaguepathway.nl for more information.
Decisions regarding your qualification for admission
There are no exceptions to the official admission requirements. The Enrolment Office is the only party that can make decisions regarding your qualification for admission based on official regulations. You can’t rely on any other sources of information for your qualification for admission.
Degree programme content
What will you study each year?
Working methods
Lectures, seminars, study visits, self-study, group activities and project work
Our state-of-the-art workshops and lecture rooms are fully equipped with all the tools you’ll need for prototyping, research and programming. It’s a digital playground, where you’ll pitch your ideas and attend brainstorms - just like you would if you were to design a product or service for FedEx or Microsoft. UXD strikes an excellent balance between theory, group projects and regular assignments from top industry experts. To give you ‘the ultimate user-design experience’ we plan a field trip to the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz.
Minors
Shape your degree
In year 2 you’ll get the chance to deepen or broaden your knowledge and skills as a UX designer. You can do that on a minor at our own university or even at another university. If you want to deepen your knowledge and skills you apply for the UXD minor at THUAS. Do you prefer to broaden your knowledge and skills? Please take advantage of the various possibilities to do that. For example, maybe you want to use photography in your UXD career. In that case, be invited to apply for the minor Photography in Focus. This minor will give you a brief history of photography combined with practical photography masterclasses. Maybe you want to be challenged to target audiences online. Apply then for the minor Internet Marketing Tools. Are you interested in the match between UXD and gaming, you can apply for the minor Game Development and Simulation. This minor will prep you for a career in developing games with the basics of 3D modelling, simulation and artificial intelligence (AI).
Testimonials from our students
Who better to tell about the degree programme than our own students? They share their experiences here. Some of them are also ready and waiting to answer any questions you may have.
Testimonials from our lecturers
What can you expect from the first academic year? Our lecturers make a quick introduction and tell you more about the degree programme and the classes that they teach.
Career perspective
What you will become
Dit word je wel
UX designer
UX researcher
Interaction Designer
User Experience Designer
Front-end developer
Service Designer
Social Designer
Visual Interface Designer
Information technology manager
Mobile applications developer
What you won’t become
Architect
Graphical Designer
Programmer
Continue studying
If you’re academically inclined, you may want to follow a master’s after graduating from UXD. Because of UXD’s specific programme, there are as yet no master’s at THUAS that appropriately complement the UXD bachelor. However, our neighbours at the Delft University of Technology offer an interesting alternative, Human Technology Interaction. This master is focused on design. You could also apply for the Media Technology Master at Leiden University.
Outside the Netherlands, UXD students can follow a master’s straight after graduation. You should note that some universities in the Netherlands require you to follow a pre-master’s course after graduating from THUAS.
Testimonials from our alumni
What lies in store after studying User Experience Design? Our former students tell us where they ended up and how they look back on their study years.
Practical information
What else do you need to know?
How to apply
Your enrolment request must be submitted through Studielink. Before you do, please check the official name of the programme below. Would you like to find out more about the application process first? Check our page How to apply . The key deadlines are listed here as well. This degree programme starts in September and there is no intake in February.
Tuition fee
You will have to pay tuition fees when you enrol on a bachelor's programme. You can pay in one or more instalments. If you pay in more than one instalment a small administration fee is charged.
More information about tuition fees
Scholarships
Find out more about scholarships for international students. Please note that these scholarships are one-off scholarships only, meaning that if you obtain them it is only for your first year of study.
Student finance
Dutch students qualify for extra financial support via a loan. Dutch students automatically qualify for this financial assistance and international students may be eligible if they have lived in the Netherlands for at least five years or are employed for at least 56 hours per month.
Additional Costs
You must also budget for books, excursions and field trips. You can expect to pay approximately €800 per year to cover these additional costs. During your semester abroad, you will also need to pay for tickets, housing and insurance.
Visa and residence permit
Hulp bij studiekeuze
Wat als je nog twijfelt?
Het kan zijn dat je helemaal enthousiast wordt over deze opleiding User Experience Design. Het kan ook zijn dat je nog twijfelt en nog vragen hebt. Ook na je bezoek aan een Open Dag, na meelopen en/of na het praten met studenten, docenten, ouders en decanen. Wij helpen je graag om de juiste opleiding te kiezen.
- Twijfel je tussen meerdere opleidingen? Neem dan contact op met een van onze studiekeuzeadviseurs voor een persoonlijk gesprek of meld je aan voor een studiekeuzeworkshop.
- Twijfel je specifiek over deze opleiding? Neem dan contact op met iemand van de opleiding voor al je opleidingsgerelateerde vragen. Dat kan via de Contactbutton rechtsboven op deze opleidingspagina.
Assistance during your studies
Study coaching and advice
We consider you as a designer from day 1. As a young professional. So we give you a lot of space to research and design independently. But even professionals who operate independently also need sometimes a nudge in the right direction. If you are unable to find a solution, please ask a lecturer or your classmates. Together we learn more.
During this programme you will receive a study career counsellor. He or she is your coach and sparring partner in determining your study route and in choosing the teaching methods. In the first year you talk to your study career counsellor at least 3 times about you, your studies and the study progress.
Official details of the programme
This degree programme is registered in Registration of Institutions and Programmes (RIO):
- Official Dutch name of degree programme: Communication and Multimedia Design
- Official international name: Communication & Multimedia Design
- Programme code (Isat): 34092
- Institution code (Brin): 27UM
Both the official Dutch and the official international name of the degree programme (current at the time of your graduation) will be printed on your diploma.
For more information on the accreditation of this degree programme, see the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) website.
Bindend studieadvies (BSA)
To continue your degree programme after the first year, you need to earn 50 of the 60 credits (EC or Credits). In some cases, the degree programme may also require that you pass a specific subject as pEuropean art of the credit requirements. We call this a qualitative requirement. If you meet the credit requirements as well as the qualitative requirement where applicable, you will receive a positive binding study advice (BSA) from the Examination Board at the end of your first year and you will be able to continue your degree programme.
If you earn less than 50 credits or don’t meet the qualitative requirements where applicable, you will receive a negative binding study advice and will have to leave the degree programme. This is why this advice is called a Negative Binding Study Advice (NBSA).
Your academic progress may be affected by personal circumstances such as illness or the professional practice of a sport. It is important that you inform the Examination Board immediately of any personal circumstances that might apply to you. The Board can take these into account when issuing its study advice.
Read all the rules for the binding study advice in Chapter 7 of the Programme and Examination Regulations (PER) for your degree programme.
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