We offer online, live and interactive UX masters programmes focusing on AI and inclusive design, as well as fundamentals of HCI. This research led approach to graduate level teaching will prepare you for the constantly changing world of UX and expose you to state of the art research in HCI, delivered by academics from the Bristol Interaction Group (BIG), the 2nd ranked HCI group in the UK. Check out our free online BIG seminar series to see what state of the art HCI and UX is all about, BIG TALK.

We teach the following units for full-time and part-time degrees:

Foundations of Human-Computer Interaction

Tuesdays 2-6pm BST/GMT*, 22 September to 19 December 2025

Human-Computer Interaction is a multi-disciplinary area that combines perspectives and theories from diverse disciplines, including engineering, psychology, sociology, design and computer science. This unit will provide the theoretical foundations, which will serve as the building blocks for a career in user experience (UX).

Human-AI Interaction

Wednesdays 2-6pm BST/GMT*, 22 September to 19 December 2025

Recent rapid advances in artificial intelligence have created opportunities and risks across a wide range of domains. Three key questions will be addressed in this unit: how are AI technologies impacting people in a variety of areas such as healthcare and business; how can we design AI systems that respect human capabilities and values; and what are the opportunities and risks of AI changing practices in the UX industry?

Advanced Topics in HCI

Thursdays 2-4pm BST/GMT*, 22 September 2025 to 22 May 2026

Human-computer interaction is fundamentally about the design of interactive technology, but what types of technology are being designed varies significantly. This unit will cover a diverse range of HCI and UX design/research to show the contexts in which it matters, and the challenges and opportunities for interactive technologies. Students will understand how HCI research is influencing topics such as: HCI in health and care, decolonisation, sustainability, finance, education, etc. Students will be exposed to a diversity of perspectives through a wide range of presentations from local and external speakers.

Interaction Design

Fridays 2-4pm BST/GMT*, 22 September 2025 to 22 May 2026

Human-computer interaction is fundamentally about the design of interactive technology, and this unit will give students the tools to be able to undertake UX design. It will teach fundamental approaches to human-centred design and provide students with the skills they will need in industry or academia.

User Research

Tuesdays 2-6pm BST/GMT*, 19 January to 22 May 2026

This unit will equip you with a toolkit of human-centred user research methods, and give you practical experience in conducting them, in order for you to understand your target users better and test your creative ideas “in the wild”. You will use participatory design and co-production to build up your understanding of users/customers/stakeholders and where to create value for them. It aims to give you an understanding of important marketplace advantage and prevent you from wasting time, money, and effort in designing the wrong product or solution. You will define target audiences clearly, carry out a range of appropriate user research methodologies and learn how to refine your ideas based on the results of that user research.

Accessible and Inclusive Design

Wednesdays 2-6pm BST/GMT*, 19 January to 22 May 2026

Diversity is ingrained in the way interactive technologies are used, and therefore should be at the forefront of HCI design. Designing for interactive technologies to be accessible and inclusive benefits the entire user base. This unit will apply theories of design for diverse abilities to a larger group project that will give the students hands-on experience of deeply engaging in a design coursework that explicitly engages with diversity and inclusion.

Human-Computer Interaction Project (Dissertation)

25 May – 4 September 2026

This final Human-Computer Interaction project acts as a focus for all the skills and proficiencies built up from the other units on the MSc programme. The objective is to use these skills in an application of user experience (UX) design or research. The student will need to conceptualise, design, carry-out and disseminate the findings both in written and oral form under the supervision of a HCI academic from the Bristol Interaction Group (BIG). Some students may be able to complete this dissertation over one summer in Bristol as a visiting student at the BIG Lab.

Flexible Study Options

Our programmes are synchronous and interactive, so it is expected that students attend and contribute in class and in assessments. However, we offer one, two and three year online MSc options, as well as full-time and part-time Postgraduate Certificates (PGCert) and Postgraduate Diplomas (PGDip):

Academics*

Prof Kenton O’Hara leads Human-AI Interaction. He has over 30 years of research and innovation experience developing human-centred research agendas in world renowned research organisations including Microsoft Research, Xerox EuroPARC, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Appliance Studio. Kenton’s Google Scholar.

Dr Paul Marshall leads User Research. He has over 20 years of teaching and research experience in human-computer interaction, including at University College London (UCL), the Open University, Warwick University, and Sussex University, including visiting research positions at Georgia Tech and University of California Irvine. Paul’s Google Scholar.

Dr Dan Bennett leads Foundations of HCI. He started in HCI by completing a MSc at University of Bristol. His research focuses on first person experience with technologies, and how this relates to well-being. His approach attempts to bridge between cognitive science and more humanistic approaches. He has experience in HCI research and teaching at ITU Copenhagen and Aalto University, and industry experience in the NHS and in the financial sector. Dan’s Google Scholar.

Dr Aisling Ann O’Kane leads Advanced Topics in HCI and Interaction Design. She has over 12 years of digital health and care teaching and research experience in HCI at University College London (UCL) and Bristol, including visiting research positions at Georgia Tech, University of California Irvine, TU Delft and KTH Royal Institute of Technology. She has industry experience in Human Factors consulting in Toronto. Aisling’s Google Scholar.

Dr Kyle Keane leads Accessible and Inclusive Design. He has joined Bristol from MIT, where he taught and worked across artificial intelligence & machine learning, educational research & pedagogy, collaborative design, humanitarian engineering, inter sensory perception & communication, and accessibility & assistive technology. Before MIT, Dr. Keane worked as a Research Programmer at Wolfram Research (makers of Mathematica and Wolfram Alpha). Dr. Keane lives with a degenerative eye condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa, which helps him stay adaptable, resilient, and hopefully forever an active learner. Kyle’s Google Scholar.

Find Out More

To find out more and apply online: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught/msc-human-computer-interaction-online/

*Provisional schedule, subject to change