Master of Science in Human Centered Design

What is human centered design?

Good design often starts with noticing what isn’t working.

The app that takes six steps when it should take two. The healthcare portal that leaves patients confused. The AI tool that can do something remarkable but isn’t designed around the people expected to use it. Human-centered designers notice those friction points and figure out how to make them better.

Human-centered design is an approach to creating products, services, and experiences that starts with understanding the people who will use them. You’ll learn how to do just that—researching users, identifying needs, generating ideas, prototyping solutions, testing experiences, and leading product development.

Whether you’re entering straight from college or pivoting from another profession, you’ll build the design, research, and product skills to create technology that feels intuitive, solves real problems, and works better for the people who depend on it.

What makes BU’s MS in Human Centered Design different

• A communication foundation. Great designers don’t just create solutions. They have to explain why those solutions work. At COM, storytelling, persuasion, and communicating design decisions are part of how you’ll learn to design, not skills that are bolted on afterward. You’ll learn to advocate for users, explain your thinking, and bring stakeholders along with you.
• Learn the whole design process. You’ll move from understanding users and defining problems to generating ideas, prototyping solutions, testing experiences, and leading product development. You’ll graduate knowing how the pieces fit together, not just how to execute one part of the process.
• Put people at the center of AI. AI is changing both what designers create and how they create it. You’ll learn to use generative and assistive AI thoughtfully while considering the people affected by the products, systems, and decisions it powers.
• You don’t have to already be a designer. This program is built for people bringing different ways of thinking to design, from humanities and social sciences to communication, engineering, business, and beyond. What matters is your curiosity about people, technology, and how the two can work better together.
• Nine months. Two semesters. A portfolio that shows how you think.

Curriculum: Learn to design from insight to execution

Over two semesters, you’ll learn to move from understanding a challenge or need to researching, designing, testing, and communicating a better experience. You’ll build expertise across UX research, interface design, prototyping, information architecture, and product leadership—then bring it all together through an intensive client-facing capstone.

Core sequence (7 courses/24 credits)

• Human Centered Design I (4 credits): Learn to set product vision, apply user research, and use design thinking to create empathetic, inclusive experiences. This is where you’ll build your foundation.
• Research Methods in User Experience Design (4 credits): Develop expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods and learn when and how to use each throughout the design process.
• Ideation + Design Thinking (2 credits): Generate and evaluate creative solutions to complex problems through structured brainstorming, design sprints, and collaborative workshops.
• User Interface Design + Prototyping (2 credits): Build intuitive, accessible digital interfaces. Learn visual hierarchy, interaction patterns, and usability principles, then bring it all to life with prototyping tools.
• UX Writing + Information Architecture (4 credits): Shape how users navigate and understand products through structure and language. Study content strategy, microcopy, taxonomy, and information architecture.
• Human Centered Design II (Capstone) (4 credits): Lead a client- or research-driven project that applies the full design process to a real challenge. This is the centerpiece of your portfolio.
• Product Management + Leadership OR Leadership Communication (4 credits): Choose the track that fits your goals. Product Management covers roadmap planning, backlog management, and stakeholder alignment. Leadership Communication focuses on storytelling, negotiation, and leading cross-disciplinary teams.

Electives (choose 2 courses/8 credits)

Tailor your expertise with specialized graduate courses such as:

• Data Visualization
• Design Strategy & Software
• Design & Interactive Experiences
• Media Theory, Law & Policy
• Interactive Marketing Strategy
• Design & Art Direction
• Brand Experience Marketing

Career outcomes: what can you do with a master’s in human-centered design?

Human-centered designers are the people asking, “Who is this for, and what do they actually need?”

Across technology, healthcare, education, financial services, government, and emerging AI sectors, organizations need professionals who can understand users, translate those insights into better experiences, and bring research, design, and product teams together.

Graduates are prepared for roles such as:

• Product Designer
• UX/UI Designer 
• UX Researcher
• Product Manager
• Design Researcher
• Information Architect
• Content/UX Writer
• Customer Experience (CX) Strategist
• Human-Centered AI Specialist 
• Usability Analyst
• Service Designer

Learn from industry-connected faculty

Great products aren’t built by one discipline. Neither is this program. You’ll learn from faculty whose expertise spans UX research, product design, media science, strategy, communication, and interactive design—giving you different ways to understand users, solve problems, and communicate your ideas.

Study in Boston: Surround yourself with innovation

Boston brings together some of the world’s leading organizations in healthcare, biotech, AI, education, financial services, robotics, and technology—all fields where understanding people is essential to designing what comes next.

You’ll study in a city where researchers, designers, entrepreneurs, and organizations are developing new products, technologies, and experiences for patients, customers, students, employees, and communities. Studying in the middle of it all gives you opportunities to connect what you’re learning in the classroom with the industries and people putting human-centered design into practice every day.

For a human-centered designer, Boston is more than a place to study. It’s a place to see what’s next and learn how to help design it.

Program at a glance

• Degree: Master of Science (MS)
• STEM-designated: Yes (international graduates are eligible for the 36-month OPT extension)
• Credits: 32 | Courses: 9
• Duration: 9 months (2 semesters, full-time)
• Format: On-campus (Boston, MA)
• Entry Term: Fall
• GRE: Not required

Ready to apply?

If you’re ready to turn your curiosity about people and technology into a career designing better experiences, we want to hear from you. We welcome applicants from a wide range of creative, technical, academic, and professional backgrounds. No prior design experience is required, and the GRE is not required.

Learn more about application requirements, deadlines, and how to apply.

Frequently asked questions about the MS in Human Centered Design

What is human-centered design?

Human-centered design is an approach to solving problems that begins with understanding the needs, behaviors, and experiences of the people you’re designing for. It combines research, strategy, design, testing, and iteration to create products, services, and experiences that are useful, accessible, and effective.

Do I really not need a design background to apply?

No design background is required. We welcome applicants from the humanities, social sciences, business, engineering, fine arts, and beyond. The curriculum is designed to help students from varied backgrounds build strong design and research skills from the ground up.

How long is the program?

Two semesters. Nine months. Nine courses, 32 credits, and a portfolio that shows how you think and design.

Is this program STEM-designated?

Yes. International graduates are eligible for the 36-month OPT extension to work in the U.S. after graduation.

What is the difference between this degree and a UX bootcamp?

A UX bootcamp typically focuses on building practical design skills over a short period of time. BU’s MS in Human Centered Design goes deeper, combining user research, interface design, information architecture, product strategy, leadership, and communication within a comprehensive graduate degree.

You’ll learn not just how to use design tools, but how to understand users, make research-informed decisions, communicate your strategy, and lead products from idea to implementation.

Is this program offered online?

No. The MS in Human Centered Design is an intensive, on-campus program in Boston, giving students access to collaborative learning, hands-on project work, and BU’s design and research resources.

---