Code

005S109

Start

September 2026

Fees

£13,700 (UK) £20,100 (INT)

Duration

1 year full-time, 2 years part-time, 1 year full-time + 12 months placement

Location

Hendon campus

Why study Interactive Experience Design MA at Middlesex University?

MA Interactive Experience Design empowers you to create and critique immersive, interactive worlds that merge storytelling, design, and technology. Through taught sessions and embedded credit-bearing work experience modules you’ll explore how data, narrative, and real-time engines combine to shape user experience for place-based experiences across games, XR, and installation design. Practice-based learning, ethical innovation, and employability are embedded throughout the programme.

Build expertise in designing immersive, interactive worlds that blend storytelling, play, and technology.
Learn to prototype experiences using real-time engines and emerging tools, from XR to AI-driven systems.
Study in London — a global hub for creative technology, games, and media innovation.
Develop an ethical, sustainable, and inclusive approach to interactive design practice.
Prepare for roles in games, XR, creative technology, and experience design through professional mentoring and employability support.
Join an interdisciplinary community of digital creatives studying together in our state-of-the-art facilities at MDX Studios. Facilities include games labs with high-end hardware for high graphic processing (NVIDIA) and a wealth of industry software including Unreal Engine. Our Motion Capture studio utilises a range of sophisticated technology to enable the creation of industry-level VFX and VP. The Kit Hub has a vast collection of high-end creative tech to support student projects including professional cameras, sound recording kit and VR headsets. With strong relationships with industry partners, Kit Hub is vital resource for our creative community to keep up to date with the latest tech. We have studios for film, animation and sound recording studios as well as suites for editing and colour grading. We offer Avid Media Composer and Pro Tools certification.
Connect with the creative industries and the local community through our partners at Screen London Barnet.

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Create the Future of Play

Design and prototype immersive, data-driven interactive experiences that engage global audiences.

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Industry-Connected Learning

Work on live briefs and placements in London’s heritage, performance, and creative technology sector.

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Ethical Innovation

Apply sustainable, inclusive, and AI-aware design principles across all projects.

Student stories and experiences

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Student life

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Diversity at Middlesex University

Placements in interactive experience design

MDX Studios is a vibrant, industry-connected hub for hands-on learning, research, and innovation — where university meets the real world. We offer a unique environment where students collaborate with external partners to develop cutting-edge skills and an entrepreneurial mindset.

Through our access to London’s thriving creative studios and digital agencies MA Interactive Experience Design students benefit from opportunities to work alongside experience designers, interaction designers, games UX specialists and creative technologists on a variety of real-world projects. These might be in the entertainment sector, heritage and museums, education or start-up projects with entrepreneurs.

At MDX Studios, you won’t just study—you’ll work. Our MA programmes feature one- and two-year options with embedded, credit-bearing work placements on live industry projects. Placements can be long or short, and if a suitable opportunity is not available with an industry partner, we will create professional settings for you to work on university-led projects. You’ll build your CV while gaining experience in professional contexts, from independent content creation to working on productions in our state-of-the-art facilities.

Discover more about placements

Modules

Here is an overview of the modules you will study.

This module explores narrative structure, character, and world design for interactive environments. You’ll learn how stories guide user behaviour and engagement.

You’ll investigate how AI tools transform creative workflows, exploring ethical and innovative applications across interactive media.

Develop entrepreneurial and project management skills for sustainable creative careers. Learn to pitch, budget, and manage clients effectively.

Learn rapid prototyping and iteration techniques for creating and testing digital experiences, from concept storyboarding to playable prototype.

Explore interactive storytelling for physical environments, combining spatial design, sensors, and user data to enhance experience.

Develop the critical and analytical skills to experiment with emerging technologies and creative coding to prototype future-facing digital experiences.

Strengthen written and visual communication and pitching skills to convey design concepts effectively to stakeholders.

Translate ideas into paper and digital prototypes, testing and refining them through user experience feedback loops.

Sketch, develop, and build immersive environments that connect gameplay with spatial storytelling.

Discover how to design, optimize, and manage digital assets across production pipelines, ensuring efficiency and creative control.

Gain sound recording experience across film, television, games, podcast and related media.

Explore immersive sound works for public spaces including gallery, theatre and site-specific locations.

Gain hands-on industry experience through placements or live briefs. Reflect on professional growth and build your network.

Your final project integrates design research, prototyping, and professional presentation to showcase your creative and technical expertise.

Fly through Middlesex Uni: The Grove building for Arts and Creative courses

Teaching

You'll be taught by an experienced teaching team with a wide range of expertise and professional experience.

Teaching combines lectures, workshops, seminars, and studio-based learning. You’ll work on real-world briefs, collaborative projects, and case studies connected to current industry practice. Regular guest lectures, peer critiques, and one-to-one tutorials support your creative and professional development. You’ll be part of an interdisciplinary postgraduate community within MDX Studios, surrounded by artists, technologists, and entrepreneurs.

Your timetable will be built around on campus sessions using our professional facilities, with online sessions for some activities where we know being virtual will add value. We’ll use technology to enhance all your learning and give you access to online resources to use in your own time. Project information, recorded presentations, and assessment criteria will be provided through our online module page.

The table below gives you an idea of what learning looks like across a typical week. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on-campus sessions.

Learning structure	Typical hourly breakdown
Live in-person on campus learning	Contact hours per week, per level: 10 hours
Tutor set learning activities	Average hours per week, per level: 2 hours

Outside of these hours, you’ll be expected to do independent study where you read, listen and reflect on other learning activities. This can include preparation for future classes. In a year, you’ll typically be expected to commit 1,200 hours to your course across all styles of learning. If you are taking a placement, you might have some additional hours.

You’ll benefit from one-to-one support from your tutors and the Careers and Futures employability team. Academic writing, research, and technical skills are supported through workshops, library resources, and peer collaboration. Free laptop loans, Wi-Fi, printing, and access to Adobe Creative Cloud and Avid tools are included.

You’ll be assessed through design prototypes and portfolios, pitch decks, reflective journals, logbooks, project proposals, and written reports. Continuous formative feedback is provided during studio sessions, with summative evaluations at major milestones. Assessment focuses on creative innovation, ethical awareness, and professional presentation.

Careers

How can the Interactive Experience Design MA support your career?

Graduates progress into roles such as Experience Designer, XR Developer, Games UX Designer, Interaction Designer, or Creative Technologist. You’ll build a professional portfolio ready for work in entertainment, museums, education, and emerging tech sectors. The course supports entrepreneurial pathways, encouraging you to launch your own creative projects or studios.

Our employability service Careers and Futures will help you make the most of your experience and connections to achieve your career goals. You'll have unlimited access to one-to-one advice and support from specialists in your sector plus 24/7 online support. You can also make the most of events and networking opportunities, on and off campus.

As an alumni, we offer you lifetime career support so we can help you as your progress.

MDXcelerator student start-up support

We can help you bring your business idea to life with our MDXcelerator programme which includes masterclasses with high-profile entrepreneurs, workshops, mentoring opportunities and competitions to secure seed funding.

Students at Middlesex span 122 countries and you will be part of our thriving global network. After you graduate, you'll join our alumni network. You will get access to:

Lifetime careers support from the Careers and Futures employability service;
Raise your personal profile as one of our featured alumni;
Continued limited usage of the Sheppard Library;
Exclusive MDX alumni networks to connect with your peers.

Entry requirements

Qualifications

We normally require a 2:2 degree or above, or equivalent qualification, in a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.

We also consider candidates with other relevant qualifications or equivalent professional experience.

Portfolio

If you don’t hold a degree in a relevant field, you’ll need to submit a portfolio as part of your application. This is your chance to show us your creative ability, enthusiasm, and potential to succeed on the course. For more information please see the Portfolio tab.

We welcome students from the UK and all over the world. Join students from over 122 countries and discover why so many international students call our campus home:

Quality teaching with top facilities plus flexible online learning
Welcoming north London campus that's only 30 minutes from central London
Work placements and networking with top London employers
Award-winning career support to get you where you want to go after university.

Qualifications

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the accepted qualifications on your country's support page. If you are unsure of the suitability of your qualifications or would like help with your application, please contact your nearest international office.

English language

You will need to meet our English language requirements. And, don’t worry If you don't meet our minimum English language requirements, as we offer a Pre-sessional English course.

Visas

To study with us in the UK, you might need a Student visa. Please check to see if this applies to you.

Portfolio review

We’ve put together some simple notes to help you prepare:

Be selective about the work you show while continuing to show a range of skills and ability;
Show mostly recent work that you are most proud of;
Consider how to present your work and the impression the overall look of your portfolio will have on the viewer.

After you have applied, we will send you a link for you to submit your portfolio online via the applicant portal.

We welcome portfolios in any digital format. Please share your work in whatever way best represents your creativity and skills.

If you are having difficulty with the file format, please contact ACIPortfolios@mdx.ac.uk who can help you submit.

Applications for postgraduate study should be made directly to the university.

Please visit our postgraduate application page for further information and to apply.

Entry onto this course may require a portfolio review.

Register your interest

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Fees and funding

The fees below are for the 2026/2027 academic year.

UK students¹

Full-time students: £13,700
Part-time students: £90 per credit
Part-time students: £45 per dissertation credit

If you were to study over two years part-time, you would usually pay £5,400 for the first year of study, and £8,100 in the second.

International students²

Full-time students: £20,100
Part-time students: £134 per credit
Part-time students: £67 per dissertation credit

If you were to study over two years part-time, you would usually pay £8,040 for the first year of study, and £12,060 in the second.

The following course-related costs are included in the fees:

All printing and copying required for your study
Access to sound recording and mixing studios, editing suites, and colour grading suites
Audio-visual equipment available for loan, including digital stills cameras, digital video recorders, digital audio recorders, a large range lighting gear, grip equipment, and specialist microphones.

You may be eligible for one of our scholarships including:

The Alumni Postgraduate Award: a 20% fee reduction for UK/EU Middlesex alumni who studied eligible undergraduate courses;
The Chevening Scholarship: full course fees;
The European Academic Awards: £1,000 to £7,000 for students showing academic excellence;
Regional or International Merit Award: up to £2,000 towards course fees.

For international students, we also have a limited number of other awards specific to certain regions, and work in partnership with funding providers in your country to help support you financially with your study.

Find out more about our postgraduate scholarships.

Help from your employer

Your employer can contribute towards the cost of your postgraduate study as part of their staff development programme.

Work while you study

If you are not currently working, we can help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above.

Fees disclaimers

1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase postgraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.

Important information

We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.

Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.

Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.

At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.