What are user experience researchers?
User experience researchers (UXR) help designers understand the needs of existing and potential users of their products. The UXR program at Boise State is grounded in anthropological methods developed to understand the unfamiliar human beliefs and behaviors and convey those understandings to outsiders. It centers on a toolkit of techniques known as ethnography, including field visits, contextual interviews, and direct observations.
Program Offerings
The User Experience Research program offers fully-online courses and certificates for three distinct student groups: 1) Undergraduate students currently seeking a traditional bachelor’s degree, 2) Working professionals seeking to expand their professional toolkit. 3) Graduate students looking for advanced training in User Research. Select the program offering that is best for you.
Why User Experience Research?
Learn from program faculty and alumni about why you should consider the User Experience Research program at Boise State.
Video Transcript
[Intro Music]
>> MELODY JOHNSON: I use this every day it added value to my present employer. I look at customers’ needs differently. I look at what services we’re offering. How we can make improvements. It’s just overall changed the way I look at the way I work.
>> JOHN ZIKER: Everything really from more you know social good type things to a cities and community development to large corporations need UXR in order to better inform their programs, projects, and services.
[Intro Music]
>> KENDALL HOUSE: UX Research is a fast-growing field where researchers from the social sciences provide insights to designers.
>> MELODY JOHNSON: With UX I think that it can also seem very tech techy and can be misunderstood. You don’t realize that you’re actually researching from the customer’s perspective, that you’re looking deeper at what you can do to help people.
[Music]
>> KENDALL HOUSE: At Boise State, we built our program consulting with over 60 UXR practitioners and we have three affiliate faculty who are working in UXR.
>> JOHN ZIKER: Everything about our program is innovative. From the teaching methods to the structure of the program. Our program never stands still. The the one-credit seven-week courses is an innovation that allows both our traditional Boise State students and our students who are coming in only for the certificate to better succeed in the program.
>> KENDALL HOUSE: The courses have a focus on methods and experiential learning, and it allows for high levels of individualization.
>> MELODY JOHNSON: You’re doing participant observation, you are doing interviews, you’re creating these personas. What would that person do. What actions would they take before they go use the product or before they get to the store. What steps would they take. So, you’re really taking that deeper look at what the customer’s needs are.
>> JOHN ZIKER: Then the capstone experience is a project that the student does with a stakeholder either their current employer or we match them up with a stakeholder. So basically they do a project that they can add to their portfolio using UXR methods to provide insights on some sort of design problem.
>> MELODY JOHNSON: I would encourage others to enroll. It gives you a deeper perspective on unmet needs and the tools to be able to look and be more innovative. In order to create solutions.
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