Bachelor of Science [B.S] [Immersive Systems - User Experience] From Glasgow School of Art

Visualisation and Virtual Reality has been an area of excellence for the School of Simulation and Visualisation (previously Digital Design Studio) since its formation almost 20 years ago, and is an area that is now seeing a surge of rapid development and adoption worldwide. With the entertainment market driving costs down, new opportunities are emerging for VR in broadcast and entertainment, medical, engineering and other domains, with major investments from companies as varied as Sky Broadcasting, Sony, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft. Students can expect to benefit from the School of Simulation and VisualisationÕs continued research and commercial work (in e.g. archaeology and medical sectors) and relationships with major broadcasters, VR developers and private and public sector clients. Through the programme students will gain an understanding of major issues around core and specialist topics in Immersive Systems alongside practical skills for creating engaging and immersive interactive experiences.

User Experience (UX) is sometimes seen as a specialism within computing Ð yet this has been the cornerstone for bringing computers out of the science labs and into everyday life. Imagining new and different uses of digital technology, and then working out how to make it usable is as fundamental to the development of digital technologies as the 1s and 0s of binary arithmetic. As the physical keyboard and mouse interfaces are slowly supplanted by touch, gesture and voice, new possibilities, new solutions and new problems will continue to drive the need for User Experience specialists who can blend rigour and vision. In Immersive Systems, there is an even greater than usual need for UX specialists Ð where e.g. Head Mounted Display (HMD) devices enclose the users field of view, consideration of how the user can interact safely and effectively with a virtual world may mean abandoning long held norms and standard computing metaphors.