My talk about our new experience architecture major at Michigan State University given at CCCCs 2015. For more information, see http://xa.cal.msu.edu/

1. @LizaPotts
Director of Experience Architecture & WIDE Research Center
Associate Professor of Awesome
Dept of Writing, Rhetoric, & American Cultures
http://xa.cal.msu.edu/
Experience Architecture (XA)
Digital Experience Strategy out of the Humanities

2. XA = Creativity, Strategy, and Logic
Experience Architects play a strategic role in
building, maintaining, and sustaining experiences of
participants across digital technologies
Experience Architecture is the
infrastructure for living in the 21st
Century
Experience architecture is the strategy and practice of
user experience from the perspective of the Humanities

3. XA’s Lead People-Focused Projects
3
Brainstorm
Participate
Research

5. Talking to Prospective Students

6. B.A. in Experience Architecture
Experience
Architecture
Rhetoric
Writing
Visual
Design
Information
Technology
Philosophy
Computer
Science

7. Earning a BA in XA
 Classes focused on user research, information
architecture, interaction design, usability, content
strategy, design thinking
 Four core courses, a capstone, and an internship:
 Intro to Experience Architecture
 User Research
 Project Management
 Prototyping
 Additional coursework in web dev, digital rhetoric,
content strategy, visual design, logic, programming,
information design, visual rhetoric
 Study Abroad, Internship Abroad Opportunities

8. Future is Here: 30 XA Majors
 Our Numbers = Awesome Growth = New Problems
 Goal for 2014-15 = 10 Majors // Goal for 2015-16 = 20 Majors
 Our Breaking Point = 40 Majors (offer multiple sections)
 WITHOUT any active recruitment or advertising
 Question: How much do we want to grow? Will we recruit?
 Building Partnerships  XA Collaborative
 XA in Residence, XA Students in Detroit, XA Students at SIGDOC
 Working across Centers, Colleges, Universities

9. Who Are Our XA Majors?
 30+ students from across the university and beyond
 Type A’s  Want to research and build NOW
 Advanced: Many Honors Students
 Diverse: 15 women, 15 men, 20% non-white
 Community College Transfers: 33%
 Origins: Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical, CompEng,
2xCompSci), 3xPW, Psych, Film, Chem, Packaging,
Interdisciplinary Humanities, PreMed, English

10. Industry Support

12. Thank you!
To Learn More:
 Our website: http://xa.cal.msu.edu/
To Continue the Conversation:
 Contact Liza, the Director of the XA program:
lpotts@msu.edu @LizaPotts #msuXA
 Or our other faculty members:
 Bill Hart-Davidson / Stuart Blythe
 Ben Lauren / John Monberg
 Rebecca Tegtmeyer / Zach Kaiser