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Human-Computer Interaction

Program Overview

Human-computer interaction is the "discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and the study of the major phenomena surrounding them" (http://sigchi.org/cdg). This program focuses on designing computing interfaces with the user in mind!

Curriculum Review

The program consists of 52 credit hours. The foundation of the curriculum is based on studying the factors that determine interface usability (interaction design, interface design, user research and usability testing) as it applies to a variety of areas, such as science, engineering, industrial design, graphic design, psychology, anthropology, and sociology.

The program is offered either on-campus or online, and both full-time and part-time study options are available.

Core Courses
4004-745 Foundations of HCI#
4004-748 Usability Engineering#
4004-749 Usability Testing#
4002-726 Research Methods#
4002-765 User-centered Design Methods#

Four Program Electives
4002-731 Learning Knowledge Management Appl. Dev#
4002-892 CSCW/Groupware#
4004-755 Advanced Topics in HCI#
4004-757 Graphical Elements of the User Experience
4004-774 Eye Tracking: Theory, Methods, and Applications
4004-781 Usability Economics#
4004-802 Perspectives on Computer Mediation
4004-804 Building Tools for Creative Practice
4004-806 Innovation, Invention, and Computer Mediated Exp
0514-785 Advanced Perception
0514-787 Advanced Cognition

Two Courses from One of the Following Application Domains
  • Game Design
  • Interactive Multimedia Development
  • Web Development
  • Application Development#
  • Learning and Knowledge Management Systems#
  • Bioinformatics
  • Ergonomics and Safety
  • Special Topics

    8-Credit Capstone Experience - MS Project or Thesis Options#

    #course offerings are also available online

    Career Outcomes

    Job Titles

    Usability engineer, usability analyst, interaction designer, human factors/UI designer, user experience specialist, information architect, user research specialist


    Recent Employers

    Fisher-Price
    Xerox
    Kodak
    Johnson and Johnson
    SAP
    Yahoo
    UserWorks


    Admission Requirements

    We seek individuals with solid computing skills, as discussed below, from a variety of disciplines - especially information technology, computer science, information systems, psychology, communications, and graphic design.

  • Fulfill general criteria for graduate admission
  • Successful completion of a baccalaureate degree at a regionally accredited college or university
  • A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0
  • Applicants whose native language is other than English must submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination (or equivalent), with minimum scores of 570 (paper-based), 230 (computer-based), or 88 (internet-based)
  • The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required for applicants requesting consideration whose undergraduate performance was below 3.0/4.0, and for all international applicants.

    Prerequisites

  • A two-course object-oriented programming sequence (Java, C++, C)
  • Foundation course in probability and statistics
  • Working knowledge of Adobe Flash, for prototyping

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