Indiana University Bloomington

School of Informatics and Computing

Master’s Degree

Academics

Our educational programs foster individuals with diverse and substantive skills. Our graduates have the interpretive vision to apply their skills in tangible and effective ways regardless of fashion within the academic HCI community. They are able to demonstrate and effectively argue for the value of strategic, human-centered design to technology- and enterprise-centered colleagues in their post-graduate life. They also are leaders with the power and influence to ensure that human-centered thinking drives technology and enterprise. They are literate, capable, and engaging not only about design, but also about technology and business.

Our HCI/d program is based on the educational philosophy that students must be involved in challenging work that stimulates intellectual development, enhances collaborative and communicative skills, and develops design competence. Students are involved in design projects in courses, in individual or team based independent studies, and in research projects with faculty.

Our master’s students frequently participate in design competitions, such as the CHI Student Design Competition. CHI is the most prestigious international HCI conference in the world. It attracts around 60 team contributions annually from around the world. In both 2007 and 2008, five of the twelve teams selected for the finals and invited to the conference were from our HCI/d program. In the last few years, our teams have taken first place on two occasions, with several more teams placing in the top four. In 2008, our students won both the CHI Student Research Competition and the Microsoft Imagine Cup. Most of our master’s students also publish papers and participate at conferences and workshops.

HCI/d M.S. Program

The master’s of science degree in Human Computer Interaction Design is structured as a 36 credit hour program of study. Twenty-four credit hours are core to HCI/d and required of all students. Twelve credit hours need to be carefully chosen to create an area of specialization that you are combining with your HCI/d credentials. For more information on the curriculum and specific courses, download the HCI/d graduate student handbook.

Program Outline
  Fall 2009
1st semester
Spring 2010
2nd semester
Fall 2010
3rd semester
Spring 2011
4th semester
Interaction Design Practicum Interaction Design Practice Meaning and Form in HCI/d Capstone I Capstone II
HCI/design Fundamentals Interaction Design Methods and Foundations of HCI Experience Design Selectives*
  • Interaction Culture
  • HCI/d Theory
  • to be announced
Selectives*
  • CSCW
  • Pervasive Computing
  • to be announced
Informatics & Beyond No course Choose from other Informatics courses or from courses outside the school
Portfolio Development Portfolio development is an ongoing activity in all courses and projects.

* IMPORTANT: The courses mentioned as selectives might change and should only be seen as preliminary.

For more information on the capstone courses, download the HCI/d capstone project handbook.

Questions?

For more information, e-mail graduate [at] informatics [dot] indiana [dot] edu.

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