Graduate Programs

Degree Programs

Human-Computer Interaction Design

Our Human-Computer Interaction (HCI/d) program offers a unique graduate experience that creates design professionals who will shape the future of design.  Our graduates make an impact immediately and quickly grow into the design leaders of the next generation.  IU's HCI/d program was the first in the United States to emphasize design as an equal partner to HCI.  The original vision, updated to reflect today's technologies and trends, has been crafted to lay the groundwork for students to grow rapidly into sought after design leaders.

Traditionally, HCI has been the domain of engineering and psychology.  Here, we approach it from the perspective of design.  Our focus goes beyond simply using technology to solve a problem.  It is about creating a technology experience that will be functional, intuitive, and even delightful for the people who use it.  Students from a variety of backgrounds, from computer science to the liberal arts, come together to study and practice the design of computer technology creating a close-knit, high collaborative and imaginative group.  Our students build relationships and skills that continue long after they graduate.

M.S. Requirements

The Master of Science in HCI/d (design emphasis) is an intensive, two-year program that teaches students to shape new media, interactive tools, artifacts, and systems in ways that enhance usability, augment learning, facilitate communication, and enrich the lives of the people using them. The Master of Science degree program in HCI/d consists of 36 credit hours of studies, normally taken over two (2) consecutive years, evenly distributed as three (3) classes or nine (9) credit hours per semester.

Please refer to the Human-Computer Interaction Design Handbook.

To receive the M.S. HCI/d degree, a student must

  • Complete 36 credit hours of graduate work with no individual course grade below a C (2.0)
  • Maintain a B (3.0) or better GPA
  • Meet all the course requirements as stated in the handbook for the term of matriculation
  • Meet all of the above requirements within five (5) calendar years of initial matriculation

GRADES

The minimum overall GPA of a grade of B (3.0) for all graduate Informatics courses is required.  A student whose semester GPA falls below a grade of B (3.0) will be put on probation.  The student must raise their semester and cumulative grade point average to B (3.0) or higher by the end of the following semester. Failure to do so may result in academic dismissal from the program.  A student whose cumulative GPA falls below a B (3.0) for two consecutive semesters (excluding summer) may result in academic dismissal from the program.

CURRICULUM

Year 1 Fall

  • INFO-I 541 Interaction Design Practice (3 cr.)
  • INFO-I 542 Foundations of HCI (3 cr.)
  • Elective (3 cr.)

Year 1 Spring

  • INFO-I 543 Interaction Design Methods (3 cr.)
  • INFO-I 561 Meaning and Form in HCI (3 cr.)
  • Elective (3 cr.)

Year 2 Fall

  • INFO-I 694 Thesis/Project in Human-Computer Interaction I (3 cr.)
  • Elective (3 cr.)
  • Elective (3 cr.)

Year 2 Spring

  • INFO-I 694 Thesis/Project in Human-Computer Interaction II (3 cr.)
  • Elective (3 cr.)
  • Elective (3 cr.)

 * Electives and Recommended Electives

  • INFO-I 528 Participatory Design (3 cr.)
  • INFO-I 567 Design Strategy (3 cr.)
  • INFO-I 568 Technology Entrepreneurship (3 cr.)
  • INFO-I 590 Topics in Informatics (Topic: Interaction Culture) (3 cr.)
  • INFO-I 590 Topics in Informatics (Topic: Social Computing) (3 cr.)
  • INFO-I 590 Topics in Informatics (Topic: Sustainability in HCI & Design( (3 cr.)
  • INFO-I 590 Topics in Informatics (Topic: Visual Literacy in HCI/D) (3 cr.)
  • INFO-I 604 Human Computer Interaction Design Theory (3 cr.)
  • SOAD-S 552 Graphic Design for Graduate Non-Majors (3 cr.)

The recommended electives detailed above are the elective classes that students most typically select and the classes which they can select without additional approval from the program director. It is possible for students to tailor their particular program by selecting, with approval of the director, alternative graduate classes from within the University.  Independent Study or Internship credits are sometimes possible as an additonal alternative, as described in the HCI/d MS Handbook.  Electives can be from any school at Indiana University with courses related to the student's area of concentration, including other areas in Informatics, Computer Science, and Information and Library Science.

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