HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION
We are living at a time when devices of all kinds have become central to our lives. While the technology has attracted more than sufficient interest, the human dimension too has begun to occupy a pre-eminent position over the last few years, with special attention brought to the human computer interaction. Naturally, there are many ways to look at this exceedingly fascinating area of study and is reflected in the various courses organised along different lines of emphasis but all under the same rubric – human computer interaction. Some go beyond computers to look at human technology interaction. What is common to all courses is an emphasis on understanding user experience and incorporating those insights into products or services.
The Human Computer Interaction Institute at the Carnegie Mellon University offers a Masters of Human-Computer Interaction. It says: “MHCI graduates often rave about the real-world experience they gain through our capstone project course. Working in teams of four to six, students collaborate with an industry sponsor to innovate, improve or modify a new or existing human-to-machine technology (https://www.hcii.cmu.edu/academics/mhci).
The MS-HCI Degree Program at Georgia Tech “provides students with the practical skills and theoretical understandings they need to become leaders in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the next generation of human-computer interfaces (http://mshci.gatech.edu/).
College of Information Studies, University of Maryland offers a MS in Human-Computer Interaction “provides the opportunity for advanced, systematic study of how to design, evaluate, and implement new information technologies that are understandable, usable, and appealing to a wide variety of people. The major objectives of the program are to prepare students to become human-computer interaction (HCI) leaders in industry and government, or to enable them to be successful in doctoral work in a particular specialization of HCI (http://ischool.umd.edu/hcim)”. It also offers a Masters in Human-Centered Computing (http://informationsystems.umbc.edu/home/graduate-programs/master-of-science-programs/master-of-science-in-human-centered-computing-hcc/).
The UC Berkeley offers a range of options through “through three venues: the Computer Science Division in the College of Engineering, the School of Information, and the Berkeley Center for New Media”, (http://hci.berkeley.edu/).
The HCI Group at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign offers a programme through its Department of Computer Science (http://hci.cs.illinois.edu/).
The University College of London Interaction Centre offers a Masters of Human-Computer Interaction which “draws on a wide range of disciplines that introduces graduates to the problems, knowledge and practice of HCI and ergonomics” (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/uclic/studying/taught-courses/masters-of-science). City University, London offers a Human Computer Interaction Design which aims to arm students “with the latest research, theories and techniques in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), User Experience (UX), usability and interaction design – thoroughly preparing you for a career in user-centred design or user research” (https://www.city.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/human-computer-interaction-design).
The Master’s Programme in Human Computer Interaction and Social Media at Umea University “is intended for students who want to help influence the way interaction between people and information technology (IT) develops. The programme focuses on the analysis and design of interactions between people and IT across a wide spectrum of usage situations”, (http://www.umu.se/english/education/courses-and-programmes/programme?code=SADSM).
The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in Germany offers an MSc in Human Computer Interaction (https://www.uni-weimar.de/en/media/studies/computer-science-and-media-hci/human-computer-interaction-msc/).