HCI/d Program Director
Associate Professor of Informatics
Address complex issues with a human-centered and socially responsible perspective
Our Master of Science in Human-Computer Interaction Design (HCI/d) is a unique graduate experience that creates professionals who will shape the future of human-centered design. This intensive two-year program enables you to shape interactive experiences, services, and systems in ways that:
- Positively impact the user experience (UX)
- Serve the need of diverse stakeholders
- Facilitate communication and collaboration
- Enrich the lives of the people and communities using them
You will complete a combination of required studio courses, which allow you to interact in a hands-on, collaborative learning environment. You will also choose elective courses to round out your own areas of specialization as an HCI/d professional.
This program is classified as a STEM program.
Areas of program focus
All students will build skills in interaction design, design strategy, and user research methods as part of the core studio courses at the heart of the HCI/d program. Beyond this core, students select electives to further differentiate themselves in ways that inform their unique design perspective.
Common ways students make the program their own include:
- Connecting different forms of domain or technical knowledge to their HCI/d knowledge (e.g., connecting perspectives from data science, visualization, AI, education, public policy, or other fields)
- Leveraging unique disciplinary perspectives (e.g., using your undergraduate degree in architecture, engineering, or virtually any other field to enrich your HCI-focused perspective)
- Preparing for specific industry sectors (e.g., working in a Fortune 500 or 100 company, at an agile startup, or considering working in organizations with higher or lower UX maturity)
- Identifying specific types of job role specialization (e.g., jobs that focus more on the design of user interfaces, user research, product management, or generalist positions)
What can you do with this degree after graduation?
Our alumni go on to work in a wide range of industries and job roles all over the world. As UX- and HCI-related job roles have evolved, we continue to prepare students to effectively adapt to the changing strategic and technology landscape and become leaders. Our graduates take a broad range of job roles, including: UX designer, UX researcher, product manager, UX engineer, and more. Many of our alumni have also contributed to creating cultures of UX majority in their respective organizations, taking on design leadership positions and impacting the future of the profession.
Elisa Krebs
M.S. in HCI/d
Today
Partnering with the Indianapolis chapter of the Interaction Design Association to implement design practices that can help combat food insecurity in the city
Tomorrow
Creating and using technology for social good while focusing on the business and strategy aspects of design and interaction
Hear about our MS HCI program from current students
Description of the video:
00:00 being in the cohort and the culture of
00:02 the cohort is a lot like having a family
00:05 that you don't really know that well at
00:08 first and you're getting to know God
00:15 means like unity and family thing
00:19 feeling of that oh man I like a lot of
00:23 that's called cohort I like sorry I know
00:25 that's weird but like cohort like it's
00:28 just the connotations with it are kind
00:31 of really true like I kind of thought
00:32 cohort as a class at first like Oh class
00:35 of 2019 which here at IU that's what
00:38 10,000 people that's not really family
00:40 whereas here a cohort like the
00:42 connotations I've learned with the art
00:44 of more like family and friends and
00:46 people I can really depend on I have
00:49 never been happy in such close
00:53 relationship with a cohort before in my
00:56 undergraduate so
00:58 like we would
01:01 have tea meeting its
01:06 not not only about the project but also
01:10 about our lives before and what we
01:13 wanted to do in the future a ton of
01:15 people who are all completely different
01:17 but everybody's on the same page because
01:20 everyone's here for the same reasons we
01:22 go to a lot of events together we will
01:26 invite childr to our places so we really
01:31 have a great connection with each other
01:34 I know everyone's name I know everyone's
01:36 first and last name I another face it's
01:37 like it's cool like we're we are a big
01:40 family and we care about each other
01:43 that makes me feel really good and I've
01:47 never been friend befriended so many
01:50 people so fast and had such an
01:53 instantaneous deep-rooted connection and
01:56 it's not just like surface level it's
02:00 like much deeper
Description of the video:
00:01 you get up in the morning and you're
00:03 like oh let's see what's gonna be today
00:05 like what special thing is gonna happen
00:08 what new experience I'm gonna go through
00:11 or what am I gonna learn today
00:13 everything you are interested is
00:16 available for you being a part of this
00:19 program that see a family is a great
00:22 thing to have I feel happy every day
00:28 to be honest before the say mister
00:31 started I kind of still doubt doubt it
00:35 like if this program is the right choice
00:38 for me that after the first lecture
00:42 after all this I think this is the most
00:47 right decision I've ever made in my life
00:51 in some ways it feels like a family like
00:54 we're very tight-knit we do a lot of
00:58 things together every professor is so
01:00 friendly you can go out with them for
01:02 dinner for a coffee and like see there
01:06 are no concept of senior junior they all
01:08 are friends they all are family everyone
01:11 give you gifts your time we have a lot
01:13 of activities to know each other so
01:17 before the school starts before we start
01:19 the real projects we already like have
01:23 like know each other for a long time so
01:26 that's how we can collaborate with each
01:28 other like very well because undergrad
01:31 I'm taking some courses because I have
01:33 to take the course whereas here I'm
01:35 genuinely interested in every course
01:37 I've taken even if you may not see the
01:40 benefit initially you will not believe
01:42 how much you think about and talk about
01:44 design after taking just a few weeks of
01:46 a course I feel that I'm living I'm
01:49 doing something I'm learning something
01:50 they'd given if you were sitting in the
01:52 studio not probably doing anything just
01:55 reflecting upon how your day was or what
01:58 you learned or even listen to some
02:00 people talking you're actually gathering
02:02 a lot of knowledge learning a lot I mean
02:06 I feel like this program really like
02:09 helped me to be the person I wanted to
02:13 be helping me to be myself I think you
02:16 can sum it up by saying like I'm finally
02:18 learning for myself rather than a chore
02:21 being put on me like just to get a
02:24 degree rather learning to like actually
02:26 learn and that's what like so it's just
02:29 very satisfying
02:31 for you
HCI/d Program Information
Curriculum 2024-2025
Year One
Fall
- Introduction to HCI/d
3 Credits
This course offers an introduction to the fundamental components of Human-Computer Interaction Design. Using a collaborative studio approach, students build their research, prototyping, and evaluation skills and are introduced to key concepts and methods in conducting human-centered design work. - Foundations of HCI/d
3 Credits
This course offers a survey of the field of Human-Computer Interaction, introducing the main themes of HCI set in a historical context. Readings also demonstrate how HCI has addressed perspectives from other disciplines. - HCI/d Studio Practice
3 Credits
This course provides students an opportunity to work on real-world projects with external partners in a collaborative studio environment. Using a human-centered approach, students work in teams on an external project, iteratively forming and addressing the project requirements with input from the external partner and the instructional team.
Spring
- Interaction Design Methods
3 Credits
This course continues to build student skills in Human-Computer Interaction Design. Using a collaborative studio approach, students extend their research, prototyping, and evaluation skills and are introduced to advanced research and design methods. Students are exposed to multiple philosophies of design work and relevant forms of design argumentation. - Electives
6 Credits
Students select an elective offered at the university graduate level. They continue to focus on design skills, spend more time doing research, explore hobbies, or learn technical skills like programming, VR and AR. Students have the choice to select from hundreds of courses offered outside of Informatics.
Year Two
Fall
- HCI/d Studio Practice
3 Credits
This course provides students an opportunity to work on real-world projects with external partners in a collaborative studio environment. Using a human-centered approach, students work in teams on an external project, iteratively forming and addressing the project requirements with input from the external partner and the instructional team. - Electives
6 Credits
Students select two electives offered university graduate level. They continue to focus on design skills, spend more time doing research, explore hobbies, or learn technical skills like programming, VR and AR. Students have the choice to select from hundreds of courses offered outside of Informatics.
Spring
- Capstone
3 Credits
This course supports students as they pursue their own independent project on a topic mutually agreed upon by the student and instructional team. Students will pursue a design-focused project, choosing one of four different types: interaction design, user research for design, service/strategic design, and design scholarship. - Electives
6 Credits
Students select two electives offered university graduate level. They continue to focus on design skills, spend more time doing research, explore hobbies, or learn technical skills like programming, VR and AR. Students have the choice to select from hundreds of courses offered outside of Informatics.
Elective Courses
In addition to required courses, students will take 18 elective credits to complete the MS in HCI/d.
The following list includes elective courses that we offer or have offered in the past. Electives change each year and some electives may not be available in a particular semester. Some others may be added.
- INFO I507 Introduction to Health Informatics
- INFO I512 Direct Observation and Design
- INFO I527 Mobile and Pervasive Design
- INFO I530 Field Deployments
- INFO I537 Legal and Social Informatics of Security
- INFO I540 Human-Robot Interaction
- INFO I544 Experience Design
- INFO I549 Advanced Prototyping
- INFO I566 Technology Innovation
- INFO I567 Design Strategy
- INFO I568 Technology Entrepreneurship
- INFO I590 Topics: Seminar in ACI
- INFO I590 Topics: Advanced Information Ethics
- INFO I590 Topics: Prototyping with Arduino Tools
- INFO I590 Topics: Cross Platform Mobile Programming
- INFO I590 Topics: Creating Virtual Assets
- INFO I590 Topics: Disney: Tech Tourism & Leisure
- INFO I590 Topics: Product Management
- INFO I590 Topics: Introduction to Virtual Reality
- INFO I590 Topics: AI and Future of Work
- INFO I590 Topics: Android Programming
- INFO I590 (I400) Topics: Creativity and Innovation in Technology
- INFO I590 Topics: Designing from Data
- INFO I590 Topics: Journal Article Writing
- INFO I590 Topics: Race and Technology
- INFO I590 Topics: Smart Cities
- INFO I590 Topics: Usable AI
- INFO I590 Topics: Visual Design for HCI
- INFO I590 Topics: Graduate seminar on Usable Privacy and Security
- INFO I604 HCI/d Design Theory
- INFO I609/I709 Advanced Seminar in HCI/d
- ILS Z515 Information Architecture
- ILS Z604 Information Architecture in Practice
IU’s HCI/d program was the first in the United States to emphasize design as an equal partner to HCI.
Core Track Faculty
Professor of Informatics
Assistant Professor of Informatics
Professor of Informatics (HCI/d, Design Theory, Experience Design)
Associate Professor
Affiliated HCI/d Faculty
Professor of Informatics and Computing (Visualization)
Lecturer
Senior Executive Assistant Dean (Strategy and Product Management)
Professor of Informatics (Security & Privacy)
Assistant Professor of Informatics (Health)
Senior Lecturer of Informatics (Visual Design)
Assistant Professor of Informatics (Health)
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Lecturer
Professor of Computer Science (Security & Privacy)
Professor of Informatics (Computing, Culture, and Society CCS, Animal-Computer Interaction ACI)
Adjunct Professor of Informatics (Strategy and Product Management)
Associate Professor of Informatics (Human-Robot Interaction HRI)
Assistant Professor of Informatics (Animal-Computer Interaction ACI)
Professor of Informatics (Health)
Senior Lecturer of Informatics (Computing, Culture, and Society CCS)
Adjunct Professor of Information and Library Science (Information Science)
Professor of Informatics and Computing (Crisis Informatics)
Lecturer
Associate Professor of Informatics
Current student resources
Advising
For guidance and assistance, talk with your faculty advisor or contact the Luddy Graduate Studies Office at gradvise@iu.edu. We recommend that you meet with your advisor at least once per semester to plan your courses for the next semester.