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HCI specialization

The Human Computer Interaction (HCI) specialization prepares students to address human needs with technology by determining useful system functionality and by designing usable interfaces, considering the context of the individual and/or organization.

The principles of HCI apply to people who design technologies for work, education, entertainment, and social interaction. SI coursework combines the theories of cognitive and social psychology, computer science, and design with practical experience.

What can I do with a career interest in human computer interaction?

 MSI graduates with a HCI specialization are often recruited into marketing or engineering departments. Within marketing, the role is to ensure a positive customer experience or to improve the organization’s brand. Within engineering, the role is to ensure that the product works properly.

Career Industry Areas: Internet search and navigation services, government agency, information collection and delivery, consumer goods, computer hardware/software, entertainment/media, advertising/PR, social networking, gaming, University or public library

Career Titles: User interface designer, user-experience researcher, user experience designer, usability analyst, information architect, usability engineer, application developer, interaction designer, Web developer, human factors engineer, software developer, entrepreneur

Employment Outlook: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook 2010, jobs in HCI are  expected to grow much faster than the average. Due to new complex products and rapid advances in technology, there is a demand for the HCI skill set. Hot industries include social networking and gaming. As social networking and ubiquitous computing continue to grow, related HCI career opportunities will grow as well.

HCI internships

Students gain valuable experience in southeast Michigan and around the globe. Recent internship sites include:

• Oracle
• Citrix Online
• Intel
• IDEO
• NASA Research Center
• National Public Radio
• Oxygen Media
• ProQuest
• MITRE
• Microsoft
• TrendMicro, Taiwan
• Google India

MSI-HCI employment outcomes

Organizations employing MSI-HCI graduates have included:

• Apple
• Google
• Facebook
• Nokia
• Motorola
• Northrop Grumman
• R/GA
• Travelocity
• Microsoft
• HUGE
• Nike.com
• SAP Labs, India

HCI specialization requirements (current for 2012-2013)

In addition to the specialization requirements below, MSI students must meet all of the degree requirements of the 48-credit MSI program, including foundations, distributions, practical engagement, cognate, and electives.

HCI students must complete 15 credits from the list below, including SI 622, 682, and 688 which are required, plus meet the programming and statistics requirements:

• SI 582: Introduction to Interaction Design (3, Required)
• SI 588: Fundamentals of Human Behavior (3, Required)
• SI 622: Needs Assessment and Usability Evaluation (3, Required)
• SI 520: Graphic Design (3)
• SI 529: eCommunities: Analysis and Design of Online Interaction Environments (3)
• SI 531: Human Interaction in Information Retrieval (3)
• SI 551: Information-Seeking Behavior (3)
• SI 561: Natural Language Processing (3)
• SI 583: Recommender Systems (1.5)
• SI 601: Data Manipulation (1.5)
• SI 606: Personal Informatics Design (3)
• SI 612: Pervasive Interaction Design (3)
• SI 618: Exploratory Data Analysis (1.5)
• SI 631: Content Management Systems (1.5)
• SI 649: Information Visualization (3)
• SI 658: Information Architecture (3)
• SI 664: Database Application Design (3)
• SI 686: User-Generated Content (1.5)
• SI 689: Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (3)
• SI 694: Advanced Project and Social Computing Design (3)

HCI students must also fulfill programming and statistics requirements:
6 credits of programming, previously completed at U-M--or must show competence through an exam. SI offers:

• SI 539: Design of Complex Web Sites (3)
• SI 543: Programming I (Java) (3)
• SI 664: Database Application Design (3)

Learn more about the programming requirement.

3 credits of statistics, previously completed (transcript required) or taken at U-M. SI offers:

• SI 544: Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis (3)

Learn more about the statistics requirement.

The HCI Faculty coordinators are Mark Newman and Eytan Adar.

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