The Undergraduate Major and
Minor in HCI
Human Computer Interaction Institute
School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University
Vincent Aleven
Newell Simon Hall 3135
aleven@cs.cmu.edu
What is the HCII?
Our Mission
• Engineering & Design: To create effective,
usable, enjoyable experiences with technology
through interdisciplinary research and teaching
in design, computer science, the behavioral and
social sciences, and engineering
• Science: To understand the impact of
technology on individuals, groups, and
organizations.
The Philosophy of the HCI
undergraduate programs
Take excellent students with depth in
one discipline relevant to HCI and give
them the educational opportunity to
“walk in the shoes” of the other
disciplines.
Make the students more effective members
of interdisciplinary teams in industry
Prepare students for leadership in HCIrelated industries
Educational programs for
undergraduates
• Second major:
– Formal admissions with ~50%
admissions rate
– 11 courses, including a final project
– Guaranteed admission to core courses
• Minor
– No formal admission, just sign up
– 7 courses
– No guarantees in getting into courses
• After one core course, access to other core
course guaranteed
On the Philosophy…
• Undergrad education HCI will provide
students
– Basic skills for designing and implementing usercentered software
– Appreciation of the varied skills necessary to make
useful, usable & satisfying interactive products
– Ability to communication with specialists in other
areas
• It will not make software developers into
designers or psychologists into programmers.
• It is not a second degree.
Human-Centered Design
The User is Not Like Me
Human Factors
Cognitive Psychology
Motivation
Group behavior
Color
Layout
Graphic Design
Interaction Design
Interviews
Surveys
Experiments
Think alouds
Heuristic evaluation
Focus groups
Cognitive walk-throughs
Statistical analysis
Flash, Director, Visual
Basic, HTML, Databases,
Java, C++, GUI toolkits,
UI architectures
What makes the HCII dynamic?
• CMU has the best Human-Computer
Interaction program in the country
• One of the few (only?) with an undergraduate
major
• Tight integration of
– Technology
– Behavioral Science
– Design
• Breadth and Depth
– Students from SCS, CFA and H&SS
– Interdisciplinary faculty
What students like about
the program
• Interdisciplinary
• Project focused
• Flexible
– “Working with people from
other disciplines “
– “The interdisciplinary nature.
I learned a lot from having
courses outside my major
and from working with
people that have different
focii”
– “Courses were project
oriented”
– “Applying the skills I
learned in classes to
research projects”
– “Without this major, I
would have never
discovered my enjoyment
for creatively solving
problems with constraints
and business needs.”
– “The professors. I was
lucky because all of the
core classes … were taught
by professors who were
well-respected in the field
and clearly knew their stuff”
HCI Second Major Curriculum
4 Pre-requisites
3 Core courses
+ 4 Electives
Senior project
HCI Second Major Core Courses
Introduction to User Centered Research and Evaluation
– Use empirical and analytical methods to figure out what
users of systems want and will find easy and fun to use
and learn
– Test whether you delivered the right experience
Basic Interface Design/Interaction Design Fundamentals
– Translate between problem definitions and innovative
designs
Technology core differs by technical skill
Programming Usable Interfaces (non-CS majors)
Software Structures for User Interfaces (CS majors)
UI lab (sections on GUI, mobile applications, web
applications)
Capstone Project
HCI Second Major
Senior Capstone Project Course Goals
• Apply HCI skills on a semester-long project
• Work in interdisciplinary teams (3-5 people)
• Work with clients
• Integrate skills gathered over the curriculum
• Learn to write reports & give presentations
Mattress Factory: Interactive
Archive of Past Installations
Controls for a Semi-Autonomous
Orchard Tractor
Classroom Controls
Now in use
in CMU classrooms!
3D Dentistry
2013 Projects
PlayPower: Create a teacher dashboard
that presents information about students’
learning with educational games.
Doctor in a Box: Data visualization to help
clinicians make decisions based on a
patient’s DNA
Bossa Nova: provide guidance to home
users interacting with robot assistants
Platypus: Data visualization for
environmental monitoring with small
autonomous airboats
Schell Games: community website where
aspiring game designers develop their game
ideas with a professional Schell Games team.
PayTango: Create a prototype system
(hardware and software) for fingerprintbased payment system
Quote by a student about the
capstone project
“I had the chance to use HCI methods and
understand the basis for them. We had to
constantly test and change things based on
the very specific needs of our users. Things
that seemed so simple to us were like a
foreign language to them. It really helped
drive the entire point of HCI home to me.”
2 Restricted Electives + 2 Others
• http://www.hcii.cmu.edu/undergraduate-electives
• Many electives offered by the HCII
Human Factors
Social Web
Gadgets
Educational Games
Applied Cognitive Psych
Rapid Prototyping of
Computer Systems
– Advanced Topics UI
Software
– Usable Security & Privacy
–
–
–
–
–
–
– Visualization & i-Pad
programming
– Computer Supported
Cooperative Work
– Speech Recognition and
Understanding
– Applied Machine Learning
– Introduction to Product Design
– Assistive Technology
– Smart Homes
– Personalized Online Learning
• >100 others in other part of the university
– Business, CFA, H&SS, CS, Robotics,
Entertainment Technologies
Skills: How to build
interactive devices
(AKA: “
”!)
– Add to your toolbox of
techniques: Prototyping
simple µcontroller-based
electronic devices
Concepts:
What can be done
with them from an
HCI perspective
Join the struggle:
build something
for the user!
taught by Scott Hudson
Design of Educational Games
05-418/05-818 HCII – Vincent Aleven
The potential of digital games to
improve education is enormous.
However, it is a significant challenge
to create a game that is both fun and
educational. In this course, students
learn to meet this challenge by
combining principles and processes
from game design and instructional
design.
Steven Dow
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
social media
micro-task crowds
A-B testing
crowdfunding
storyboarding
needfinding
making a pitch
brainstorming
prototyping
EMAIL: spdow@cs.cmu.edu
WEB:
www.cs.cmu.edu/~spdow
COURSE NAME
Crowd-Driven Innovation
Developing iPad Applications
for Visualization & Insight
Applied Cognitive Science
05-395 (R. Klatzky)
Virtual Reality
Perceptually Based Decisions
Eyewitness Testimony
Cognitive Tutoring
Learning To Read
Spatial Thinking
Speech recognition and synthesis
Rational vs. Emotional Marketing
Automated Language Understanding
Neural Plasticity and Remediation
Expertise & Sport
Sleep Learning
Personalized Online Learning
Vincent Aleven
•
Learners are different and
personalized learning is far more
effective than one-size-fits-all
approaches. This course covers a
number of proven personalization
techniques used in advanced
learning technologies.
•
One of the techniques is the use of
cognitive modeling to personalize
practice of complex cognitive skills
in intelligent tutoring systems. This
approach, developed at CMU, may
well be the most significant
application of cognitive science in
education and is commercially
successful.
Independent Study
• Many students do an independent study to
explore a particular area in depth
• Personalized, a negotiation between the
student and a professor
– Can be in any department, just like any other
elective
– Often grows out of personal contacts after taking
class with an instructor
– I send out announcements at beginning of
semester
Comparison of Requirements
HCI Second Major
Minor
•
Formal admissions process
•
Guaranteed slots for core courses •
•
4 Prerequisites
–
–
–
–
•
Freshman-level programming
Interaction Design Fundamentals
Statistics (introductory)
Cognitive psychology
•
•
•
•
Capstone Project
1 Prerequisites
2 Core courses
– Designing Human-Centered
Systems (DHCS)
Combines User Centered Research
+ Programming Usable Interfaces
– User Centered Research
– Interaction Design Studio
– HCI Programming (PUI/SSUI)
4 Electives
No guarantees
– Freshman-level programming
3 Core courses
•
Just sign up & complete courses
– Design for HCI (DHCI)
Combines Interaction Design Fundamentals
+ Interaction Design Studio
•
4 Electives
•
No Project
Designing Human-Centered Systems
(core course for the Minor)
• How to design human-centered
systems that people find useful and
usable
– Into to designing, prototyping, evaluating
user interfaces
– Cover theory and practical applications of
HCI concepts
– Lecture-style, discussion, homework,
class presentations
– Big group project
BHCI vs MHCI Requirements
Similar goals, quite a bit overlap!
MHCI
BHCI
•
4 Prerequisites
–
–
–
–
•
Freshman-level programming
Interaction Design Fundamentals
Statistics (introductory)
Cognitive psychology
3 Core courses
– User Centered Research
– Interaction Design Studio
– HCI Programming (PUI/SSUI)
•
BHCI Project
•
4 Electives
•
3 Prerequisites
– Freshman-level programming
– Interaction Design Fundamentals
– Statistics (thru multivariate
regression)
•
4 Core courses
–
–
–
–
User Centered Research
Interaction Design Studio
HCI Programming (PUI/SUUI)
HCI Pro-seminar
•
MHCI Project
(2 semesters; 60 units)
•
5 Electives
Accelerated Masters Option
•
•
•
•
Complete a masters degree in 2 semesters past
undergrad degree
More in-depth project course
5 electives (most at Masters level)
Pro-seminar (outside lectures & meetings with visiting HCI
researchers and professionals)
Fall
Standard 2 Core
M asters
Proseminar
Accelerated
M asters
Spring
Core
Summer
Fall
Project II
.
Elective
4 Electives
Project II
Proseminar
Project I
2Elective
4 Electives
.
(Undergrad
Senior Year)
Project I
Careers In HCI
•
Undergraduates get good jobs & job offers
(AY 2011/2012 data)
Degree
Median salary offer
Bachelors, HCI
$79,500
Computer science
$95,000
Psychology
$45,000
Information Systems
$67,000
Communication Design
$60,000
Masters, HCI
$85,000
Other reasons for getting an
HCI 2nd major / minor
More interesting problems to work on
More interaction with stakeholders
Creative expression
Working on the parts of computers
that everyone sees
• Fame
• Personal interest
• Career security, etc.
•
•
•
•
Companies Where B/MHCI
Alumni Work
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
APT
Accenture
Adobe
Amazon
Amazon.com
Apple Inc
Applied Predictive
Technologies
Athena Health
Bank of America Global
Markets Technology
Boeing
Brulant/Rosetta
CGI
Cengage Aplia
Deloitte
Democratic National
Committee
Deutsche Bank
Digg
Discovery Engine
Dobly
Endeca
Epic Systems
Extractable
Facebook
Fuild Inc
General Electric Co.
Goldman Sachs
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Google
•
Green Hills Software
•
HPTi
•
IBM
•
Intuit
•
JPMorgan Chase
•
Jonnson & Johnson
•
Kaiser Permanente
•
LearningBop
•
Lockheed Martin
•
LotterShelly
•
Manhattan Associates, Atlanta
•
McKinsey
•
Merrill Lynch
•
Microsoft
•
Moment Design
•
NASA
•
New York Times
•
NextJump
•
Oracle
•
OutSystems
•
PNC Bank
•
Palantir Technologies
•
Precor
•
PwC
•
R/GARatheon
•
Ready at Dawn Studios
•
Riberbed
Rosetta Stone
Round Arch
RoundArch
Roundarch
Salesforce.com
Schematic
Schoolnet
Shiny Entertainment
Speaker Text
Tagged
Teach for America
Team Detroit
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thomson Reuters
TripAdvisor
UBS Investment Bank
Union pacific railroad
University of Michigan
VMware
Vanguard
Vistaprint
Wizzard Media
WorldEvolved Services
Yadseiir
Yahoo
Yinzcam
Zazzle
Plus ~15% have started their own companies
Admission to the Major
• ~25-30 Students / Graduating Year
• Applications due by March 8, 2013 (Friday before
Spring Break)
• Follow instructions on the website
–
–
–
–
Statement of purpose (Why is HCI for you?)
Proposed course schedule (Can you fit everything in?)
Letter of reference (optional)
www.hcii.cmu.edu/Academics/Undergrad/applying/applying.htm
l
• Decisions announced April 1, 2013 (well before Fall
Registration Week)
• Criteria
–
–
–
–
–
QPA (threshold  3.0+)
Relevance and clarity in statement of purpose
Viable plan for completing major
Diversity & relevance of courses taken
Available Slots
Chances of Admission (2011)
• Freshman:
– 8/16
– 50%
– Mean GPA=3.6
• Sophomores & Juniors
– 26/38
– 68%
– Mean GPA=3.5
• If you don’t get in at first attempt,
apply again next year!
More Information
Vincent Aleven
Director of Undergraduate Program
3531 NSH
aleven@cs.cmu.edu
412 268-5475
Robert Kraut
Director of Undergraduate Program
3515 NSH
robert.kraut@cmu.edu
412 268-7694
Indra Szegedy
Program Coordinator
3526 NSH
indras@cs.cmu.edu
412 268-4431
Questions?
CMU Court Reservation System
Now in use at UC!
Basis of (failed) small business!
More Popular Electives
Computer Science
• Technology Consulting in the
Community
• Web Application Development
• Engineering Software Intensive
Systems
• Human Aspects of Software
Engineering
• Architectures for Software
Systems
• Computers and Security
• Artificial Intelligence
Design
• Designing Identities
• Understanding Perception
Through Design
• Design‚ Management and
Organizational Behavior
• Designing for Service
• Mapping and Diagramming
• Color and Communication
• How Things Are Made
• Product Planning
• Sketching and Modeling
• Industrial Design
Fundamentals
• Conceptual Models
• Methodology of Visualization
• Typographic Play
Behavioral Sciences
• Perception
• Human Information Processing
and Artificial Intelligence
• Interpersonal Relationships
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Research Methods for
–
–
–
–
•
•
•
•
Cognitive Psychology
Social Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Learning Sciences
Organizational Behavior
Human Expertise
Applications of Cognitive Science
Cognitive Modeling