Interdepartmental Graduate Program
Human Computer Interaction is an interdepartmental graduate program that seeks to improve the way individuals and groups use computers through an understanding of the social and cognitive aspects of the design and use of computational devices. Students in the program learn about cognitive psychology, graphic design principles, the impacts of technology on society, evaluating system usability, and cutting edge computer programming for computational perception and language parsing.
Student research projects have explored the latest in virtual reality studies, improving natural interaction through touch screens and 3D camera gesture controls, virtual engineering using force feedback devices, and many other projects at the bleating edge of technological innovation. Graduates of the program have gone to work at many of the largest technology firms in the US and abroad while others have gone on to positions in academia.
Degrees are offered for the Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees with a major in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). A Graduate Certificate and an Online Master of Human Computer Interaction (M.HCI) degree are also offered; these degrees are especially targeted for the benefit of students working in business and industry wanting education in this field. The graduate program in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) welcomes applicants from a diverse collection of technical and creative fields whose unifying characteristic is the desire to develop new ways to bridge the gap between human and machine. The students must demonstrate skill in software development and proficiency in high-level, object-oriented programming. These skills can be acquired after admission to the program. Other entrance requirements will include an undergraduate degree and transcripts, test scores and other indicators that the applicant can be successful at the graduate level. All students admitted to the MS or PhD program on campus must secure a graduate assistantship.
Program requirements can be found on the program's webpage (http://www.vrac.iastate.edu/hci/) and in the Human Computer Interaction Graduate Student Handbook.
All programs of study for the PhD must include:
- one core course of their choice from each of the categories of Implementation, Design, Evaluation and Phenomena, if not completed as part of the student’s Masters program
- two more courses of their choice from a list of recommended electives
- a minimum of nine research credits.
The MS degree calls for 30 credits of course work including appropriate credit for the Master’s thesis. MS students must take one core course of their choice from each of the categories of Implementation, Design, Evaluation and Phenomena. In addition to these courses, MS students will be required to take a minimum of 3 research credits.
The Online M.HCI program is most appropriate for individuals with a bachelor’s degree in a scientific, engineering, business, or artistic discipline, who are pursuing a professional career, and who already have a strong base of information technology skills. Requirements for the Online M.HCI Program include taking four courses, one each from the Design, Implementation, Phenomena and Evaluation categories. However, M.HCI students must take two additional courses of their choice from the list of core courses or the list of recommended electives. M.HCI students will therefore be required to take a total of six courses (18 credits) and the remaining four courses (12 credits) would be electives of your choosing.
Requirements for the HCI Graduate Certificate program include three core HCI courses plus one elective.
Information on applications procedures and specific requirements of the major can be obtained on the program webpage: http://www.vrac.iastate.edu/hci/
Courses
Courses primarily for graduate students, open to qualified undergraduates:
(Cross-listed with EDUC). (3-0) Cr. 3. S.
Prereq: EDUC 501
Principles and procedures to plan, design, and conduct effective evaluation studies (formative, summative, usability) in different settings are studied. Opportunities to engage in real or simulated evaluation projects of substantial scope are provided. Create evaluation instruments, develop methods with which to evaluate a product or program, conduct try-outs or usability sessions, analyze the data, report the findings, and recommendations are some of the course activities.
(Cross-listed with ARTIS). (0-6) Cr. 3. Repeatable, maximum of 12 credits.
Prereq: Permission of instructor
Independent project based creation and development of "frivolous and non-frivolous" computer games in a cross-disciplinary team. Projects require cross-disciplinary teams. Aspects of Indie development and computer/video game history will be discussed.
(Cross-listed with EDUC). Cr. 3. S.
Prereq: 12 Graduate Credits
Theories, principles and best practices of utilizing games in educational environments. Topics include the theoretical foundations of learning games and game play, identity development in online environments, and assessment of learning in and out of games.
(Cross-listed with ENGL, LING). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: STAT 330 or equivalent, recommended ENGL 219 or LING 219, or ENGL 511 or LING 511
Introduction to computational techniques involving human language and speech in applications such as information retrieval and extraction, automatic text categorization, word prediction, intelligent Web searching, spelling and grammar checking, speech recognition and synthesis, statistical machine translation, n-grams, POS-tagging, word-sense disambiguation, on-line lexicons and thesauri, markup languages, corpus analysis, and Python programming language.
(Cross-listed with ENGL, LING). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: ENGL 510 or LING 510, and ENGL 511 or LING 511
Concepts and practices for analysis of English by computer with emphasis on the applications of computational analysis to problems in applied linguistics such as corpus analysis and recognition of learner language in computer-assisted learning and language assessment.
(Cross-listed with PSYCH). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: Graduate classification or instructor approval
Biological, behavioral, perceptual, cognitive and social issues relevant to human computer interactions.
(Cross-listed with PSYCH). (3-0) Cr. 3. Alt. S., offered odd-numbered years.
Prereq: PSYCH 521 and STAT 101 or equivalent
Basics of hypothesis testing, experimental design, analysis and interpretation of data, and the ethical principles of human research as they apply to research in human computer interaction.
(3-0) Cr. 3. F.
Prereq: M E 160, MATH 265
Optimization involves finding the 'best' according to specified criteria. Review of a range of optimization methods from traditional nonlinear to modern evolutionary methods such as Genetic algorithms. Examination of how these methods can be used to solve a wide variety of design problems across disciplines, including mechanical systems design, biomedical device design, biomedical imaging, and interaction with digital medical data. Students will gain knowledge of numerical optimization algorithms and sufficient understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of these algorithms to apply them appropriately in engineering design. Experience includes code writing and off-the-shelf routines. Numerous case-studies of real-world situations in which problems were modeled and solved using advanced optimization techniques.
(Cross-listed with COM S, GEOL). (2-2) Cr. 3. Alt. F., offered even-numbered years.
Prereq: Graduate-student standing in the mathematical or natural sciences or engineering; basic programming knowledge
Introduction to visualizing scientific information with 3D computer graphics and their foundation in human perception. Overview of different visualization techniques and examples of 3D visualization projects from different disciplines (natural sciences, medicine, and engineering). Class project in interactive 3D visualization using the ParaView, Mayavi, TVTK, VTK or a similar system.
(1-0) Cr. 1.
Practical introduction to User Experience (UX) tools and how to use them for research: Designing a UX study; developing meaningful user tasks; how to plan a research study that integrates eyetracking measures, UX measures, behavioral measures, surveys, interviews and IRB applications; analyzing UX data; and presenting UX study results.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: M E 557/CPR E 557/COM S 557, or equivalent computer graphics experience
Fundamental technologies enabling augmented reality (AR) application development. Assessment and integration of the hardware and software systems necessary for AR including, tracking, image processing and rendering. Programming skills in C++ and GPU-based optimization are developed to enable evaluation of interaction devices and modalities afforded by AR.
Cr. 3. S.
Fundamental concepts of software programming and the practical use of the Python programming language. Assignments include user interaction and interface design, information visualization, as well as other computational HCI tools. Intended for graduate students without prior background in software development. Requires programming during class lectures.
(Cross-listed with COM S, CPR E). (3-0) Cr. 3. S.
Prereq: Graduate standing or permission of instructor
This class covers statistical and algorithmic methods for sensing, recognizing, and interpreting the activities of people by a computer. This semester we will focus on machine perception techniques that facilitate and augment human-computer interaction. The main goal of the class is to introduce computational perception on both theoretical and practical levels. Participation in small groups to design, implement, and evaluate a prototype of a human-computer interaction system that uses one or more of the techniques covered in the lectures.
(Cross-listed with M E). (3-0) Cr. 3. Alt. S., offered even-numbered years.
Prereq: Senior or Graduate status.
A systematic introduction to the underpinnings of Virtual Environments (VE), Virtual Worlds, advanced displays and immersive technologies; and an overview of some of the applications areas particularly virtual engineering.
(Cross-listed with CPR E). (3-0) Cr. 3. Alt. S., offered odd-numbered years.
Prereq: knowledge of C/C++ programming language.
An introduction to the emerging interdisciplinary field of Developmental Robotics, which crosses the boundaries between robotics, artificial intelligence, developmental psychology, and philosophy. The main goal of this field is to create autonomous robots that are more intelligent, more adaptable, and more useful than the robots of today, which can only function in very limited domains and situations.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Survey of the multidisciplinary models and theories that form the foundation of the science of Human Computer Interaction. Application of the scientific method to solve practical problems by using analyses or approaches from the behavioral and social sciences, and information and computer technology.
(Cross-listed with ARTGR). (3-0) Cr. 3. F.S.
Prereq: Graduate classification or permission of instructor.
Issues in ethics and decision-making as they relate to technology, design, design research, HCI, and the design industry.
Cr. arr. Repeatable.
Investigation of problems of special interest in human computer interaction.
Cr. 1-3. Repeatable.
Cr. 3. SS.
Human interaction design as it applies to HCI. Aspects of audience analysis, design methodologies for creating concepts and solutions, techniques of concept prototyping, and the fundamentals of visual design such as color, type, symbolism, and grid structure. Class discussions, tutorials, and hands-on projects.
Cr. 3. SS.
Prereq: HCI 521
Innovative or newly emerging ideas within the HCI research field or applied industry practice, e.g., based on changing cultures or attitudes, new technologies, and new economic forces.
Cr. 3. F.S.
Prereq: 21 credits in human computer interaction or permission of the instructor
Capstone course in HCI. Through a significant design project, students demonstrate their mastery of core courses in HCI. This course is the final course for students in the HCI Online MS program.
(3-0) Cr. 3.
Creative component for nonthesis option of Master of Science degree.
Offered on a satisfactory-fail basis only.
Courses for graduate students:
(Cross-listed with EDUC). (3-0) Cr. 3. S.
Prereq: EDUC 503
Exploration of advanced aspects of the learning environments design process. Application of analysis, design, development and production, evaluation, implementation, and project management principles. Theory and research in educational technology provides the foundation for design decisions. Focus on current trends in learning environment design and the production and use of educational technology.
(Cross-listed with MIS). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: Graduate Classification
Examine opportunities and implications of information technologies and human computer interaction on social and organizational systems. Explore ethical and social issues appurtenant to human computer interaction, both from a proscriptive and prescriptive perspective. Develop informed perspective on human computer interaction. Implications on research and development programs.
(Cross-listed with I E). (3-0) Cr. 3.
Prereq: I E 572 or I E 577 or PSYCH 516 or HCI/PSYCH 521 or equivalent
Provides an overview of human cognitive capabilities and limitations in the design of products, work places, and large systems. Contexts vary broadly and could range from simple use of mobile devices to an air-traffic control or nuclear plant command center. Course focuses on what we can infer about users' thoughts and feelings based on what we can measure about their performance and physiological state. Covers the challenge of designing automated systems.
Cr. R. Repeatable.
Prereq: Permission of Director of Graduate Education, graduate classification
Cr. arr. Repeatable.