The MS in HCI is an interdisciplinary program offered collaboratively by three Schools: Interactive Computing; Literature, Communication and Culture (LCC); and Psychology. Students may apply to enter the program through any one of the three participating units, the choice of which usually reflects that student's intended area of specialization and general background. Students with diverse and eclectic backgrounds are encouraged to apply, including those with previous work experience.
The program provides the practical skills and theoretical understandings needed to become leaders in the design, implementation and evaluation of the next generation of human-computer interfaces. Graduates work around the globe for national and international companies.
The degree requires 36 credit hours, which are usually taken over four semesters (three if you push hard). All students take the same core courses, a set of courses related to their chosen specialization (Computing, Digital Media in LCC, Psychology), a broader set of electives and complete a master’s project. Students do an internship in the summer after their first year of study. Students interact with fellow students and faculty from these three (and other) Schools, providing the broad base of knowledge and experiences that are so important to successful HCI practitioners.
Elective courses can be in a wide variety of areas, such as Industrial Design, Architecture, Music Technology, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Human-Robot Interaction, Human Factors, Management of Technology and Cognitive Science. Students can earn the Management of Technology Certificate from the College of Management.
Georgia Tech provides a rich environment for HCI studies – in addition to the roughly 60 MS-HCI students enrolled at any one time, there are over 200 more students earning degrees in related areas – MS and PhD in Digital Media, PhD in Engineering Psychology, Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing, MS in Industrial Design, PhD-CS with specializations in Learning Sciences and Technology as well as in Social Computing, MS-CS with specializations in HCI, Information Visualization and Social Computing, MS in Music Technology. Well over 50 faculty work in these and closely-related areas, and are associated with research labs and centers such as the GVU Center, the Aware Home, the Health Systems Institute, the Sonification Lab, the Human Factors and Aging Lab, the Experimental Television Lab, and many more.
To learn more about the MS-HCI degree, the faculty and their research interests, please follow this link.
For a list of frequently asked questions, please visit our FAQ page.