Best computer language for HCI?

[Priss]

Hello,

My undergraduate studies were in humanities, but recently I started taking HCI classes and am very interested in pursuing graduate studies (Masters) in this field. I'm currently taking a year-long HCI class through a university's Cog Sci program. The first 1/3 of the class is all theory/introduction, then it moves on to project-based work, and for the final part students are required to do research and develop their own interactive designs.

I'm thinking about taking some Computer Science classes at community colleges to strengthen my profile, since I come from a background that's almost completely unrelated.... What kind of computer langauges would be best if I am thinking about going into HCI? The ones offered by my community college are Visual Basic, C/C++, C#, and Java.

Also, any advice on applying for HCI graduate schools would be appreciated. My dream school is actually UC Irvine's Informatics program, but since I don't have the right background I'm a bit worried. Would classes be enough?

Your advice is much appreciated! Thank you!

[Balatro]

Generally colleges are looking for applicants with a solid understanding of C++ and/or Java

Edited October 13, 2011 by Balatro

[habanero]

If you apply to computer science programs, you will be competing against students who have superior computer science qualifications. According to UC Irvine's FAQ:

Only the General exam is required; we do not require the subject GRE exam, although it is recommended for applicants without a background in Computer Science or a related area.

Ideally, you should know enough to score decently on the comp sci GRE. You might consider applying to programs like the one Rice has (http://psychology.ri...tent.aspx?id=94) or iSchools like UW (http://ischool.uw.edu/) and Michigan(http://www.si.umich....on-requirements). The computer science requirements are few and many of the current students have their undergraduate degrees in psych and information. You will still be able to study HCI, but you will not be subjected to the strict computer science requirements. I am not trying to discourage you from applying to computer science departments, but there will be many students applying who have conducted their undergraduate education with HCI computer science graduate school in mind. Would you consider an informatics degree to be acceptable as long as you are studying HCI? I feel that acceptance to a comp sci program would require much more comp sci, but I could be wrong.

Oh, about the classes: C/C++ and Java are the best. Don't bother with C# right now. If you can only take one, start with Java. You WILL need to learn C/C++, so maybe sit in on the classes. Additionally, take Data Structures. Good luck with your dreams!

Edited October 13, 2011 by habanero

[Priss]

Thanks Balatro and habanero for your input!!

I posted this in the Comp Sci section because I don't know where else to put it.... but I thought the UCI quote regarding Comp Sci GRE were for people who are going into the the hardcore Comp Sci, or the software engineering side of Informatics? I mean I know it's good to have some knowledge of computer languages in general but I thought some fields in HCI don't require you to have as much of a strong background in Comp Sci? or am I totally off about this? because I know someone who's in UCI's Informatics Master's program and what she told me was that for HCI in Informatics there's a software side and a more social-oriented side (I'm guessing this refers to stuff like user experience, etc.). What she told me was that if you are in the program that is more social-oriented, you won't need to know any computer language at all.

Correct me if I am wrong, as I have only started researching graduate schools in this area and would love to know more about it (or if I just had completely wrong ideas about the HCI field?). Thanks a lot guys!!

[habanero]

I was just hypothesizing, and it's really likely that I'm totally wrong. I would highly suggest calling/emailing all of the programs you wish to attend and getting more information.

[Balatro]

You may want to look into the program at Iowa State and see if it interests you. They don't require any programming background (granted they admit it helps-for the program, not necessarily admission), but the program is lenient enough that they let applicants with no programming background complete that requirement while in the program.

http://www.hci.iastate.edu/

[DorkRawk]

Also check out DePaul's HCI masters (full disclosure, I just finished the program last March). It takes students from very diverse academic backgrounds.

http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/academics/Pages/MSinHuman-ComputerInteraction.aspx

[hahahut]

UCI informatics should be pretty relaxing about coding experience. Their software engineering people definitely need code a lot. But shouldn't be too much for others.

[emmm]

Regarding the CC comp sci classes available to you -- I agree with the recommendation re: C++ and Java, but don't discount C#. If that is the best option available to you, it is not that hard to apply the concepts learned in one language to the others, especially for the intro level classes.

[cshci]

Also check out DePaul's HCI masters (full disclosure, I just finished the program last March). It takes students from very diverse academic backgrounds.

http://www.cdm.depau...nteraction.aspx

Hi

I have got an admit from Depaul University for MS in HCI for FALL 2012. Can you tell me how's their program, research activities and funding scene?

Thanks

[DorkRawk]

@cshci DePaul's HCI masters program is very "industry practical". It's treated soft of like a professional degree and you'll get lots of hard skills from it. There are chances to do research, but you really need to seek them out on your own. It is also a capstone (rather than thesis) based program. If you're looking for funding, your best bet is to apply to be a grader. I got most of my MS paid for by doing that, but you might have a hard time getting one right away and you won't be able to live off the stipend (I worked part time throughout my whole program).