HCI, Informatics, Information Systems, Human-Centered Design Masters Thread for Fall 2017

[siitrasn]

Hi all, just figured that since it's getting close to the end of February some Masters programs related to HCI are going to start releasing their results over the next few weeks. (Programs like CM MHCI, UW HCDE & MHCI+D, IUB HCI/d, Georgia Tech MS-HCI, UCI M.S. Informatics, UMich MSI, etc.) On the results page, I noticed that UC Berkeley's iSchool has already released decisions for Information and Management Systems, so I thought it might be better to have a consolidated thread for people applying to fields related to the topic to share results directly or talk about profiles since there doesn't seem to be a ton of us around.

Are there a lot of engineers? Researchers? Designers? Curious what everyone's background is.

A bit about myself: I'm hoping to do user research (with a focus on international UX/multilingual UI systems) if accepted, and just spent 4 years working in tech after doing undergrad in psychology. I can do some basic programming/design, but nothing fancy. Really hoping that work experience is emphasized in a lot of these professional/terminal masters programs, but I'd love to hear about the backgrounds of others interested in HCI/Information.

Edited February 18, 2017 by siitrasn

[Miiiko]

Hey siitrasn! Thanks for posting the thread. I'm a current psychology undergrad. I plan to become a designer in the near future so I applied for some HCI/IxD programs.

It seems the decision days are coming around. I am a bit anxious these days cuz little information can be got. So happy to talk about these with all .

[siitrasn]

On 2/24/2017 at 0:51 PM, Miiiko said:

Hey siitrasn! Thanks for posting the thread. I'm a current psychology undergrad. I plan to become a designer in the near future so I applied for some HCI/IxD programs.

It seems the decision days are coming around. I am a bit anxious these days cuz little information can be got. So happy to talk about these with all .

What programs did you apply for? I'm waiting on results from UCI, UW and CMU  but I know there's a huge range of programs out there, particularly if you're interested in more design-y stuff, outside of traditional HCI in CS departments.

[Miiiko]

On 2017/2/25 at 0:37 PM, siitrasn said:

What programs did you apply for? I'm waiting on results from UCI, UW and CMU  but I know there's a huge range of programs out there, particularly if you're interested in more design-y stuff, outside of traditional HCI in CS departments.

Sorry for the late reply. Yes I applied for both HCI & Interaction Design programs, including those in CMU, UW, UMichi and also CCA, SVA.

[123abc]

Hi there. I too am anxiously checking my in-box every other hour (fingers crossed). My background is in Accounting actually, but I have been working in researching consumers!

[siitrasn]

18 hours ago, Miiiko said:

Sorry for the late reply. Yes I applied for both HCI & Interaction Design programs, including those in CMU, UW, UMichi and also CCA, SVA.

I know CCA and SVA's interaction design are really well regarded in the tech industry for people more oriented towards design and less engineering/quantitative research. They're both great programs that someone like me wouldn't be able to apply for since I'm not a designer. Hope you get into the one you want to fit in to!

15 hours ago, 123abc said:

Hi there. I too am anxiously checking my in-box every other hour (fingers crossed). My background is in Accounting actually, but I have been working in researching consumers!

Quantitative research is pretty hot right now in the tech industry, so I'm sure your math background will come in handy  I wish I was better at math sometimes.

Edited March 1, 2017 by siitrasn

[bbobear]

Another psych major here (graduated last year) looking to get into UX Research! 

I only applied for the UW MHCID program: firstly because it's one of the best ones out there right now IMO, but also because I have family there and it makes the most financial sense.

UCI would have worked for me too, but the low-residency format isn't really what I was looking for in my program. UX Research and Design are by nature extremely collaborative, and I think low-residency really robs you of the opportunity to get the most out of the degree. Which is a big shame given how costly the UCI program is! Although I can definitely see how it would be a great fit for someone who couldn't quit their job. I may regret not applying if I don't get into UW though...

[siitrasn]

@bbobear UC Irvine's Informatics program is great from what I've heard (their PhD level research is arguably on par with places like UW's HCDE & CMU's HCII in terms of their research), which is why I was interested in their M.S. Informatics program, not their HCI program. You also get plenty of work with research experience through that degree.

Definitely agree with you about the pros/cons of a low-residency program like their MHCI+D degree though.

Edited March 1, 2017 by siitrasn

[bbobear]

@siitrasn I checked out the UCI Informatics program...seems pretty cool! Looks like it has a pretty strong academic focus, and I can definitely see the appeal of that for a ton of applicants. 

Congrats on your first acceptance!

[siitrasn]

4 minutes ago, bbobear said:

@siitrasn I checked out the UCI Informatics program...seems pretty cool! Looks like it has a pretty strong academic focus, and I can definitely see the appeal of that for a ton of applicants. 

Congrats on your first acceptance!

Thanks! Didn't expect to get into this particular program to be honest... Of course, extremely happy!

[123abc]

41 minutes ago, siitrasn said:

Thanks! Didn't expect to get into this particular program to be honest... Of course, extremely happy!

Nice! Which program?

[siitrasn]

CMU's MHCI program! I've never been to the East Coast and have no idea what life in Pittsburgh might be like.

[123abc]

That's incredible!!! Congratulations!

[123abc]

East coast is great. Pittsburgh is wonderful and they are passionate about their sports teams

[siitrasn]

Thank you! Fingers crossed for you as well!

+1 for Pittsburgh then  Already started checking out the area on Google Maps.

[123abc]

Thank you!! 

[Grad-school-freakout123]

Did anyone apply to Maryland iSchool for HCI. Do you have any information on the program? Is it well regarded?

[siitrasn]

5 hours ago, hpfanfreak said:

Did anyone apply to Maryland iSchool for HCI. Do you have any information on the program? Is it well regarded?

Did you apply already or are you planning to apply? Also, what is your primary interest in HCI, if you don't mind me asking? 

I did my undergrad in psychology/philosophy so I'm not an expert about CS or Information Science programs in general, but a quick Google search showed that UMD's iSchool is fairly well ranked overall in Library and Information Sciences. As for the HCI program, Gary Perlman has a small page of what he considers some of the best places for HCI on the HCI Bibliography resource website and UMD's on there. Although I would love to answer more in detail, I didn't feel I had a compelling enough technical background (and not enough passion for actual programming) to fit in at iSchools like UC Berkeley, UW, UMich, or UMD, so you might want to ask the opinion of someone who's doing HCI from a engineering perspective.

Edited March 4, 2017 by siitrasn

[Grad-school-freakout123]

On 3/4/2017 at 0:49 AM, siitrasn said:

Did you apply already or are you planning to apply? Also, what is your primary interest in HCI, if you don't mind me asking? 

I did my undergrad in psychology/philosophy so I'm not an expert about CS or Information Science programs in general, but a quick Google search showed that UMD's iSchool is fairly well ranked overall in Library and Information Sciences. As for the HCI program, Gary Perlman has a small page of what he considers some of the best places for HCI on the HCI Bibliography resource website and UMD's on there. Although I would love to answer more in detail, I didn't feel I had a compelling enough technical background (and not enough passion for actual programming) to fit in at iSchools like UC Berkeley, UW, UMich, or UMD, so you might want to ask the opinion of someone who's doing HCI from a engineering perspective.

Thank you for your thoughtful response! 

I'm interested in UX Design and possibly becoming a researcher. I applied already :D.

I guess my struggle is finding what alumni from the program are up to. I'm not looking to get a PHD, I want to work in the industry so knowing where alumni are working would help me. However, they don't seem to have an alumni page. I already tried linkedin but haven't had much success.

 

Edited March 5, 2017 by hpfanfreak

[.letmeinplz//]

49 minutes ago, hpfanfreak said:

Thank you for your thoughtful response! 

I'm interested in UX Design and possibly becoming a researcher. I applied already :D.

I guess my struggle is finding what alumni from the program are up to. I'm not looking to get a PHD, I want to work in the industry so knowing where alumni are working would help me. However, they don't seem to have an alumni page. I already tried linkedin but haven't had much success.

 

Try going to csrankings and select HCI conferences. Then look at each professor's website (the ones that publish in top HCI conferences), they usually will list where their MS and PhD students go afterwards. 

Edited March 5, 2017 by .letmeinplz//

[Grad-school-freakout123]

22 minutes ago, .letmeinplz// said:

Try going to csrankings and select HCI conferences. Then look at each professor's website (the ones that publish in top HCI conferences), they usually will list where their MS and PhD students go afterwards. 

Thank you! I just tried that. Seems most don't list students and the ones that do are actually part of the CS school and not iSchool.

[siitrasn]

11 hours ago, hpfanfreak said:

Thank you! I just tried that. Seems most don't list students and the ones that do are actually part of the CS school and not iSchool.

Yeah, I tried to look around on their webpage but couldn't really find a good alumni page or information on students who've graduated. Since you've already applied, your best bet might be to go contact the program manager/contact person and just give a brief introduction, describe your academic/career goals, and if any current students or alumni are willing to let you send an email to ask a few questions about job placements after graduation.

[siitrasn]

Looks like there was a GeorgiaTech HCI acceptance! Hope those of you who applied got good news in the mail today

[Edit] Looks like there were also some UMich/IUB results for HCI earlier this week as well.

Edited March 7, 2017 by siitrasn

[Grad-school-freakout123]

I got in!

Edited March 7, 2017 by Grad-school-freakout123

[siitrasn]

Congrats!!