Human — Computer Interaction

Whether you want to reinvent mobile phones, construct advanced tools for professionals, invent the next Facebook or empower people with disabilities, expertise in Human-Computer Interaction is crucial.

You will learn:

• methods, tools, and principles for the design of IT interfaces, artefacts and services.
• to study people when they use information technology, understand how they feel about it, and how they appropriate it for their own purposes.
• theory, so that you are able to understand why some interfaces work and others don’t – and why the situation may be exactly the reverse in a different situation or with a different group of people.
• to design in teams, together with people with varying backgrounds, skills, and goals. Most importantly, you will learn how to involve the very people who will be using your design. to reflect on the development of IT products and services from a psychological and sociological perspective.
• to investigate and understand ethical and sustainability issues in IT design.

The Uppsala HCI programme is a collaboration between two departments: the Department of Informatics and Media and the Department of Information Technology. This presents unique opportunities to combine a sociological and psychological foundation for human-computer interaction with thorough knowledge of best practices in interaction design methodology, and a look ahead into the most recent developments in information technology.

To provide challenging and relevant projects throughout the programme, we cooperate with leading IT companies and organizations that help formulate course projects. Many courses are based on project work, where our industrial partners provide us with genuine and relevant projects.

Career

As an expert in the usability of IT systems you will have many job opportunities. You will be capable of working with all aspects of interaction design and usability, from analysis and requirements gathering to the design and implementation of interactive artefacts, user interfaces, and IT services. You will have expertise in a range of methods for evaluating systems under development as well as studying their use.

Degree

The programme leads to a Master of Social Science (120 credits) with Human-Computer Interaction as the main field of study.

After one year of study it may also be possible to obtain a Master of Social Science (60 credits).

The programme is divided into eight quarter-year blocks in total. During the later part of the education, there are several elective courses.

First semester

Quarter 1

The first course block is focussed on teaching the basic theories and practices of HCI, and includes a first design project. The course combines theory with best practice, and gives a hands-on experience of what it means to design and develop in a team.

Quarter 2

This course block is devoted to the concept of usability, and the art of studying and evaluating interfaces. During this period you will also get a thorough introduction to quantitative and qualitative methods for data gathering and analysis.

Second semester

Quarter 3

This course block is devoted to interface design methods, processes, and tools. The block contains courses focussed on interface programming, user-centered design processes, and novel interaction models.

Quarter 4

This course block takes a broader view on interaction design, looking at the interaction between humans and IT systems in complex situations, issues of accessibility, and organisational, ethical and sustainability issues in IT system design.

Third semester

During this semester you can choose your own specialisation from a range of eligible courses, such as:

• Social media
• Universal design
• Perception and Visual Design
• Embodied Interaction

Fourth semester

During the fourth semester, you carry out your degree project and write your master thesis. The master thesis is typically done at an external partner such as a company or a research group, with supervision both from the company and the University staff.

A bachelor’s degree equivalent to a Swedish degree of at least 180 credits (i.e. three years of full-time studies) containing IT-related course modules comprising the equivalent of at least 30 credits in total.Proof of skills in English to a level corresponding to English B in the Swedish secondary school. This is normally attested by means of an internationally recognised test with the following minimum scores:IELTS: an overall mark of 6.5 and no section below 5.5TOEFL: Paper-based: Score of 4.5 (scale 1-6) in written test and a total score of 575. Internet-based: Score of 20 (scale 0-30) in written test and a total score of 90Cambridge: CAE, CPESelectionSelection is based on previous academic studies, a short summary of previous thesis or other relevant work (maximum one page summary), and a statement of intent. Well documented knowledge of object oriented programming techniques is considered an important merit. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 TOEFL paper-based test score : 575 TOEFL iBT® test: 90

---

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

Uppsala University provides several different scholarships for students. The scholarships cover exclusively the tuition fees for courses within the programme, i e 30 credits per semester.
Read more about scholarships on www.uu.se/scholarships.