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The Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) is a department within the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is considered to be one of the leading centers of human-computer interaction research, and was named one of the top ten most innovative schools in information technology by Computer World in 2008. For the past three decades, the institute has been the predominant publishing force at leading HCI venues, most notably ACM CHI, where it regularly contributes more than 10% of the papers. Research at the institute aims to understand and create technology that harmonizes with and improves human capabilities by integrating aspects of computer science, design, social science, and learning science.

HCII offers Human Computer Interaction (HCI) as an additional major for undergraduates, as well as a Master's degree and PhDs in HCI. Students from various academic backgrounds come together from around the world to participate in this program. Students hold undergraduate degrees in psychology, design, and computer science, as well as many others. Students enter the program at various stages in their academic and professional careers. HCII research and educational programs span a full cycle of knowledge creation. The cycle includes research on how people work, play, and communicate within groups, organizations, and social structures. It includes the design, creation, and evaluation of technologies and tools to support human and social activities.

History
The idea for a Human-Computer Interaction Institute can be traced back to 1967, with the founding of the computer science program at CMU. Founders Allen Newell, Herbert A. Simon, and Alan J. Perlis believed that the new discipline of computer science should include the study of phenomena surrounding computers, not just the theory and design of computation devices themselves. In 1985, Bonnie John opened the first user study laboratories for faculty and student use, and the department was officially established in 1993 when John offered the first CMU course in human-computer interaction. The HCI Masters program began in 1995, the undergraduate major began in 1997 and the doctoral program, the first in the United States to offer a Ph.D. in HCI, began in 2000.

Academics
The HCII department at CMU offers multidisciplinary undergraduate and graduate educational programs that emphasize technology for the benefit of people and society. With membership from Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science, the College of Fine Arts, the Tepper School of Business, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Robotics Institute, and the Software Engineering Institute, the HCII is one of the few institutions in the country with the breadth of expertise to offer such programs.

Undergraduate Program
The undergraduate major in HCI offered by the department is available only as a second major. The program is devoted to the design, implementation, and evaluation of interactive computer-based technology. This includes products such as intelligent computer tutors, wearable computers, and highly interactive web sites.

The undergraduate curriculum concentrates on the three main stages that from the cyclic and iterative process of constructing an HCI product. This includes the design stage which involves studying the principles of human behavior and understanding how human factors and cognitive models should inform design. Students also learn about communication design and understand how implementation constraints should inform design as part of this phase. Next comes the implementation stage where students are taught the principles of computer science. This involves becoming familiar with different programming languages and learning about various algorithms and data structures. Lastly the students learn about the evaluation process which involves usability testing and statistical analysis of the constructed product.

Hence the undergraduate program covers the four topical areas of human behavior, design, implementation and evaluation. The HCII department offers over a hundred elective courses relevant to these areas that are offered by eight different departments in four different colleges at CMU.

Masters Program
The Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) at Carnegie Mellon University also offers a professional Master of Human-Computer Interaction degree. The HCII’s Masters Program (MHCI) is known by the software and technical industries for it’s interdisciplinary nature, rigor and deep knowledge in Computer Science, Psychology and Design. It is a two year masters degree set into a twelve month duration. During their first semester, students learn core knowledge in programming, design, psychology and HCI methods. During their second and third semesters the students are allowed to choose any electives across the University, while they participate in a substantial industry capstone project with an external client.

The MHCI capstone project course provides students with the unique opportunity to apply all of the skills they obtained from the MHCI program. It provides a “real-life” opportunity, similar to an actual experience in a research, design or development setting. The 32 week long course is divided into two halves. The first half focuses on getting to know the sponsor and its company, setting scope, secondary research like competitive analysis, and user research. The second half involves an ideation phase, where students take the data they found in the first half and work to design a prototype that they believe will meet the needs, desires and problems of the users. The students are expected to spend the remainder of the course iteratively programming and testing their chosen design. At the end of the capstone project, the students are expected to produce a designed, developed and tested prototype.

At the end of the twelve months, students are expected to be able to effectively lead and collaborate in the design and implementation of easy, desirable, and thoughtful software and technical systems. Students are taught to contribute to the multi-disciplinary teams that typically construct software and technical systems and interfaces. Students learn about techniques for building successful user interfaces, design principles that make user interfaces visually clear and appealing, techniques for identifying needs for software and its success, and the people and organizations that will use their systems.

Over the past seventeen years, the program has graduated over 520 students. Right out of school, students graduation from the HCI masters program have taken on various roles in technical and software companies. Some of these include: Interaction Designer, Usability Engineer, Design Team Lead, User Researcher, and User Experience Designer.

Alumni from the MHCI program have gone on to become Senior Designers, Technical Directors, Usability and Design Group Leaders, Senior Product or Project Managers and CEOs.

PhD Program
The Human-Computer Interaction PhD program offered by the HCII department was established in the fall of 2000. The program aims at teaching students how to make computers easy to use, and understanding how computing affects people. Since HCI encompasses aspects both people and technology, the program takes a strongly interdisciplinary approach. The HCII brings scientific and engineering knowledge from computing together with that of the behavioral sciences, such as psychology and the social sciences. Further, in order to produce efficient, effective and pleasing technology, this scientific basis is also combined with the integrative methods of the discipline of design which are directed towards the conception of “total products.” Mirroring this diversity, the program encourages applicants from a range of disciplines and fields.

Students accepted to the PhD program participate in the wide-ranging and innovative research programs offered by the Institute. HCI PhD students are given full access to the excellent computational, and laboratory facilities of the School of Computer Science and the HCI Institute, as well as facilities of the Department of Psychology and the School of Design. In addition to wide-ranging research opportunities, students will have the opportunity to explore a rich set of course work and other activities designed to prepare them for a career in HCI research. Requirements for the PhD course of study are designed to accommodate students with a range of backgrounds by providing several different "tracks" of study. Finally, the institute anticipates that all students accepted to the HCI PhD program will be awarded a Graduate Fellowship covering full tuition and a living allowance.

In order to complete a PhD in HCI, candidates are expected to complete requirements in three areas. These include research, course work and teaching.

The PhD program is designed first and foremost to teach students how to carry out original high-quality research in Human-Computer Interaction. The primary requirement in this area is the proposal and defense of a dissertation describing original research. In addition, the program includes a research presentation-skills requirement that requires candidates to present original research to the HCI Institute community in written and oral form in the first two years of study. The program uses an apprenticeship-based approach in which students are teamed with an initial research advisor who guides and monitors the work and research done by the student.

The institute expects that all students will become involved in an HCI research project from the beginning, and continue research work throughout their course of study. The program of study culminates in a dissertation describing original research. Proposal and defense of this dissertation are primary requirements for obtaining a PhD in HCI.

The second area of required study by the PhD program is course work. To accommodate students with a wide range of interests, the program has been structured around three areas of specialization: human sciences, computer science, and design. These areas of specialization each have different specific course requirements. Conducting research requires a firm grounding in the concepts and prior work of a field. Course work requirements are designed to ensure that firm grounding. Course requirements are structured so that they can typically be completed within the first two and a half years of study. However, students are free to schedule their course work in a variety of ways to accommodate their educational needs, and in some cases additional prerequisite course work may be needed.

Lastly students are expected to complete at teaching requirement. The program aims at helping students learn the skills necessary to teach, such as organizing and presenting complex materials clearly, as they are important for all researchers. To help PhD candidates develop these skills, the program requires each student to serve as a teaching assistant for two semesters some time during their program of study.