People

Design, build, and evaluate systems that treat humans as the central component.

The People thread is where computing meets users. This thread prepares students by helping them to understand the theoretical and computational foundations for designing, building, and evaluating systems that treat the human as a central component.

The student who pursues the People thread can combine it with Devices to study human-robot interaction, Information Internetworks to pursue research in data visualization, Intelligence for learning sciences and technology, Systems & Architecture to explore ubiquitous computing, or various other combinations.

Early Preparation

Common Data Structures
Programming Fundamentals and Algorithms
Object-oriented design and programming
Concurrent Processing and Event-driven programming
Experience building simple GUIs

Knowledge Goals

Understanding human behavior with interactive objects
Knowing how to develop and evaluate interactive software using a human-centered approach
General knowledge of HCI design issues with multiple types of interactive software.
Achieve a depth of understanding of some aspect of people: perceptual, social, motor, cognitive, and so on

Skill Outcomes

Able to apply HCI techniques to identify usability problems and gather design requirements
Able to build working systems to address those problems
Able to apply qualitative and quantitative techniques to evaluate the success of those systems

View the course prerequisites for the People thread.

Required Courses:

CS 1301 Introduction to Computing and Programming, 3
CS 1331 Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming, 3
CS 1332 Data Structures and Algorithms, 3
CS 2340 Objects and Design, 3
CS 3750 Human-Computer Interface Design and Evaluation, 3 OR CS 3751 Introduction to User Design Interface, 3
PSYC 1101 Introduction to Psychology, 3 (social science elective)
PSYC 2015 Research Methods and Practices, 4

Pick 1 of Social/Behavioral Science for Computing

PSYC 2210 Social Psychology, 3
PSYC 2760 Psychology of Human Language, 3
PSYC 3040 Sensation and Perception, 3

Pick 2 of Human-Centered Technology

CS 3790 Introduction to Cognitive Science, 3
CS 4460 Information Visualization, 3
CS 4470 Introduction to User Interface Software, 3
CS 4472 Design of Online Communities, 3
CS 4605 Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing, 3
CS 4660 Introduction to Educational Technology, 3
CS 4745 Info & Communication Tech & Global Development, 3

Elective Courses:

Free Electives (6 hours)

Educational Technology

CS 4660 Introduction to Educational Technology, 3
CS 4665 Educational Technology: Design and Evaluation, 3
CS 4670 Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 3

Design and Evaluation

CS 4472 Design of Online Communities, 3
CS 4690 Qualitative Methods, 3
CS 4726 Privacy, Technology, and Law, 3
CS 4770 Mixed Reality Experience Design, 3
PSYC 2020 Psychological Statistics, 4 (Required for PSYC 3011, Requires PSYC 2010)

Human Cognition and Interaction

CS 3790 Introduction to Cognitive Science, 3
CS 4263 Psychology of Cybersecurity, 3
CS 4793 Perspectives Cognitive Science, 3
PSYC 2210 Social Psychology, 3 (Requires PSYC 1101)
PSYC 2760 Psychology of Human Language, 3
PSYC 3012 Cognitive Psychology, 4 (Requires 2020)
PSYC 3040 Sensation and Perception, 3
PSYC 4090 Cognitive Neuropsychology, 3
PSYC 4260 Aging, 3

College of Computing

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