UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Seattle, Washington
Human Centered Design & Engineering

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BACKGROUND:
Title: Human Centered Design & Engineering (MS, PhD)
Est: 1983
Quarter
Part-time: yes
Distance learning available: no
HFES student chapter: no
Program: HCDE focuses on usability research, user-experience designing, and human-computer interaction.
Contact: Gian Bruno, Human Centered Design & Engineering, UW, 423 Sieg Hall, MS 352315, Seattle, WA 98195; 206/543-1798; gbruno@uw.edu.
Catalog: (free) Gian Bruno, Human Centered Design & Engineering, UW, 423 Sieg Hall, MS 352315, Seattle, WA 98195; http://www.hcde.washington.edu.

APPLICATION:
Deadlines: 1/15 (MS), 12/15 (PhD)
Fee: $75

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
GPA: 3.0
GRE: Not used for MS, no lower than 600 for PhD applicants
Other: N/A
Research: medium
Work experience: medium
Extracurricular activities: low
Letters: high
Interview: low

ADMISSIONS:
Students applying last year: 250 (MS); 65 (PhD)
Accepted: 81 (MS); 18 (PhD)
Entered program: 70 (MS); 11 (PhD)
Openings/year: 70 (MS); 10 (PhD)

TUITION AND FEES:
MS: $675/credit
PhD: $4300/quarter

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: 10 (MS); 100 (PhD)
Available: Full tuition waiver
Apply: with application

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
MS: 48 credits, 2-year degree
Nonthesis option: yes
PhD: 105 credits beyond master's, preliminary exam, general exam, dissertation defense, 5-year degree

CURRICULUM:
Required courses (credits): Theoretical Foundations of Human Centered Design & Engineering (4); Empirical Traditions in Human Centered Design & Engineering (4); Computer-Assisted Communication (4); Information Design (4); Experimental Research Methods (4); Seminar: Current Issues in Human Centered Design & Engineering (1); 523 Seminar: Issues in HCDE Scholarship and Professional Activity (1)
Electives: None
Required courses outside department: 0
Offered: night courses, summer course
Class size: 10-35

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: There are 12 labs run by faculty that students can research with, as well as directed research groups, and we currently have research assistant positions
Teaching: Most teaching opportunities are teaching undergraduate courses (two specific courses). There are also occasional undergraduate HCDE major courses that PhD students teach.
Current research: Cognitive Informatics and Decision Making in Health Care; Designing Interfaces that Make us Think; Game Design and Usability Research Reading Group; Design for Digital Inclusion; Makerbot (LearnMakeCupcake); Investigating the Role of Online Calendar Use in the Cultivation and Maintenance of Relationships; Science Fiction Prototyping; Mobile User Experience; Assessing The User Experience Remotely/ Open WebLabUX; Qualitative Analysis of Data on How Students Understand Design; Communicative Practices in Virtual Workspaces (CPVW)

STUDENT STATISTICS:
Active: men: 60 (MS), 20 (PhD); women: 65 (MS); 15 (PhD)
First-year students: 70 (MS); 11 (PhD)

FACULTY:
Ceclia Aragon, PhD 2004, UC Berkeley; human-computer interaction in scientific collaborations, computer-supported cooperative work; eScience.
Cindy Atman, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University; engineering education; engineering design learning; students as emerging engineering professionals.
Dave Farkas, PhD, U of Minnesota; information design with a special focus on innovative documents for 21st century literacies; software user assistance; problems in slideware design.
Mark Haselkorn, PhD, University of Louisiana; strategic management of information and communication systems; risk and resilience; safety and security systems.
Julie Kientz, PhD 2008, Georgia Tech; human-computer interaction; human-centered computing; supporting record-keeping and reflection.
Beth Kolko, PhD 1994, UT Austin; design for digital inclusion; computer-mediated communication; educational/ business/social gaming.
Charlotte Lee, PhD UCLA; computer supported cooperative work (CSCW); human-computer interaction (HCI); science and technology studies (STS).
Sean Munson, PhD 2012, U. of Michigan; human-computer interaction; social software for health and civic behavior.
Judy Ramey, PhD 1983, UT Austin; user research and usability research methods (experience sampling, eye-tracking, etc.); current focus on the mobile user experience.
Jan Spyridakis, PhD, University of Washington; effect of design on comprehension, perceptions, and behavior in online environments; internet-based experimental methods; international communication..
Kate Starbird, PhD 2012, U. of Colorado, Boulder; human-computer interaction; social media during crisis.
Michio Tsutsui, PhD 1984, UI Urbana-Champaign; technology-enhanced language learning; second language acquisition; Japanese linguistics.
Jennifer Turns, PhD 1998, Georgia Tech; user-centered design; design processes and strategies; human-computer interaction.
Mark Zachry, PhD 1998, Iowa State; human-computer interaction; workplace studies; communication design in organizations.

[Updated May 2012]