Minor in Human-Computer Interaction (CSE)
The human-computer interaction (HCI) minor is designed to give any undergraduate student at Washington University a multidisciplinary understanding of the principles and applications of HCI. This minor will introduce students to the techniques necessary to create effective user interfaces: requirements gathering, ideation, prototyping, visual design and evaluation. Students will explore these ideas in a variety of application contexts.
The HCI minor is intended for students who are interested in the design of user-centered interactive technologies and those desiring jobs that include user interface creation, product design, UX/UI design, app development, virtual and augmented realities, and so on. This minor should appeal to students in the College of Art — particularly designers and computationally intrigued artists — who are interested in gaining a more in-depth knowledge of back-end development skills. It will also be of interest to engineering students looking for more experience with aesthetics and front-end design skills. In addition to being useful for these primary audiences, this minor allows students from other departments on campus to support their studies with a clear track in a hybrid pursuit of design and programming.
Coursework
Students must complete two pillar courses, one integration course and three approved electives. Courses listed below are considered approved elective offerings between the Sam Fox School and the McKelvey School of Engineering.
- Pillar Courses* (6 units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CSE 1301 | Introduction to Computer Science | 3 |
| DESIGN 1265 | Visual Principles for the Screen | 3 |
- Integration Courses* (3 units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CSE 2506 | Introduction to Human-Centered Design | 3 |
| DESIGN 2258 | Interaction Design: Understanding Health and Well-Being | 3 |
- *
Each of the pillar and integration courses must be completed with a grade of C- or better.
- Electives (9 units, with at least one course each from CSE and Art/Design):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CSE 2004 | Web Development | 3 |
| CSE 3300 | Rapid Prototype Development and Creative Programming | 3 |
| CSE 4308 | Mobile Application Development | 3 |
| CSE 4500 | Video Game Programming | 3 |
| CSE 4507 | Introduction to Visualization | 3 |
| CSE 5506 | Human-Computer Interaction Methods | 3 |
| CSE 5507 | Advanced Visualization | 3 |
| DESIGN 2506 | Digital Game Design | 3 |
| DESIGN 3250 | Interaction Design: User-Centered Applications | 3 |
| DESIGN 3253 | Advanced Interaction Design | 3 |
| DESIGN 3254 | Communication Design: Interaction Foundations | 3 |
| DESIGN 3620 | UX Research Methods for Design | 3 |
| DESIGN 3261 | Interaction Design: Layout Systems | 3 |
| DESIGN 3302 | Conditional Design | 3 |
| DESIGN 3508 | Game Design Principles & Practice | 3 |
| DESIGN 4270 | Advanced Visual Principles for the Screen | 3 |
| DESIGN 4280 | Design with Artificial Intelligence | 3 |
| PNP 2000 | Introduction Cognitive Science | 3 |
| PSYCH 3600 | Cognitive Psychology | 3 |
Additional approved elective courses can be found by viewing the Google Docs file maintained for this program.