Courses

Students in a Thesis pathway must complete a total of 5.0 credits, with 2.5 credits devoted to a thesis and 2.5 credits to the coursework. Students in the Research Project Pathway must complete 4 credits, with 1.0 credit allocated for a Graduate Project and 3.0 credits reserved for coursework. Students in a coursework pathway must complete 4.0 credits of coursework to meet their degree requirements.

Students in the Thesis or Research Project Pathway should make all course selection in consultation with their supervisor.

The specific requirements, including mandatory courses, for each pathway in HCI be found on the Graduate Calendar.

Mandatory courses for all HCI students:

HCIN 5100/ PSYC 5105 (0.5 credit): Fundamentals of HCI design and evaluation

A survey of strategies and practices in HCI design and evaluation. Students will learn to perform studies in user interface analysis and design, to read the research literature critically, distill important points from readings, summarize, and write papers as well as design user interfaces and present their written and oral work.

HCIN 5200 (0.5 credit): Software and User Interface Development

Design and development of user interfaces for software systems based on principles for supporting user interaction, with emphasis on frameworks, tools, and processes for user interface development.

HCIN 5300 (0.5 credit): Emerging Interaction Techniques*

Advanced interaction styles and their associated technologies. Topics may include handheld and gestural interactions, ubiquitous computing, deformable user interfaces, physiological computing, and tangible user interfaces.

*HCIN 5300 is no longer a required course for students admitted after the 2026 Winter term. Students admitted as of Fall 2026 should replace this course with an approved elective HCI elective instead.

Research skills courses: One (0.5 credit) course is mandatory.

HCIN 5400/CGSC 5101: Experimental Methods and Statistics (0.5 credit)

An introduction to the design of experiments and the statistics needed to interpret data in cognitive science

HCIN 5404/IDES 5102: Design Research Methods (0.5 credit)

Critical analysis of research methods in design and disciplines contributing to design including anthropology, psychology, sociology, and business. Application areas include advanced materials and manufacturing processes, advanced visualization, product interaction design, extreme environments, sustainable design, design and culture, design management, and human-oriented design.

HCIN 5407/ITEC 5209: Empirical Research Methods in HCI (0.5 credit)

Advanced quantitative methods and conducting controlled user studies, statistically analyzing and reporting results in a research paper. Topics include history of empirical HCI, experiment design, hypothesis testing, interaction models, and scientific writing. Students complete a term-long research project.

HCIN 5909: Thesis

Thesis in Human-Computer Interaction (2.5 credits). For Thesis Pathway students in a M.H.C.I only. Thesis Objectives and Sample Theses can be found on the HCI Current Students webpage. Assessment will be conducted through a formal thesis defence, to be organized by the thesis supervisor.

HCIN 5903: Research Project:

A graduate-level project in HCI under the supervision of a faculty member (1.0 credit). For M.H.C.I Research Project Pathway students only. Project topic must be made in consultation with the project supervisor, with a final grade assigned by the project supervisor upon completion of the project.

Electives:

Students in the coursework pathway must select their electives according to the Approved Electives List below. Students in a Thesis or Project pathway must select their elective(s) in consultation with their supervisor, and may take any graduate course approved by their supervisor.

Depending on the course and unit, registration may be permitted at the discretion of the home unit, require the permission of the instructor and/or submission of a Carleton Registration Override Request. If you encounter a registration error Please contact the respective unit offering the course, or submit an override request.