UCL INTERACTION CENTRE
DEPARTMENTS OF PSYCHOLOGY AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

Postgraduate courses in Human-Computer Interaction with Ergonomics

UCLIC offers three taught courses in Human-Computer Interaction with Ergonomics, all at postgraduate level:

• Master of Science (MSc)
• Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip)
• Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert)

The aim of these courses is to learn, through information, demonstration, exploration and application, a scientific human-centred approach to the design and evaluation of a wide range of interactive systems and products, and their contexts of use.
Following this course, a graduate should:

• Understand the theoretical relevance, and the application, of human physical, cognitive, social and affective knowledge, to the design of interactive systems.
• Be able to analyse the user requirements for an interactive system or product.
• Understand the influence of context of use (both local and organisational) on user-system interaction.
• Be able to characterise a range of human-computer interaction and user-centred design styles and apply these appropriately to software and hardware for the design of interactive systems and products.
• Be competent to test and analyse user performance, user preferences and user experience in relation to human-centred interactive systems.
• Be competent in a range of appropriate HCI and Ergonomic research and development techniques to apply to any of the above.
• Have acquired a range of transferable skills and the independent learning ability to equip them for future positions in industrial, academic or consultancy environments.

Careers open to graduates of the course include:

• Usability specialist
• User-centred design expert
• Interaction designer
• Applied ergonomist
• User experience expert
• Information architect
• HCI expert
• Human factors specialist

Some more information about careers can be found here. An interesting reading on this topic is: "Best Careers 2009: User Experience Specialist".
In addition, MSc graduates can move on to a PhD or applied research in similar areas.

Find out here what students did after the course.

Course information

1. Background needed
2. What is taught
3. Applying to UCLIC
4. Open evening
5. Find out more and faq
6. What past students think about the course
7. What past students did after the course

Background needed

HCI is a broad discipline that has grown out of psychology and computer science but also includes elements of design, ergonomics, informatics and so on. We therefore require you to have an appropriate background from one of these disciplines. This means either:

1. A good second class degree from a UK university in either psychology, computer science or a related discipline
2. The equivalent degree from a non-UK university
3. A degree at the same level in another discipline but some appropriate commercial experience

If you are not sure you have the right background find out more here. Note that we consider all applications on their own merit and you are welcome to discuss queries about your own background with our Admission Tutor Nadia Berthouze.

What is taught

Click here to get a complete descriptions of the modules taught in these courses and how they are assesed.

Applying to UCLIC

To apply to do any of the courses, you need to complete the application forms. You can do this on paper by contacting Admissions for a paper form or more easily you can apply electronically:

• UCL Electronic Admission Forms

You can apply to do any of the courses (MSc, PgDip, PgCert) in the following ways:

• Full time: starting in September and finishing within one year.
• Flexible time: starting in September and doing the course over two or three years

Examples of timetable for any of these schemes can be found here. These are only examples and changes can occur from year to year.

The MSc, PG Diploma/Certificate in Human Computer Interaction with Ergonomics for 2010/11 can be applied for at any time from now. However, we have a couple of deadlines to help manage demand. Please note the following deadlines:

• 1st March 2010 (to be confirmed): Deadline for applicants that would like to apply for MSc Scholarship to start September 2010 (UK/EU students, Overseas students)
• 1st June 2010: Recommended deadline for all courses to start September 2010

Fees are not managed by UCLIC directly. You can find out more at:

• UCL Fees page - it's a big list so search for "TMSHCISERG06" (for MSc), "TCPHCISERG06" (for PG Cert.) or "TPPHCISERG06" (for PG Dip.)

Open Evening

Everyone that is pursuing a career in HCI is welcome to visit us at the Open Evening that this year will be held on 28 April 2010 from 5pm to 7pm.

This event is a great opportunity to meet the lecturers and current students and to talk about their experience in doing the MSc in HCI-E. The event also give you the possibility to find out about the latest research in the HCI field and have a taste of sensing devices (e.g., eye-tracking, motion capture systems, biosensors), computer games research and many other research activities at UCLIC.

Please send us an e-mail if you would like to attend the Open Day/Evening. E-mail Sally Watson, UCLIC Teaching Administrator, at s.watson@cs.ucl.ac.uk, by 12th April 2010. Anyone who has already applied will automatically be invited to attend .

Find out more

To find out more you can:

• Go to UCL Admissions site for graduates and international students
• Ring Admissions on +44 (0)20 7679 7742
• E-mail Admissions: admissions@ucl.ac.uk but they prefer to be contacted by telephone.
• Read our FAQ
• Attend the open evening
• Contact uclic-admissions@ucl.ac.uk, or telephone the Admissions Tutor Nadia Berthouze.

What past students said about the course

Coming from Computing, I found the breadth of courses and an emphasis on professional skills invaluable. The diverse backgrounds of the class from Design and Engineering to Psychology made my UCLIC experience insightful and thoroughly enjoyable.
Mrudula, UCLIC class of 2005, Senior Consultant, Webcredible, London, UK.

The UCLIC MSc course was an amazing year for me. Very full-on, but a great way to start developing a feel for the huge breadth and potential of this professional field. To have such a highly-motivated group of people on the course, from such diverse backgrounds, made it all the more engaging.
John, UCLIC class of 2006, Voice User Interface Designer, Nuance Communications, Berkshire, UK.

UCLIC offers a great learning environment, encouraging out-of-the-box thinking and creative groupwork.My MSc course at UCLIC helped kick-start a great career in user experience design and gave me lots of friends and professional contacts around the world.
Alexander, UCLIC class of 2006, User Experience Consultant, Webcredible, London, UK

The UCLIC course was thoroughly absorbing. The staff there want you to succeed and help you to achieve your goals. The mini-projects were great for building confidence and gaining practical experience which has certainly helped when I was job seeking.
Rachel, UCLIC class of 2006, User Research Consultant, Web Technology Group based, Hammersmith, UK

Studying at UCLIC gave me a perfect blend of theory and practice in a wide range of HCI related subjects. One of the reasons I chose to study for the MSc in HCI-E was the breadth of topics covered in the program. Now, at my current job, I am able to work as a designer, a usability analyst, and a user researcher.
Ethan, UCLIC class of 2005, User Experience Designer, WSIZE, San Mateo, California.

I'm learning a tremendous amount during the course. The students are a diverse group and the classes focus on working in a supportive teamwork environment. The facilities are top notch. London has turned out to be the best place to study interaction design. We meet many professionals from the industry and have made loads of contacts. I can't imagine studying anywhere other than UCLIC.
Roman, UCLIC class of 2008, Current MSc HCI-E student.

What past students did after the course

I'm a Voice User Interface Designer for Nuance Communications, a US-based company, working on the design of large-scale speech recognition applications for enterprise customers. To date, I have worked on projects for a UK water utility, a European insurer, a hotel chain and two US banks. My current main project, once completed, should have about 1.3 million users per month, and has a very cosmopolitan team, spread across the UK, US, Turkey and Mexico. Given my background in GUI design and development, I also provide occasional in-house advice on graphical, as well as speech, applications.
John, UCLIC class of 2006, Voice User Interface Designer, Nuance Communications.