Interaction Design and Informatics
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Lilia Pavlovsky
Director of the Master of Information Program
LIS Faculty
LIS Department

Interaction Design and Informatics Concentration

Sunyoung KimCoordinator: Sunyoung Kim, Ph.D.

This concentration prepares students to become professionals for careers related to interaction design, human-computer interaction, user experience design, and user-centered research. Career paths for this concentration include:

  • Interaction designer, interface designer, web designer, mobile designer, game designer 
  • User experience designer, user experience researcher, usability analysis 
  • Product manager, marketing manager, product consultant

Concentration Goals And Objectives

Students will learn practical skills and theoretical knowledge to design, implement, and evaluate interactive technologies. In particular, students will:

  • Create innovative user interfaces through a user-centered design thinking process
  • Engage with both qualitative and quantitative data acquired from users to inform a design thinking process
  • Master prototyping skills from low-fidelity paper prototypes to high-fidelity interactive prototypes
  • Develop analytical perspectives in understanding and evaluating user interfaces
  • Practice communication skills to effectively deliver design ideas
  • Practice the skills for the collaborative projects through a team-based project

For this concentration, you take three concentration requirements designed to acquire essential knowledge and skills for interaction design incrementally. So, it is recommended to take one concentration requirement course per semester by taking “Foundations of Interaction Design & Informatics” in the first semester, followed by “Experimental Design and Evaluation” and “Interaction Design Studio” in the following semesters. 

  • Foundations of Interaction Design & Informatics (513): an introductory course covering the basic principles, techniques, and knowledge for interaction design
  • Experimental Design and Evaluation (536): a course to gain practical skills for collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data for user-centered design
  • Interaction Design Studio (523): a project-based course to build a strong design portfolio through projects

Requirements For Interaction Design And Informatics Concentration

Program Requirements

36 credits, plus 3 zero-credit courses

Zero-credit Courses (required for all students):

Minimum Technology Course Requirement (3 Credits):

Note: This course is required for Library & Information Science students. For the other concentrations, our program assumes that students have attained the competencies and objectives listed for 550. Please look at the course to determine if you meet the standards. If you do not, you must also take this course. If you have any questions, contact Associate Teaching Professor of Library and Information Science Anselm Spoerri.

Foundation Courses (6 credits), select 2/4:

Note: Refer to the specific course study plans to see if a particular foundation course is required for your concentration.

Concentration Requirements

Concentration Requirements (9 Credits):

It is strongly recommended to take “Foundations of Interaction Design & Informatics” in the first semester, followed by “Experimental Design and Evaluation” and “Interaction Design” in the next semesters. It is recommended take one concentration requirement course per semester.

Concentration Electives & General Elective

Concentration Electives (Select 3 Courses/9 Credits):

* You can also consider taking an Independent Study with a faculty member or any course that meets the approval of the Concentration Coordinator.

 

General Elective (3 Courses/9 credits):

  • Any courses offered in the MI program 
  • Any course offered in the MBS’s UXD program 

* You can transfer up to two courses (6 credits) from outside the MI program (Follow process noted in "Transfer credit policy”).

“The ITI program helped me develop both depth and breadth. Not only did I establish a strong technical foundation, I also grew my understanding for how technology influences our lives across various contexts. Through relevant coursework and hands-on practical training, I gained perspective for a wider range of social, economic, and organizational factors that lead to more successful applications of technology.”

Chris Doris, ITI ’03, MI ’21, IT professional for a major financial services firm