Human Computer Interaction

HCI is the bridge between what a system can technically do and what a human can actually use, so the course frames every design decision around perception, cognition, and the messy realities of real users rather than developer convenience. You'll run heuristic evaluations and cognitive walkthroughs on existing interfaces, do three homeworks plus a term project that takes a design from user research through a built-and-evaluated prototype, and sit a midterm and take-home final. It pairs naturally with your web and mobile development work in the CTIS track — those courses teach you to ship an interface, this one teaches you to justify why it's the right one.