OVERVIEW OF DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Minimum number of credits required to earn minor: 18
GPA requirements to earn minor: : Students graduating with a minor in a CLAS field must earn a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better in the courses in the minor field that are credited toward completion of the minor.
Minimum Grade requirements for courses to count toward minor: C
Other requirements: A minimum of 9 credit hours must be completed at the University of Maine.
Contact Information: Nicholas Giudice, Computing and Information Science, 331 Boardman Hall, (207) 581-2187, giudice@spatial.maine.edu; Michael Scott, New Media, 403 Chadbourne Hall, (207) 581-4330, mscott@maine.edu
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is the study of how humans interact with technology through principled design, communication, and construction. HCI addresses the design, evaluation, and implementation of computer based systems for the benefit of human use. The HCI field has its roots in over 50 years of computer science theory, as well as in the applied social and behavioral sciences. HCI explores the technological advances and the increasing pervasiveness of computing devices in our society. With an emphasis on making computing technologies more user-friendly, HCI has emerged as a dynamic, multifaceted area of study that merges theory from science, engineering, and design–as well as concepts and methodologies from psychology, anthropology, sociology, and industrial design–with the technical concerns of computing.
Key Concepts, Skills, and Methods:
- Learn technical considerations involved with HCI
- Develop problem solving skills for creating effective HCI environments
- Understand interrelationships of HCI to professions and fields of study
- Perform fieldwork for understanding HCI user needs and the influence of context
- Generative approaches to imagining many possible solutions
- Iterative refinement of designs
- Implementation of interactive prototypes
- Evaluation techniques, including empirical evaluation methods
Benefits of the Minor:
- True interdisciplinary minor
- Provide students with essential 21st Century skills
- Increase knowledge base beyond common core
- Introduce students to cutting-edge technologies
- Enhance current degree focus
- Teach job-ready design skills for the modern IT workplace
Note: The only prerequisite for this minor is an introductory-level college-programming course (such as COS 120, COS 125, COS 220 or NMD 105).
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