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One of only three HCI Graduate Degree Programs in U.S.

AMES, Iowa – Management Information Systems (MIS) faculty from the Iowa State University College of Business have teamed up with experts from the University’s Colleges of Agriculture, Design, Education, Engineering, and Liberal Arts and Sciences to launch one of the nation’s only comprehensive Master of Science and doctoral programs in Human Computer Interaction (HCI).  The programs, which have begun accepting student applications for the spring of 2004, will place Iowa State among Carnegie Mellon and Georgia Tech as the only universities offering graduate degrees in the rapidly emerging discipline.

“These new graduate studies programs will train researchers and practitioners to meet the challenges faced by the rapid emergence of human computer interaction and its ultimate impact on nearly every facet of business and everyday life,” says Anthony Hendrickson, Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the College of Business and a member of the HCI graduate program faculty.

“Our MIS faculty are uniquely positioned to contribute to this collaboration because of their strong behavioral research focus” said Hendrickson.  “Even those faculty members whose research isn’t traditionally behavioral, have strong ties to this program due to the nature of their technical research.”

In order to capture a leadership position in the rapidly changing field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Iowa State, including the College of Business, is making a strategic investment to accelerate research, attract talented students and faculty members, and establish a graduate program in this vital area of study.

Anthony Townsend, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems and a member of the HCI graduate program faculty, says the new masters and doctoral programs combine the technology discovery capabilities of the College of Engineering and the applications expertise of the College of Business to apply technology to business functions.

“They’re creating marvelous things in the College of Engineering, but they need an understanding of the business user’s requirements in the corporate environment,” notes Townsend. “Engineering has a deeper focus on the technology, but we can see needs and help them to work on projects that would be significant to business world and would generate interest in an actual user community.”

The Iowa State Virtual Reality Center provides a unique facility for studying HCI technology, notes James Oliver, professor of engineering and graduate studies director for the HCI Program.

Faculty from the College of Business as well as other University disciplines enrich the program by understanding how HCI technologies can be applied to fields as diverse as database management, psychology, and architecture. Students who enroll in the interdisciplinary PhD program will represent the first doctoral candidates to matriculate through the ISU College of Business.

“We have a lot going on here at Iowa State on an ad-hoc basis in clusters around the University and decided to leverage that and put it forward as a coordinated initiative,” says Oliver, an engineering professor and director of the HCI graduate education program.

Oliver believes one likely area of research will examine how businesses can make better decisions by improving their capability to gather and analyze data collected electronically at points of sale.

“We think that this program will provide excellent training for people who probably will be going into higher education and become faculty members,” adds Townsend. “Or they could just as easily go to work for firms that have a strong need for designers of user interfaces for database systems, or developing systems allowing people to improve their interactions with technology.”