Sunyoung Kim
Associate Professor of Library and Information Science
Coordinator of the Human-Computer Interaction Concentration
sunyoung.kim@rutgers.edu
Human-Computer Interaction Concentration
This concentration prepares students for careers focused on designing, implementing, and improving technology to enhance human experiences. Graduates can pursue professional roles in human-computer interaction, interaction design, product management, user experience design, and usability research and testing.
Human-Computer Interaction
The Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) concentration prepares students for careers focused on designing, implementing, and improving technology to enhance human experiences. Graduates can pursue professional roles in human-computer interaction, interaction design, product management, user experience design, and usability research and testing.
Career Paths
Career paths for this concentration include:
- UX Designer: Crafting user-friendly interfaces and experiences for digital products
- Interaction Designer: Focusing on how users interact with technology to create seamless workflows
- Product Manager: Overseeing the development of user-centered products from conception to launch
- UX Researcher: Conducting studies to understand user needs, behaviors, and preferences
- Usability Analyst: Evaluating products and providing recommendations for improved usability of digital products
- Human Factors Specialist: Ensuring technology is safe, efficient, and aligned with human capabilities
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 “Human-Centered Design” in the first semester, followed by “User Experience Research Methods” and “Interaction Design Studio” in the following semesters.
- 17:610:513 Human-Centered Design: an introductory course covering the basic principles, techniques, and knowledge for Human-Computer Interaction
- 17:610:536 User Experience Research Methods: a course to gain practical skills for collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data for user-centered design
- 17:610:523 Interaction Design: a project-based course to build a strong design portfolio through projects
Faculty in the Field of Human-Computer Interaction
Requirements for the Human-Computer Interaction Concentration
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36 credits, plus 3 zero-credit courses
Zero-credit Courses (required for all students):
- 17:610:501 Introduction to Library and Information Professions
- 17:610:502 Colloquium in Library and Information Studies
- 17:610:503 Professional Capstone
Minimum Technology Course Requirement (3 Credits):
All students (unless specializing in Data Science) must take one of the following technology courses to fulfill this requirement.
- 17:610:550 – Introduction to Information Technologies
Waivers for the technology requirement or for courses requiring it as a prerequisite may be granted with approval. Please contact Associate Teaching Professor Anselm Spoerri, course coordinator, regarding questions or waiver requests for this course.
OR
- 17:610:552 – Computational Reasoning
Students specializing in Data Science must take 17:610:552 – Computational Reasoning to fulfill this requirement. Please contact Assistant Teaching Professor Suchinthi Fernando, course coordinator, regarding questions or waiver requests for this course.
This requirement applies to all students pursuing the Data Science concentration who begin the program in Fall 2026. Students who started prior to Fall 2026 and are in the Data Science concentration are encouraged to take Computational Reasoning, but it is not required.
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.
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Concentration Requirements:
- 17:610:513 Human-Centered Design
- 17:610:536 User Experience Research Methods
- 17:610:523 Interaction Design Studio
It is strongly recommended to take “Human-Centered Design” in the first semester, followed by “User Experience Research Methods” and “Interaction Design” in the next semesters. It is recommended to take one concentration requirement course per semester.
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Concentration Electives (Select 3 Courses/9 Credits):
- 17:610:511 Research Methods
- 17:610:551 Information Retrieval
- 17:610:554 Information Visualization & Presentation
- 17:610:557 Database Design & Management
- 17:610:559 Web Programming
- 17:610:561 Data Analytics for Information Professionals
- 17:610:562 Problem Solving with Data
- 17:610:574 Knowledge Management in Organizations
- 17:610:579 Ethical Decision Making
- 17:610:581 Social Informatics
- 17:610:587 Understanding, Designing, and Building Social Media
- Special Topics: Health Informatics
- Special Topics: Critical Thinking in Health Technologies
- Other MI courses by permission of concentration coordinator
* 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”).
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