Human-Centered Design, M.S.

The master’s program in human-centered design provides advanced education and research opportunities to qualified students with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. The program prepares students to conduct independent scholarly work, teach in academia, or work in commerce or the private sector.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution (or the international equivalent). The program is open to individuals with a major in engineering, science or technology, or with a strong interest in human and social science or the arts. Applicants with experience in industry or academia, or in human factors and ergonomics, are also urged to apply.

Master’s applicants must submit all undergraduate transcripts with a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Applicants must have completed a college-level course in statistics and an introduction to computer programming. Students are required to submit two letters of recommendation and a statement of objectives. 

General admission requirements and the process for applying are presented under Graduate Academic Information .

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Human-Centered Design requires that students complete and defend a thesis. However, a thesis may be analytical, experimental, theoretical or applied. lt provides students the opportunity to demonstrate an ability to explore literature and to model, design, prototype and evaluate solutions and present the results in a professional manner.

The program requires a minimum of 30 credit hours including 15 hours of required coursework, 9 credit hours of graduate-level electives and a minimum of 6 hours of thesis. Elective courses must be approved by the student’s academic advisor and the department head.