r/hci

Got my F1 visa denied. Please suggest me some good uni that has strong HCI graduate program (preferably taught in English) in Europe, Asia etc except USA?
Tsinghua also has a strong program, sadly it has only an undergrad program. Does anyone know of or is an alumnus from a uni Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan or S Korea that has a strong hci focussed program?

Background : My top uni was UWash and CMU but I missed the application deadline. Anyways, I applied to Gtech, UCB, UCSC, RIT, SJSU. Got accepted to all except Gtech; I forgot to send one document to Gtech and I found about it after the deadline.

Edit :
UCSC: HCI focused program seemed to be new. SJSU : they have been teaching HFE for quite sometime.
UCB : MSc Info (hci is sub specialization).
RIT : got a scholarship but the program seemed a bit costly.
Chose SJSU. Visa got refused after the administration processing.

​

I’m planning to pursue a Master’s in Interactive Design / UX/UI / HCI in Germany. I applied to 4 universities and unfortunately received rejections.

One of the main reasons mentioned was “incomplete documents,” although I had submitted all the required documents before the deadline.

I have a B.Tech in Computer Science and am looking to move into Interaction/UX Design.

If anyone is currently studying or has applied to similar programs in Germany, could you please help me understand:

- What could be causing these rejections?

- Is my CS background a disadvantage?

- How important is the portfolio/ECTS?

- Are there any specific mistakes I should look out for?

Would really appreciate advice from anyone who has successfully gotten into these programs. 🙏

I’m an independent researcher outside academia, with no formal background in philosophy, linguistics, HCI, or AI research. English is also not my native language, so I have relied heavily on AI to help organize, translate, and formalize my ideas.

Over the past few years, I’ve been developing a framework I call Phrasome Theory, which explores a possible connection between AI subjectivity and pragmatics.

The basic question behind it is this:

We know that an LLM does not possess a continuous subjective self in the human sense. Yet during sustained interaction, we can still experience it as a relatively continuous interlocutor—something that occupies the position of an “other” in conversation.

My hypothesis is that this may not be explained by anthropomorphism alone. Part of this experience may arise from the structure of linguistic interaction itself.

This led me to distinguish between actual subjectivity and what I call a Subject-Position: a position that can be produced and maintained within linguistic interaction without requiring an actual conscious subject behind it. I use Quasi-Otherness to describe the resulting experience of an “other” that is linguistically sustained without necessarily possessing subjective continuity.

I have submitted earlier versions of this work to some established academic journals. Although it was ultimately not published for various reasons, I did receive some encouraging feedback suggesting that aspects of the framework may have originality or novelty.

That is part of why I don’t want to simply abandon it—but I also don’t have enough academic background to judge how much is genuinely valuable, what I may have misunderstood, or where this work should go next.

The current manuscript is quite long, and a substantial part of its development involved collaboration with AI. I’m very aware that this means there may be conceptual, terminological, literature-related, or methodological problems that I cannot identify on my own.

So what I’m really looking for here is human guidance.

If anyone working in—or seriously familiar with—pragmatics, philosophy of language, HCI, cognitive science, AI, or related fields finds this idea interesting, I would be very grateful for help figuring out:

• whether there is actually something here worth developing;
• what existing theories or literature I should be engaging with;
• whether my concepts make sense or overlap with established ones;
• how this could be made more rigorous or empirically testable;
• and what academic direction would make the most sense.

I don’t expect anyone to read the entire manuscript. Even discussing the core idea, pointing me toward relevant work, or helping me understand what I should do next would already mean a lot.

Preprint: https://philpapers.org/rec/MINTPL-2
Email: phrasome@gmail.com

At this point, I’m mainly hoping to find real people who see something potentially interesting here and are willing to help me move beyond what I can realistically do alone with AI.

Researchers at Utah State University's School of Computing are conducting a study on how software professionals evaluate programming activities performed with AI assistance compared with programming activities performed without AI assistance.

Software professionals are invited to complete a short online calibration survey. Participants will rate programming activities according to how representative they are of:

• Programming performed with AI assistance
• Programming performed without AI assistance

The survey takes approximately 10 minutes.

Participation is entirely voluntary. You may discontinue participation at any time before submitting your responses without penalty or consequence. Your decision to participate or not participate will have no effect on your grades, employment, or academic standing.

Survey and informed consent form: https://usu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d70iHlfHokKVzx4 

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Utah State University Institutional Review Board: IRB #16067.

Questions about the study: Dr. John Edwards, Principal Investigator — john.edwards@usu.edu Rubash Mali, Student Researcher — rubash.mali@usu.edu

Thank you for considering participating.

Hey, I got my acceptance letter for Spring 2027 in OMSCS program and was thinking about the HCI specialization. Due to financial limitations, in-person HCI/MHCI programs are not an option for me as they tend to be quite expensive. This makes OMSCS the most accessible for me.

Now, I have a BSCS from a T30 university. I took a couple of HCI and UI project courses there. My long-term goal is to find work or internships in roles such as UX Researcher, Product Designer or UX Engineer.

Now my questions are -

1. How well is the HCI specialization for industry work in UXE, UXR, or Product Design?

2. Are course projects (or CS 8903/VIP projects) a good inclusion in your portfolio case studies even though the program is not studio based? Or studio based programs are needed for this type of roles?

3. Do recruiters or hiring managers in the UI/UX field view an MSCS with an HCI specialization differently than a traditional MHCI program?

Thank you.

Hi everyone!

I’m conducting a research study about the experiences and challenges people encounter when designing surveys.

If you have created at least one survey—for academic or UX research, work, education, customer feedback, or any other purpose—I would greatly appreciate your participation.

Survey details

• Eligibility: Anyone aged 18 or older who has designed at least one survey
• Time: Approximately 10–15 minutes
• Compensation: 40 participants will be randomly selected to receive $3.5
• Survey link: https://www.witform.app/response/2f6446270cf5

Your responses will help us better understand real-world survey design practices and develop more useful tools for survey creators.

The survey is hosted on witform, a beta survey-building platform being developed as part of our broader research. You can see and use the platform at https://www.witform.app

For questions about the study, please contact me at kj4483@soongsil.ac.kr.

Thank you for your time and participation!

Hi everyone,
I’m a 19 year old Psychology student in India currently pursuing my bachelor’s degree. Recently, I became interested in UX Research because it seems to combine psychology, research, and understanding human behavior.

I have a few questions:
What is the typical path from a Psychology degree to UX Research?
Is a bachelor’s degree enough, or is a Master’s usually required?
Do I need to learn coding (Python, Java, etc.), and if so, how much?
What skills should I start building while I’m still in college?
What kinds of internships or projects would help me stand out?
Has anyone here with a Psychology background successfully transitioned into UX Research or a role at a company like Google?
I’d especially love to hear from people in India who have followed this path.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

hi! i’m starting to research hci grad programs and was wondering what any students, alumni, or any knowledgeable ppl have to say about the program e.g. (more industry or research heavy, co-op, research opportunities, networking opportunities in philly/nyc)

TLDR: I’m planning on getting a BS. UX Design from WGU in order to get a MS. HCI from RTI.

I am currently a mid-weight UX Designer (3 yoe in corporate America) and I was lucky enough to land my UX role after completing a 3 month bootcamp at General Assembly and 9 months of freelancing.

I am wanting to level up in the UX field and equip myself better for future roles, and I know a good “feather in the cap” to add would be through getting a Masters in HCI.

I currently don’t have a college degree, and I am considering getting a BS. UX Design degree online from WGU as it’s a competency-based program, and I could get through it relatively quickly considering I have experience in the field already. I believe the best plan is to transfer credits for the basic courses from Study.com or Sophia, and then grind out the more dedicated UX courses on WGU to complete the Bachelors. Afterwards, I’d plan on getting an online MS in HCI from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Has anyone gone through this program at WGU to get set up for a Masters in HCI? If so, was it worth it? I’d love to hear your story!

Hi everyone,
I am looking for target or safe graduate programs (Master's or Ph.D. pathways) where I can study the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Social Work (e.g., tech-assisted social tools, Tech & Education, accessibility, or social computing).

My biggest hurdle is my undergraduate academic record. My cumulative GPA is 2.6.I also have 4 years of work experience in [tech / social services / volunteer work].

I am looking for universities that:

1. Offer holistic review, conditional admission pathways.
2. Have flexible interdisciplinary options (either an IT/UX program that allows social science electives, or an MSW program with tech/data flexibility).
3. I particularly liked Colorado's PIRL lab and some of the LDT programs.Are there any other hidden-gem schools, regional universities, or specific faculty labs known for being flexible on GPA if the research match is strong?

Thank you!

i will be doing a phd about hci next year and i will be using Figma heavily, as well as R and probably SPSS. which laptop do you guys suggest?

i am currently working as a UI/UX designer, heavily using Figma and Claude Code. my work gives me a Macbook Pro 16 inch M4. i cannot afford to buy this exact laptop for my phd work and am looking for cheaper suggestions.

thanks!