Studying for a masters in Human Computer Interaction - is it worth it?

The short answer is yes but read more to find out why.

As I wave goodbye to education (for now), I suddenly feel a mixture of relief, happiness and sadness. This past year has been intense and has left me reaching for my tissues more times than I care to remember.

Yet here I am writing this blog having successfully navigated my way through a Human-Computer Interaction course at University College London (UCL). I am extremely proud of this achievement and believe the skills I have learned and developed over these past 12 months will benefit my UX career tenfold.

Before the masters

Before I divulge the details of my MSc experiences, I thought it best to share how I came to apply for it in the first place. My journey into UX began during my Psychology BSc at the University of the West of England. Specifically, during my second year, I was lucky enough to have a legendary lecturer named Matt Wood who passionately delivered a lecture on 'Online Identities & Behaviour'. This covered topics such as the contextual use of digital technology and the presentation of the digital self. I was enthralled throughout and having chatted with Matt afterwards I was set on pursuing a career in technology.

For the remainder of my degree, I gravitated toward the world of technology and found myself reading books on HCI. The relationship between user and technology became an obsession of mine and resulted in me writing my dissertation on the potential impact of human microchips (e.g., Elon Musks Neuralink) on our everyday lives.

It was alongside my dissertation when I began applying for my master's application. This involved filling out forms via UCLs portico system. To complete this, I wrote a 5oo word personal statement and answered questions as to why I was a suitable candidate for the UCL programme. In my experience, I would recommend utilising your academic supervisor during this process as Matt Wood provided consistent feedback to enable me to write a personal statement of high quality.

During the Masters

The curriculum of the masters is divided into 3 terms.

In term 1 students are required to complete 2 core modules: Interaction Design and Interaction Science.

Interaction Design is an opportunity for students who may have a limited design background (like myself) to create projects utilising design principles such as always designing with aesthetics and minimalism in mind. Despite a strong initial sense of imposter syndrome, I really enjoyed this module and went from having limited experience to developing a sound knowledge of interaction design techniques. A highlight was partaking in a group project where not only did I make some amazing friends but I also got a flavour of what it would be like to work within a design team. The interaction science module was more akin to my undergraduate degree, whereby we analysed qualitative and quantitative data sets, read research papers and learnt how to write academically. I felt more at home during this module but still developed new skills. For example, I learned how to be an effective interviewer through a piece of coursework that required me to interview some of my classmates. I believe this to be a key skill for user research as interviews can harness data that can help you to understand potential users' perceptions of your designs and design ideas.

In term 2 students are able to select 4 modules from an extensive list. I chose to take Human Factors for Digital Health, Serious and Persuasive Games, Affective Interaction and Future Interfaces. Personally, I found this term to be more intense than the first but offered more variety. This variation resulted in me developing a range of different skills, from being able to create a digital game within GameSalad to designing a sexual health app within Adobe XD.

I found each of term 2's modules interesting for different reasons:

Future interfaces provided me with an in-depth understanding of emerging user interfaces and technologies, such as becoming aware of the increased proliferation of smart devices inside the home. This inspired me to focus my coursework for this module on the impact of technology on elderly individuals within the home as many experts have argued and speculated that this raises many ethical concerns. Specifically, I envisioned 'Dementia cARe Glasses': a pair of multi-sensory augmented reality (AR) glasses that combine augmentation with an artificially intelligent (AI) voice user interface (VUI) and a haptic wristband aimed at improving persons with dementia (PWD) ability to age in place.

During the Human Factors for Digital Health module. I learnt how to gather user requirements, design digital technologies and conduct user-centred evaluation within a health context. In a team of 5, this culminated in me designing, prototyping and testing Dr. Sam - a digital sexual health centre located within the dating app Tinder. I thoroughly enjoyed this and refined my design skills by utilising Adobe XD and Figma.

The Affective Interaction module synergised methodologies from cognitive science and human-computer interaction. Having now completed this module, I now feel confident in my ability to apply methods that inform the design of systems that are aware of, support, and regulate the affective experiences of users of technology. This is because I had first-hand experience designing an artificially intelligent speaker that was informed by theories of emotion.

Over the course of the Serious and Persuasive Games module, I developed an educational mobile and browser-based game called 'Escape from Battery Farm'. The game involves the user playing as a cartoon chicken that must save chickens and escape from a battery farm. It is a platformer whereby the user jumps from platforms situated within a factory. The game is educational by the user receiving facts about battery farming every time they save a chicken. This module was very enjoyable especially as each student had the freedom to make every individual decision about their game.

In the third and final semester, full-time students embark on their research projects. However, this process begins in January, whereby students get the opportunity to talk to researchers within the University College London Interaction Centre (UCLIC) and other departments. Then students usually put this on hold until May which is when they are required to submit a project proposal to their academic supervisor to help them understand how they will orchestrate your research.

I thoroughly enjoyed my research project and gained valuable skills. For instance, I had the opportunity to independently run online co-design workshop sessions which can often play a pivotal role in user experience research. These workshops also helped build my communication skills as I had to manage Microsoft Teams calls with multiple strangers.

The research project is 100% full-time but there is definitely room to work alongside it. I say this confidently as I interned as UX Designer alongside my project. This was the perfect opportunity for me to utilise the skills from the MSc in a real-life workplace.

After the Masters

I have recently completed my internship, currently working on my portfolio and have interviews lined up for UX Design / Research positions.

So...was it worth it?

ABSOLUTELY! My life and career path has been dramatically reshaped (for the better) over the past 12 months. What are you waiting for? Sign up for a masters in HCI today!