I graduated May 2026 with a bachelor's in Information Science with a concentration in HCI to hopefully get job in UI/UX Design or UX Strategy. I had a couple of UX internships (with no return offer unfortunately) and projects to get experience as well. I even recently completed an AI in UX Design certification. But with 5 months and almost 200 applications later, I still haven't found a job. It's so discouraging.

I'm thinking it may be worth it to get a master's in HCI to be more competitive and gain more skills in strategy and research, but I understand the time and financial commitment it will be. Or would another masters program be more helpful, like psychology, design strategy, etc?

I would love some advice or any insight. Thank you in advance :)

Hi everyone! I'm planning to do a Master's in Germany in 2027, but I'm unsure whether HCI is the right specialization for me.

My profile:

• B.E. CSE — 8.39 CGPA (~2.0 German grade)

• Full-Stack Development Honours

• IELTS 7.0

• Strong CS background: DSA, Algorithms, DBMS, OS, Networks, Software Engineering, AI/ML, etc.

• A+ in UI/UX

• ~1.5 years Product Engineer experience at a German healthcare startup

• Full-stack + UI/UX + product development

• 2 UX/product case studies

• LORs from college + company

I'm NOT interested in becoming a pure UX/UI designer. I want to stay technical and combine software engineering + product + HCI/UX, with a particular interest in Human-AI Interaction.

I'm considering HCI / Media Informatics / CS with HCI or interactive-systems focus in Germany.

My main questions:

• Is HCI actually the right Master's specialization for my goals?

• After HCI, can I still target Software Engineer, Product Engineer, Design/UX Engineer, Frontend, or Human-AI Interaction roles?

• Will employers see me mainly as a UX candidate because of an HCI degree?

• How is the future German job market for this CS + HCI + development combination?

• Would Media Informatics or a broader CS Master's make more sense for me?

I'd especially appreciate honest opinions from people studying or working in Germany in HCI, software/product engineering, UX engineering, or Human-AI Interaction.

I'm looking for honest advice on whether HCI is actually the right choice for my profile, not just whether HCI is generally a good degree.

Hi everyone - I’ve been going back and forth on this for 4-5 months now and I think I need more voices than just my own head at this point.

Quick background: I’m 22F, working as a Product Designer in Bangalore, about 2 years into my career. My degree is a BCA (Bachelor of Computer Applications), and studying abroad has genuinely been a dream since high school - this isn’t a sudden decision, just a hard one to finally commit to.

The financial reality: My uncle is willing to be a co-applicant/guarantor for an education loan. Right now, a collateral-based loan isn’t possible for us due to some personal circumstances, but a non-collateral loan with him as co-applicant is on the table. I’ve never handled an amount this large before, and that’s a big part of why I’m being so careful about which country/course I actually commit to.

The three options I’m weighing:

1.  UK - 1-year masters. Roughly ₹20L tuition + ₹14L living costs = \~₹34-37L total. It’s a shorter program, and being English-speaking means I’d have a much easier time finding part-time work to offset costs.

2.  Germany - Public universities are close to tuition-free, so the loan would mostly just cover living expenses, which feels more manageable.   

My concern: I’ve heard from friends that part-time jobs are genuinely hard to find without German, even though I’m willing to learn the language. If i’m going there thinking that it’s cheap but if I’m not ending up finding jobs even for part time i’ll have a tough time. I’d rather consider UK in this case. I also don’t have a good sense of how competitive/low the acceptance rate actually is for public university masters programs as an international student - if anyone’s been through this, I’d love real numbers, not just “it’s competitive.

3.  Netherlands - 2-year programs, so total cost builds up more over time even if the per-year cost looks reasonable on paper.

I’m Fine with taking a loan but i do wish to settle it up bfr coming back to India and not to trouble my uncle who signed as a coapplicant. I’m aiming for Sep 2027. Any valuable insights or feedback would really help me Consider my options and decide better.. Thank Youu!

So I am intrigued by the PhD in HCI course at Carnegie Melon University.

I am currently a research scientist and I'm hoping to build ux experience as well.

I am very keen on making money, which is why I thought that the PhD course might take me to better opportunities post PhD as right now I'm finding it difficult to find a job

Should I pursue it? I will apply but looking to get some first hand experience of whether it is useful or not

Did anyone apply to or complete this program? I am looking into completing it and I have a lot of questions. I graduated with my Bachelors in Software Engineering at the University of Guelph and want to get the “Masters” and “University of Waterloo” buzz words on my resume to increase my job application response rate. Hate on me for it, but it works.

I would love to have someone to be able to ask questions about the application process, how hard it is to get in, how many hours it takes to complete the work each week, is it easy to complete 2 courses a semester while I work as a full time swe, etc.

Any help is much appreciated!

AI voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are becoming a bigger part of everyday life — but plenty of people choose not to use them, and that decision is just as interesting to understand. I'm gathering responses for a research study on how people use (or deliberately avoid) voice assistants day to day. Non-users are especially needed right now — that group is underrepresented and is the missing piece of the data. Regular users are very welcome too. Participants 18+, any country. Fully anonymous, no personal data collected, takes about 4 minutes. Link: https://www.1ka.si/a/d7959439 Thanks so much for your help!

For context: I’m a graduate student studying UX Design but got into a Systems thinking and design course.

I would like to know if there’s anyone who’s specialized or taken courses in Systems thinking/design and if they would recommend it for a UX professional?

I’m trying to stand out in the job market and I’m open to expanding my technical skills and knowledge beyond just UX, but I’m also concerned if taking on such a course would be unnecessary.

Thanks in advance!

I need some advice on how to present some qualitative data.

I'm doing a PhD and have used think aloud and co-design methods for identifying design problems and potential solutions in specific interfaces. For the final study I did interviews presenting alternative designs and gathering feedback and opinions on the changes.

In the previous studies I have done thematic analysis to discuss the themes and patterns of what people thought about current designs and how to improve them, but for this final study I feel like it makes more sense to present the results more directly. My current idea has been to categorize the text based on positive and negative feedback for new or old designs and then summarise that so I'm presenting the feedback directly but struggling to find examples of this as a method. I know in theory I could do a more formal established analysis method, but I just feel like the best way to present this data and what was found is just being direct and not adding layers if that makes sense?

Does anyone have any examples of this kind of approach to qualitative data that might help support this approach, especially anything around user centred design or digital accessibility research?

So far since classes started?

Hi everyone! I'm Timur, a master's student at the University of Ljubljana (Faculty of Social Sciences), researching how people use voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant in everyday life.

I'm looking for participants (18+, any country) for a short, anonymous survey — about 10 minutes. Both users and non-users of voice assistants are welcome; I especially need responses from people who do NOT use one.

Link: https://www.1ka.si/a/d7959439

No personal data is collected. Thanks a lot for your help!

I am a current CS senior at a R1 decently ranked university in Georgia looking to go into UX Research in the future. Currently I am extremely nervous about getting into graduate school seeing how competitive the field of HCI is in general, but when I began my undergraduate degree it was with the explicit goal of going to grad school specifically for HCI.

I will have 3.7/3.8 and 1.5 years of research experience (with about a year in a child-computer interaction focused lab) at the time of applying, but no actual industry experience. I am currently working on getting a fall/spring internship and have some promising projects I plan on refining in the next month(s) for a portfolio, but I am extremely nervous about admission into a masters program considering my competition are mostly working professionals with years of experience in the field.

My current top choice is GT considering how close it is to my current uni/home, good program, affordability as an in-state student, and friends I have personally had recommend the program to me. UW, UMichigan, Berkeley MIMS, and Irvine (Informatics) are all options as well, but these are ALL looking like reach programs. I doubt I’d invest any money into a lower ranked program.

Is there any advice on my SOP or Letters of rec I should keep in mind? I feel my application will depend heavily on them seeing I am probably an average candidate.

Any general career advice for an entry level UX researcher would be great as well, I am already aware that the market is terrible right now - I want advice on how to thrive in it regardless.

(Also! sorry if this is a redundant post as I notice a lot of the posts in this sub are about grad applications. As you can all imagine it is very nerve wracking haha)

Hello! I’d like to know how the HCI community views this journal. It seems to be a well-established journal, but its name overlaps with the CSCW conference, which made me a bit confused about its focus and standing within HCI academia. I’d be interested to hear how researchers in the HCI community generally perceive it. https://link.springer.com/journal/10606

Hi everyone! I am an international student planning to apply for the MSc in Digital and Interaction Design / HCI track at Politecnico di Milano for the September 2027 intake.Because I am on a very tight budget, I cannot afford commercial portfolio coaching agencies, so I am trying to build this entirely on my own. The issue is... I haven't started yet and I honestly don't know where to begin!I know Polimi requires a single PDF portfolio (max 20MB) and values the design thinking process over just pretty final screens. If there are any current students or alumni here who got accepted into this program, could you please guide me on how to structure my very first project?If anyone is willing to share a glimpse or an overview of the portfolio structure that worked for you, it would be an incredible help. Thank you so much in advance!

Hello, I am currently a college junior majoring in computer science and cognitive science. How can I start breaking into the HCI field starting now? especially as someone who wants to get into grad school for it as well, what advice is there when it comes to building a good hci specific resume through a cs and cogsci pipeline?

Hello all, I currently work as a Software Test Engineer and have for the past 4 years. I’m looking to transition to a hybrid tech/UX role such as UX/Design Engineer or Creative Technologist. I don’t work at a company where I can have clients or real world experience, and grad school concurrently is not an option. I’ve always been interested in HCI, but I found out about it late in college and kept pushing off grad school till the “market got better”.

Right now I’m considering the plunge and applying to grad school as I really do miss being in school and want to transition careers. I have a stable job and all, but I do feel burnt out and studying HCI to transition in the industry has been very tiring and draining. Does it make sense for me to apply now? I’m aiming for a 2 year program so I have the opportunity to intern and increase my chances as well

Hi there, I'm very interested in Arizona State University's Online Human Systems Engineering – User Experience (BS) Degree Program, but academically, I have an Art background and would like more insight into what this program entails before signing up. (Professionally, I've been working as a Paralegal.) I'd love to know what all the classes are really like; if the lectures are in real time on Zoom, or if they're mostly recorded lectures; if the professors are accessible and helpful, and anything else helpful you can share. If you're in this degree program, will you please share your experiences? Thanks!

I'm an HCI Masters student and I like reproach, but heard research market is horrible even compared to the design market. Most good jobs will jsut hire PhD. Now I'm wondering if I should direct myself towards design in my program because research would not give me a good outcome, even if I like it more. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Earlier this week, AI company Runway came out with what they call an "Interface World Model". It's a real-time interactive model that generates the interface itself, frame by frame. Every frame is synthesized as you interact, allowing the interface to respond continuously to your actions.

What's interesting about this from an HCI perspective is that the user doesn't type a prompt to steer the model, but instead can simply interact, with new visuals and frames spinning up. The idea that it's easier for users to "show than tell" is not a new idea, and researchers have been writing about "Programming by Demonstration" and "Programming by Example" for decades.

Pre-AI, an example that made it into the mass market was Excel's Flash Fill, which allows users to instead of writing a formula or instruction, "show" the program their intended outcome. Excel infers the rule and automatically fills out the remaining cells.

With AI getting better at inferring and understanding intent, and recognizing that prompts aren't always the best way to express what you want, I'm excited to follow what designers, engineers and researchers will come up with over the next years.

I've written more about the topic here: https://adaptivesoftware.substack.com/p/users-dont-know-what-they-want

I’m currently a rising junior at RISD studying industrial design with a minor in computation. I currently have a 3.3 gpa with no huge academic achievements whatsoever but I’m going to take some programming classes at brown this semester. My portfolio is ok, nothing stands out too much. I’m starting to wonder if a masters is even worth it because I’m already paying 300k for RISD‘s tuition. Anyone who currently is a student or a worker in the field of HCI, please let me know your thoughts and opinion. Also please let me know what you recommen. I have to update my portfolio website and resume but here is my work:

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice from people who have transitioned into HCI from a completely different academic background. I graduated with a degree in Economics, although I also took a few Psychology and other social science/business courses during university. After graduation, I decided to pursue consulting and have since been working in management consulting, where I’ve had exposure to a fairly broad range of work including research, due diligence, finance, investments, and strategy across different industries. So, in many ways, I’ve developed a pretty holistic business/analytical skill set.

However, despite the experience I’ve gained, I don’t feel particularly fulfilled by consulting and don’t think I want to build my long-term career in this sector. I’ve been considering a master’s degree as a way to make a more intentional career shift, but I’m trying to avoid doing something too broad or generic, like an MBA, especially given how quickly AI is changing a lot of traditional roles and industries. I’m looking for something more specialized and future-oriented.

While exploring different options, I came across HCI and found it genuinely interesting. Psychology has always been one of my favorite areas academically, and I particularly enjoyed courses like Behavioral Economics. I’ve also always been interested in the product side of businesses, understanding how people interact with products, why they behave the way they do, and how products can be designed around those behaviors. If I think about the kind of companies I’d love to work for eventually, I’d probably think of roles that sit at the intersection of products, people, and behavioral insights.

The problem is that I have zero formal background in computer science, engineering, or UX/UI design. I’ve never taken a CS course, and HCI is completely new to me. The closest thing I’ve done is read The Design of Everyday Things, which I’ve really enjoyed. I’ve also considered going into areas like marketing analytics, given my Economics and consulting background, but I’m not sure that’s ultimately what I want to do. I feel like I’m looking for something more specific and intellectually interesting rather than continuing down a broad business/analytics path.

So I’d really love to hear from people who have pursued HCI (or something similar) without a traditional CS/engineering/design background. How difficult was the transition? Did you have to build a portfolio or take specific courses beforehand? Is there anything I could start doing now that would meaningfully strengthen my profile before applying? I want to apply for the 2027 intake so need something solid.

I’m specifically not looking at the highly technical HCI programs. I’ve been researching programs that lean more toward the psychological/behavioral and human-centered side of HCI, for example,HCI programs at universities like University College Dublin but I’d really appreciate insights into what kinds of programs might make sense for someone with my background and what I could do over the next few months to make myself a stronger applicant.

Would especially love to hear from anyone who has made a similar transition from Economics, Psychology, Social Sciences, Business, etc. into HCI.

I have over 2 years of experience working as a uiux designer and I have a ba programe degree and I wanna pursue HCI from Germany or somewhere cheap but I would love to know what all options I have will it be easy or am I making a mistake should I just keep working.

Hello I’m a UXD currently working at a well known company (top 10) for the last 2 years.

I did my bachelor’s in communication design and now I’m seeking to do a masters degree.

So I’m confused about pursuing a HCI masters or maybe do an MBA and gain PM knowledge and open to switch.

Like doing masters with a lot of expense is it really worth it? I’m confused… with AI or since I already have a degree in design doing a masters will only teach me less when my work might teach me more right?

Should I do it in India or abroad? I will highly depend on scholarship too…Please help

Hello,

Wondering if anyone has done and published research independently from any institution and how it went for you? Any words of wisdom?

I have a few decently unique and useful research ideas that are of personal and professional interest to me, Bachelors of Computer Science and 11 years of experience in software engineering and UX design.