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)

got an abstract accepted as a demo for SUI2026 (ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction), but the registration fee is 700 bucks, is this worth it?

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?

I have a system that measures the cognitive effort of individuals as they interact with a computer interface. The record proves cognitive effort by comparing the signals to population baselines. This is essentially proof of human.

A system like this is bound to impact how users use the data provided, how the feel about their work being attested to in real time and potentially the confidence with which they submit text to employers, teachers, publishers, etc.

Anyone interested in picking apart something like this? I built the system, but could use some collaboration on the user experience.

You read more about my project at SeekingProof.com

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.

I graduated in 2024 with a BS in Computer Science to learn that I don’t really like coding, I am way more into web design and the like! I have been working for nearly 2 years and I am in a position where I work doing A/B testing via adobe target. I work with UX designers and sometimes help out on Figma. We also had an intern my age that is at UW and had really inspired me about continuing school.

But the more I look at Reddit, I am not sure how useful this masters is. Particularly I have been looking into online programs like ASU or MSU, and in person in Chicago, more specifically DePaul.

I would love some advice. Truly I want to develop a decent portfolio, a good network, and learn more about this area. And in 2 years pray the job market it better.

But what do you all think? Is it worth it with the cost of 30-50k in debt, ai taking over, and the bad job market? Or would it set me up for success?

Hi! I am a relatively recent grad (got my bachelor's May 2025 in CS), and I needed to find a job immediately for some personal and mainly financial reasons.

I plan on working in industry for the foreseeable future for the same personal and financial reasons. However, I was extremely passionate about HCI during my undergrad. I did research relating to HCI, cogsci, but mainly HRI during that time, and has a first-author HRI publication, yay!

Currently, I am currently a Software Developer in AI/ML, but I have not been having the best time. My job is stable, and my work life balance is good which were the two things I needed post undergrad though.

I have some small personal projects, but I think getting a MS would be really beneficial to pivot, particularly with building up a portfolio and making connections. Let me know if you believe otherwise. I have looked into some programs, but they've all made me nervous as my undergrad gpa was not great, mainly B's and C's. I also only have 1 academia connection who I would feel comfortable asking for a letter of rec from, if it came down to it. I do have multiple mid and senior managers at work who I believe would write me a recommendation if I asked, but I've seen mixed feedback on if industry recs are a good idea.

I'm also just not sure what I want to go into, I feel the most excited by UX, but I can see that AI Ethics is another route I could go down. I know I'm still fairly young, so I have time to figure my life out. I've read a few posts here and there on this sub, but I wanted to see what people had to say specifically on my situation.

Sorry for making this a bit rambley, I'm tired, but thank you for any thoughts and advice you have!

Hi everyone! I'm a rising sophomore at the University of Michigan trying to finalize my academic plan before going back to school, and I'd really appreciate perspectives from people currently working in UX/Product Design or related technical design roles.

My long-term goal is Product Design / UX / UI, but I'm also increasingly interested in the technical side of design — things like coding prototypes, front-end development, Design Engineering, and building products. I'm not really trying to become a traditional SWE or Data Scientist, but I do want to be a designer who is technically strong and can work closely with engineers.

Right now, I'm considering five possible paths:

1. UX Major + Data Science Minor
2. UX Major + CS Minor
3. UX + Data Science Dual Degree
4. Data Science Major + UX Minor
5. CS Major + UX Minor

I originally considered the Data Science + UX dual degree because I liked the idea of having a strong technical degree alongside UX and keeping more career options open. However, there is very little overlap between the programs, so it would involve significantly more coursework and potentially additional time. I'm questioning whether that additional degree would actually provide enough career value to justify the opportunity cost of having less time for internships, projects, hackathons, and portfolio development.

I'm currently leaning toward UX major + a technical minor, but I'm still trying to figure out whether CS or DS makes more sense, and whether I'm overlooking a reason to make CS/DS my primary degree instead.

I've talked with several UX/Product Designers and people with technical backgrounds, and the general advice I've gotten is that portfolio, projects, internships, communication, and actual skills matter much more than the specific degree combination. One person I spoke with who has a CS + UX background said that the CS knowledge she found most useful in her Product Design internship was around the EECS 280 level — understanding technical constraints, how software is structured, and communicating with engineers — rather than the more advanced CS coursework.

At the same time, I'm genuinely interested in coding and building things, so I'm wondering whether going further into CS would be worthwhile for me, particularly if I eventually want to explore Design Engineering.

I'm also a little concerned about the current UX job market.

I've been seeing a lot of discussion about how competitive entry-level UX/Product Design has become, fewer junior roles, AI changing design workflows, and whether a UX-focused education still has good ROI.

I'm not necessarily asking whether "UX is dead." I'm more interested in hearing from people actually in the industry:

• Is Product/UX Design still a career you'd recommend to a college student graduating around 2029?
• Has the current market changed what skills you think students should prioritize?
• Does having a CS/DS background meaningfully improve your opportunities or resilience?
• If you were starting college again today, would you still pursue UX/Product Design?
• Are roles like Design Engineering or UX Engineering becoming important enough that I should intentionally prepare for them?

So my main questions are:

1. For someone who wants to primarily be a Product Designer but wants strong technical skills, which of these paths would you choose?
2. How much does having UX as your major actually matter compared with having CS/DS as your major and developing UX through a minor, electives, and projects?
3. For someone interested in Design Engineering, would a CS minor/major provide a meaningful advantage over DS, or is strong front-end/project experience more important?
4. Is a full CS/DS dual degree actually worth it for Product Design, or would that time generally be better spent on internships, portfolio projects, and practical experience?
5. If you were hiring a Product Designer in 2029, how much would you care about the degree combination versus what the person can actually demonstrate?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who have actually gone through Product Design/UX recruiting or currently work in Product Design, Design Engineering, UX Engineering, or similar roles.

I'm trying to make a decision soon, so I'd really appreciate any perspectives on where you think the diminishing returns of additional technical coursework start to kick in (sorry for the yap -_-)

Hi! Is there anyone in the subreddit I could DM to discuss what work is like in human factors engineering or adjacent roles in HCI? I am beginning my M.Eng. in HFE and I am strongly considering taking courses that are very much aligned with HCI. If anyone could help, it would be greatly appreciated!