Human Centered Technology Design
Transforming Human Experiences Through Technology
Blending creativity, technology, and human insights to design innovative solutions for real-world problems. Students explore emerging technologies such as AI, AR, and VR while gaining hands-on experience in user-centered design, creating tech products that enhance user experiences and address societal needs.
Human-Centered Technology Design
The B.S. in Human-Centered Technology Design (HCTD) is a multidisciplinary program that focuses on the design of creative technologies to improve human experiences. HCTD blends elements from new media, computer science, spatial computing, psychology, communication, and innovation engineering to empower students to investigate artistic and innovative problem-solving approaches using emerging technologies, such as AI, AR, VR, IoT, and autonomous vehicles.
The Human Centered Technology Design degree combines a range of disciplines and theories, including Design Thinking, User Experience, Service Design, Creative Intelligence, Systems Thinking, and Hands-On Learning. It integrates elements from Innovative Engineering, Computer Science, Psychology, Communication, and New Media. Through project-based learning, students engage in a development cycle where students empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test, preparing them to create innovative and user-centric solutions (Illustrated in figure 1).
Our Undergraduate Program
Our Undergraduate Program, in the beginning, focuses on laying a strong foundation on Human-Centered design principles, Core Computing concepts, principles in psychology and communication.
Students in the HCTD program will develop skills in:
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Identifying problems and design opportunities
- Applying design processes emphasizing creativity, inclusive design, and business needs
- Rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing techniques
- Conceptualizing, communicating, and critiquing design ideas effectively by building scenarios and storytelling through well-crafted oral, written, and visual
- Necessary toolkits and methods for design and development, including programming, physical computing, design thinking, human psychology, and experiment designs
Human-Centered Technology Design is an approach to problem solving that puts humans (users) at the center of the design process. The process starts with building deep empathy for those being designed for, and is used to design both physical and digital products. After completing the program, students will have a thorough understanding of how to execute HCTD activities and methods and will have first experience to plan HCTD in a realistic environment. To be able to work in multidisciplinary teams, students are introduced to related topics in various fields, including psychology, computing and information technology, and entrepreneurship. The structure of the curriculum begins with courses with a view to specialization in later terms. Introductory courses provide an overview of human-centered design, followed by in-depth examinations of HCTD activities in the areas of prototyping, user research, usability evaluation, and usability engineering.
Students are introduced to fundamental theories and concepts of human-centered design, including interface design and evaluation, usability and universal design, multimodal interfaces (touch, gesture, natural language), virtual reality, and spatial displays. Exploring and refining desired behaviors and user experience, students learn methods, concepts, and techniques necessary to make human-centered design an integral part of developing effective interactions. User experience and interaction design, grounded in psychology, help students recognize the centrality of people’s needs, and the context of use, frames product opportunities, so that they can skillfully propose useful, usable, and desirable (usually digital) solutions. Such knowledge and skills prepare students for work in active areas of research and development, including bio-inspired design using the human system as a model for good design and for exploring the role of collaborative intelligence in design, smart and connected systems for supporting human interactions and engagement.
The structure of the HCTD program provides consistent support for student success through repeated, progressive research and creative opportunities where students discover or invent effective paths to resolving artistic or analytical challenges that may be complicated by a competitive environment, opposing interests, and divergent or uncertain data and information. As a result, students come to understand not only the technological transformations impacting interaction and communication, but also the technological, social and political changes that underlie the movement toward a digital society, informed by historical and critical perspectives.
The proposed Human-Centered Technology Design program is based on a review of dozens of well-established creative technology and game design programs and a separate review of as many undergraduate educational institutions deploying experiential learning throughout their curricula, integrating problem-based learning (PBL) at institutional, college, program and course levels.
- Students begin the HCTD program with classes that provide hands-on experiences in several areas of HCTD, promoting a DIY-DIWO culture. Experiential learning throughout the curriculum focuses on the open-ended exploration on the expressive and inventive potentials of various emerging technology areas. All coursework supports a ‘maker’ culture and collaboration, working with interdisciplinary groups, cultivating appreciation and practical skills in project-development and management. Throughout the curriculum, students would stay engage by working on projects connected to real-world challenges. These progressive undergraduate research opportunities culminate in either laboratory and/or co-op learning on real-world projects with collaborative partners through programs including the VEMI Lab, Maine Geospatial Institute, Multisensory Interactive Media Lab, and ASAP Media Service, or through off-campus industry opportunities.
- The core curriculum is designed to cover a plethora of basic required skills, including problem-solving, computational thinking, wireframing, rapid prototyping, and communication skills. In addition, students have flexibility to specialize in their identified pathway. These core skills will be essential to prepare students for real world problem solving and work in multidisciplinary teams in the future.
- HCTD students take the introductory Innovation Engineering course through the Foster Center for Innovation, where they begin developing an entrepreneurial mindset and learning the tools that are essential to realizing true and sustainable positive change.
- The academic culture of HCTD must be collaborative, with classes being offered in dedicated spaces emphasizing cooperative exploration. Students have the flexibility to choose projects that align with their interests; faculty would act as coaches, mentors and advisers, providing responsive, contextually informed instruction and helping student teams find the resources they need.
- Students may co-op at on-campus facilities or with companies throughout Maine, working on multi-semester projects in teams or cohorts on real-world research and development with UM research faculty, for the campus, community organizations or industrial partners.
Our Project-Based Learning method further uses a tiered method of mentoring, where advanced-level undergraduates mentor early-year participants and graduate students mentor advanced-level undergraduates. Faculty facilitates mentoring throughout the project continuum. This Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) model is a natural fit for the HCTD program at UM.
Required Courses
HCD Courses (12 credits)
- HCD 101 – Introduction to Human-Centered Design Credits: 3
- HCD 218 – Introduction to User Centered Design Credits: 3
- HCD 251 – Interactive Systems Design and Development Credits: 3
- HCD 318 – Advanced Projects in Human Centered Design Credits: 3
Capstone (6 credits)
- HCD 498 – Capstone I Credits: 3
- HCD 499 – Capstone II Credits: 3
Optional Industry Internship
- HCD 350 – Intership
Communications (6 credits)
- CMJ 107 – Communication and the Environment Credits: 3
- CMJ 370 – Visual Communication Credits: 3
Innovation Engineering (7 credits)
- INV 121 – Fundamentals of Innovation Credits: 3
- INV 282 – Advanced Innovation Skills Credits: 4
English (3 credits)
- ENG 315 – Research Writing in the Disciplines Credits: 3
- or
- ENG 317 – Business and Technical Writing Credits: 3
Psychology (11 credits)
- PSY 241 – Statistics in Psychology Credits: 4
- PSY 245 – Principles of Psychological Research Credits: 4
- And one of the following:
- PSY 350 – Cognition Credits: 3
- PSY 361 – Sensation and Perception Credits: 3
Computer Science (9 credits)
- * COS 121 – Coding for Everyone Credits: 3
- or
- * COS 135 – Applied C Programming Credits: 3
- COS 125 – Introduction to Problem Solving Using Computer Programming Credits: 4
- COS 225 – Object-Oriented Design, Programming and Data Structures Credits: 3
- *one of these is required.
HCTD-Designated Elective Courses (15 credits)
See list at bottom
Required Courses in Suggested Sequence for B.S. in Human-Centered Technology Design
First Year – First Semester (15 Credits)
- CMJ 107 – Communication and the Environment Credits: 3
- COS 121 – Coding for Everyone Credits: 3
- or
- COS 135 – Applied C Programming Credits: 3
- HCD 101 – Explorations in Human Centered Design Credits: 3
- ENG 101 – College Composition Credits: 3
- or
- General Education Course Credits: 3
- General Education course Credits: 3
First Year – Second Semester (16 credits)
- COS 125 – Introduction to Problem Solving Using Computer Programming Credits: 4
- INV 121 – Fundamentals of Innovation Credits: 3
- ENG 101 – College Composition Credits: 3
- or
- General Education course Credits: 3
- General Education course Credits: 3
- Electives Credit: 3
Second Year – First Semester (16 credits)
- COS 225 – Object-Oriented Design, Programming and Data Structures Credits: 3
- HCD 251 – Interactive Systems Design Credits: 3
- PSY 241 – Statistics in Psychology Credits: 4
- General Education course Credits: 3
- General Education course Credits: 3
Second Year – Second Semester (17 credits)
- INV 282 – Advanced Innovation Skills Credits: 4
- HCD 218 – Introduction to User Centered Design Credits: 3
- PSY 245 – Principles of Psychological Research Credits: 4
- HCTD Elective – Credits: 3
- General Education course – Credits: 3
Third Year – First Semester (15 credits)
- CMJ 370 – Visual Communication Credits: 3
- ENG 315 – Research Writing in the Disciplines Credits: 3
- HCD 318 – Advanced Projects in Human Centered Design Credits: 3
- PSY 350 – Cognition Credits: 3
- HCTD Electives Credits: 3
Third Year – Second Semester (15 credits)
- PSY 361 – Sensation and Perception Credits: 3
- HCTD Electives Credits: 6
- Electives Credits: 6
Internship (Variable credits)
Taken between Third and Fourth years
Fourth Year – First Semester (15 credits)
- HCD 498 – Capstone I Credits: 3
- HCTD Elective Credits: 3
- Electives Credits: 9
Fourth Year – Second Semester (15 credits)
- HCD 499 Capstone II Credits: 3
- HCTD Electives Credits: 3
- Electives Credits: 9
HCTD-Designated Elective Courses
Design
- ART 250 – Graphic Design I Credits: 3
- ART 350 – Graphic Design II Credits: 3
- CMJ 202 – Communication Theory Credits: 3
- CMJ 347 – Argument and Critical Thinking Credits: 3
- NMD 342 – Interaction Design and Physical Computing Credits: 3
- NMD 442 – User Experience Design Credits: 3
- SIE 515 – Human Computer Interaction Credits: 3
Emerging Technology
- COS 312 – Video Game Programming Credits: 3
- COS 412 – Advanced Game Programming Credits: 3
- COS 417 – Spatial Interaction Design Credits: 3
- EET 111 – Circuit Analysis I Credits: 4
- EET 274 – Introduction to Microcontrollers Credits: 4
- NMD 342 – Interaction Design and Physical Computing Credits: 3
- NMD 345 – Web Applications Credits: 3
- NMD 445 – Mobile Applications Credits: 3
- SIE 516 – Interactive Technologies for Solving Real-World Problems Credits: 3
Programming
- BIS 235 – Digital Business Transformation Credits: 3
- COS 412 – Advanced Game Programming Credits: 3
- COS 420 – Introduction to Software Engineering Credits: 3
- COS 435 – Information Privacy Engineering Credits: 3
- COS 465 – Data Visualization Credits: 3
- NMD 105 – Creative Coding I Credits: 3
- NMD 211 – Creative Coding II Credits: 3
Entrepreneurship & Innovation
- COS 490 – Computers, Ethics and Society Credits: 3
- INV 471 – Special Topics in Innovation Credits: 3
- INV 480 – Internship in Innovation Credits: 1-6
- NMD 200 – Designing Humane Tech Credits: 3
- NMD 306 – Community Collaboration and Development Credits: 3
UMaine’s advantages
In the HCTD Program at UMaine students will:
- Explore emerging technologies and trends and understand how they may shape the future of Interactive Systems Design and Development.
- Understand the interaction design process (goals, problems, and structure), user interface paradigms, and applications
- Engage in experimentation, leading to further independent research in interactive systems design.
- Emphasizes hands-on learning with a variety of application design and prototyping
- Emphasizes a student-centric creative learning environment and experience by creating a balanced design and technology
Why Study HCTD at UMaine?
The study of human factors and human- centered design is becoming an increasingly critical field of education as consumer demand for new technologies and gadgets continues to grow.
After the completion of the HCTD degree at the University of Maine, students can look forward to careers in industry, government, and education. Following are several job opportunities for HCTD graduates: User Experience (UX) Designer, Usability Engineer, User Interface (UI) Developer, Game Designer, UX/UI Researcher, Design Researcher, Application Developer, Information Architect, Instructional Designer, Mobile Application Developer, Product Designer, Systems Analyst, and Web Application Developer.
Human-Computer Interaction Minor
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is a multidisciplinary field that aims to enhance the interaction between humans (users) and computing technologies. HCI primarily focuses on designing, creating, and improving interfaces and interactions between people and computers. It studies how humans interact with technology and how they make decisions by conceptualizing, prototyping, and evaluating computer-based systems to enhance user experience. HCI has roots in computing, design, and cognitive sciences, spanning over 50 years. It has emerged as a dynamic area of study that merges concepts and methodologies from human factors and ergonomics, information sciences, sociology, and industrial and product design with the technical concerns of computing and engineering product development. In today’s world, where computing devices are pervasive, and consumer technologies are advancing rapidly, HCI is a key discipline that emphasizes making computing technologies more user-friendly.
Key concepts, Skills, and Methods:
- Design concepts, processes, and HCI toolkits
- Develop problem-solving skills for creating effective HCI environments
- Perform fieldwork to understand user needs and the influence of context
- Learning about how to conduct user-centered, participatory, and inclusive design
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Critiquing design ideas effectively by building scenarios and iterative refinement of designs
- Implementation of interactive prototypes
- Rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing techniques
- Evaluation techniques, including empirical evaluation methods
Benefits of the Minor:
- An interdisciplinary minor that prepares students to conceptualize, design, and develop solutions for complex problems
- Expose students to creative and innovative problem-solving and entrepreneurial activities
- Increase knowledge base beyond common core and enhance current degree focus
- Introduce students to cutting-edge design methods and technology
- Teach job-ready UI and UX design skills
Minimum number of credits required to earn minor: 21
GPA requirements to earn minor: : Students graduating with a minor in a CLAS field must earn a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better in the courses in the minor field that are credited toward completion of the minor.
Minimum Grade requirements for courses to count toward minor: C-
Other requirements: A minimum of 9 credit hours must be completed at the University of Maine. (acceptance of transfer credits is determined on a case by case basis)
Contact Information: Velma Figgins, School of Computing and Information Science, 348 Boardman Hall, (207) 581-4358, vfiggins@maine.edu
Required courses (9-10 credits)
- HCD 101 – Introduction to Human-Centered Design Credits: 3
- HCD 218 – User Interface and User Experience Design Credits: 3
- HCD 251 – Interactive Systems Design and Development Credits: 3
- COS 121 – Coding for Everyone Credits: 3
- or
- COS 125 – Introduction to Problem Solving Using Computer Programming Credits: 4
- or
- NMD 105 – Creative Coding I Credits: 3
Four or more of the following courses (minimum of 12 credits)
- COS 312 – Video Game Programming Credits: 3
- COS 412 – Advanced Game Programming Credits: 3
- COS 417 – Spatial Interaction Design Credits: 3
- EET 274 – Introduction to Microcontrollers Credits: 4
- INV 121 – Fundamentals of Innovation Credits: 3
- NMD 342 – Interaction Design and Physical Computing Credits: 3
- NMD 345 – Web Applications Credits: 3
- NMD 442 – User Experience Design Credits: 3
- NMD 445 – Mobile Applications Credits: 3
- PSY 245 – Principles of Psychological Research Credits: 4
- PSY 350 – Cognition Credits: 3
- PSY 361 – Sensation and Perception Credits: 3
- SIE 515 – Human Computer Interaction Credits: 3
- SIE 516 – Interactive Technologies for Solving Real-World Problems Credits: 3
MCEC NEWS
SCIS Contact Information
School of Computing & Information Science
Karen Kidder
Administrative Support Supervisor – School of Computing & Information Science
Velma Figgins
Administrative Specialist, New Media – School of Computing & Information Science
5711 Boardman Hall
Room 348
Orono, ME 04469
Tel: 207.581.2188