Re: Graduate Programs in Interaction Design?

I think it depends a lot on what you want to learn.

As my career has unfolded over the past 20+ years, the role of an  
interaction designer or user experience designer has changed. From my  
perspective, I have had the most impact when I'm involved early on in  
the product vision and definition and then see the product through to  
execution. The current momentum with "design thinking" and "design  
strategy" seems to be where the field is heading and is at the  
"cutting edge" of some of the newer programs in the Bay Area.

Notably, there's a lot of activity in redefining/rethinking design  
education at the California College of Art (CCA) in San Francisco.

The graduate program in Design is a transdisciplinary program led by  
Brenda Laurel. Students generally enter with a background in visual  
design, industrial design, or interaction design. The curriculum is  
highly interdisciplinary but a thesis project tends to focus in the  
area of the student's core competence. The design research class is  
particularly strong. By including students from different backgrounds,  
the "studio classes" mirror the way a design firm works. But like a  
design firm, you are missing the interaction and opportunities to  
collaborate with a more engineering-centered group of colleagues. In  
the interest of full disclosure, I'm on the "Pro Council" for this  
program, which is a group of advisors engaged in the professional  
practice of design.

Also at CCA is the relatively new MBA in Design Strategy led by Nathan  
Shedroff. In addition, there is a certificate program called "Leading  
By Design Fellows Program" intended for senior managers who want to  
innovate within their companies using design. This may be too far  
afield from straight up interaction design and user experience design.

CCA is also starting a new undergraduate program in interaction  
design. I believe the program is accepting applications now for the  
fall of 2011. That will be the first year that students will be  
entering the program. This program is being led by Kristian Simsarian.

The d.school at Stanford and the iSchool at Berkeley also offer  
interesting options. The "go to" person for interaction design at UC  
Berkeley iSchool is Kimiko Ryokai. She has her PhD from the MIT Media  
Lab, worked at IDEO for several years, and then went into academia.

The d.school offers the most "real world" simulation of working in and  
around Silicon Valley as it brings together business (MBA program)  
design (The Stanford Design Program) and engineering (department of  
Computer Science). The challenge with the d.school is that a student  
must apply to one of the aforementioned departments. You don't  
actually apply to the d.school. I've heard that some people with  
interaction design backgrounds find it hard to fit into one of the  
three "feeder" departments. They are bit like Goldie Locks--not quite  
technie enough for computer science, not quite design-y enough for the  
design program, etc.

Hope this helps,
Abbe


On Jan 5, 2011, at 10:49 PM, Meghan Ede wrote:

> Off the top of my head:
> UC Berkely "iSchool" (was Library Science) - very good
> San Jose State HCI program - not so good
> Stanford has something
>
> I've had good success hiring user researchers who've completed:
>
> Human Factors International Certificate program (2 weeks?)
>
> Meghan Ede
>
>
> --- On Wed, 1/5/11, Sophie Henry <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> From: Sophie Henry <[email protected]>
>> Subject: RE: [BayCHI Discussions] Graduate Programs in Interaction   
>> Design?
>> To: [email protected]
>> Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2011, 9:51 PM
>> I am interested to hear what members
>> of the list have to say on this. I have
>> been asked that question a few times by friends or
>> colleagues, but
>> unfortunately I do not know Bay Area programs well enough
>> to feel confident
>> in my recommendations.
>>
>> Thanks
>> Sophie
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [email protected]
>> [mailto:[email protected]]
>> On
>> Behalf Of [email protected]
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 1:06 PM
>> To: [email protected]
>> Subject: [BayCHI Discussions] Graduate Programs in
>> Interaction Design?
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I'm exploring further education in Interaction Design or
>> User Experience
>> Design and am looking for graduate programs in the bay
>> area.  Any references
>> or personal experience with individual programs would be
>> most helpful.
>> While I've heard of a school that offer degrees, their
>> focus isn't always on
>> interface design, and I've been trying find more detailed
>> sources.
>> Alternately, are their any other resources out there that
>> people might be
>> able to recommend regarding ID/UX education?
>>
>> Please feel free to contact me directly and I'm happy to
>> share what I find
>> with the broader group.  My apologies if this is a
>> repeat question as I'm
>> new to this list.
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> dana.
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