HCI

The human side of computing

Understand, shape, and design a more just future with Human Computer Interaction at UC Santa Cruz

Fall 2025 Application Update

We are now accepting applications for the Fall 2025 cohort, and the deadline is February 3, 2025. We are offering fee waivers (limited number) for current undergraduates and alumni of a University of California (including UCSC) or California State University institution. To learn more, please join our first information session for prospective students on November 18th from 7-8 PM PST. Please sign up for the session via Zoom using the link below:

Overview

What are the effects of technology on society? How are people shaping technologies to fit their needs? How do we design technologies that uplift a diverse range of users? Human Computer Interaction (HCI) embraces a multidisciplinary approach incorporating computer science, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and the humanities to thoughtfully design a more equitable future with technologies.

Spread across two campuses – the main residential campus in Santa Cruz and the Silicon Valley campus – and housed in the Computational Media Department at the Baskin School of Engineering at UC Santa Cruz, we are pushing the boundaries of research and education in the field of HCI. Our world-renowned faculty in Computational Media do research in the areas of accessibility, culture, innovative interfaces, personal informatics, play, and social justice. We offer a unique HCI MS professional program in our Silicon Valley Campus which is tightly integrated with industry sponsors, and aimed towards those interested in a professional career with HCI.

Explore HCI at UCSC

UC Santa Cruz’s new Master of Science in Human Computer Interaction is a four-quarter (15 months) program that guides students interested in pursuing a career in the User Experience (UX) profession, such as in product design and UX research. Contact us at hci@ucsc.edu for questions about our HCI MS program.


The field of Human Computer Interaction finds a natural home in the Computational Media Department, where we engage in boundary-pushing research and education that integrates technical, interpretive, and design work to create human-centered media that address complex problems for positive societal impact.

Upcoming events

We host numerous events throughout the year, some on our Silicon Valley Campus, and others on Main Campus. Registration is required for most events.

See all events

Last modified: Oct 11, 2024