The miLAB (Media Innovation Lab) and ARL (Advanced Reality Lab) at the School of Communications are offering a new and unique MA degree in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), which is first-of its-kind in Israel. Similar to leading programs in top universities in the US and Europe, MA in HCI is a transformative degree, providing students the methodologies and skills required to lead user-centered products in technology companies, interactive experiences in design companies, and cutting-edge research in academic and industry innovation labs.
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MA Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
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Thesis
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FacultyAbout the Program
- The program's goal is to provide students with practical research and design methodologies so that they can become experts in user-centered design and product innovation in technology companies.
- Potential career paths include User research, Interaction design, UX/UI, Product innovation, and a range of emerging roles that require understanding of user needs and the ability to lead new products to fulfill those needs.
- Students will create a wide range of creative projects in a "learning by doing" approach. Examples of potential student projects: evaluation of voice interfaces for smart home assistants, UX design for AI products such as conversation agents, IoT for children smart toys, VR for rehabilitation, wearable technology for sports. Students select a desired area of focus, accompanied by academic or industry mentors.
- Courses include theory, practical methodology, creative prototyping, research projects, practicum, final project, and advanced electives.
Program Highlights
- The length of the program is 12-16 months (three or four semesters, depending on the choice of courses), in English, designed for students and working professionals.
- Studies are 2 days a week: Wednesdays 13:45-22:00 and Fridays 8:45-12:45. Students who wish to invest more time in their studies, can use the lab's prototyping workshops on additional days with no extra charge.
- Project-based learning in research labs and design workshops, including creative prototyping with code, sensors, 3D printing, UX design and more.
- Students will master core methodologies: User-centered product innovation and Service design | UX/UI design and user research | Interaction design and technology prototyping | Research of Human-Computer Interaction.
- Practical experience in startups such as Snapchat, Amazon, Designit, Elbit, Microsoft, El Al , and in innovative industry and international academic research laboratories: MIT Media Lab, Stanford, Cornell, CMU.
- Selected projects with industry partners include: Snapchat: a novel storytelling experience using AR, Amazon: user research for Alexa related voice interaction, Designit: novel in-flight experiences for El Al Israeli Airlines, using service design methodologies, Elbit: user research and novel prototyping for flight simulators and Microsoft: advanced interaction techniques with the Advanced Technology Labs (ATL) Israel.
What Are You Going to Study?
Students must complete short online preparatory courses before the program begins. Students can access the courses online during the summer, at their convenience, at no extra charge. Students who are interested in additional support can join the scheduled on-campus office hours. The preparatory courses are:
This preparatory course provides an introduction to basic concepts in the field of computer software, coding in a web-based IDE called P5, the Javascript language, and the process of debugging and creating a simple project. The purpose of the course is to prepare students towards the technical courses in the program. The basic CS concepts covered are: procedural thinking, flow charts, algorithmic thinking, flow chart of simple algorithms, computer memory, types of variables, input, output, conditional branching, types of loops. The basic coding skills covered are: what is an IDE, setting up a workspace, starting a new project, defining key variables, reading input from keyboard and mouse, setting output via screen/graphics, using the default library, using additional libraries, compiling, debugging, writing comments, searching documentation, using the console view. The specific Javascript code primitives learned are: variables, console.log (debugging), If loop, For loop, While loop, functions, setup loop, draw loop, line, rect, ellipse, mouseX, mouseY, keyCode, keyPressed.
Research methods are essential tools for interaction researchers. The mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods is a highly useful technique both in the industry (UX researchers) and academia (HCI researchers). In this course, we provide a basic introduction for students with no previous background in research methods. Students will gain a basic understanding of the different aspects that should be considered when designing new research.
Dr. Noa Morag
Technology shapes every aspect of the human experience and is the primary driver of social, cultural and ecological change. This course will allow students to be immersed in urging ethical challenges around leading technologies of today such as Biometric, Bio Technology, Online marketing, Robotics, Autonomous cars, AI, Voice interfaces and more. The goal of the course is to apply ethical concepts onto actual use cases. We will also host guest lectures during the semester where applicable.
Dr. Hadas Erel
This course provides a review of descriptive and inferential statistics and how these techniques are used with research methods appropriate for UX. Students will become familiar with various methods for data analysis, designing experiments, and evaluating different aspects of UX designs.
Prof. Oren Zuckerman
Foundation course. Theory. 2 academic units. A fast-paced lecture series. Students will read, present, and critically discuss seminal and recent research papers in HCI. Topics include: Human-Centered Computing, The Three Waves of HCI, Tangible User Interfaces, Human-Robot Interaction, Spatial Computing (VR and AR), Speculative Design, AI and Human-Centered Machine Learning.
Dr. Jacob Greenshpan
Foundation course. Applied Methodology. 3 academic units.
Practical research methods for UX/UI researchers, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate how people use new technological products/prototypes.Methodologies include:
• Interviews
• Observations
• Thematic coding
• Low fidelity
• User testing
• Think aloud
• Wizard of oz testing
• Data analysis techniques
• Applied statistics
• Various experimental design approachesDr. Hadas Erel
Foundation course. Theory. 2 academic units.
Cognitive psychology unit: how people perceive and interact with digital products, including principles of human memory, perception, and decision making.
Social psychology unit: the underlying psychological processes of social interaction, including the social self, non-verbal communication, interpersonal relationship, motivation and persuasion, and group dynamics.
Mr. Zvika Markfeld
Foundation course. Prototyping Skills. 2 academic units. This course introduces coding as an expressive prototyping tool, using the P5.js programming language, based on Java Script. Through a set of small projects, students will explore computation as a medium for curiosity-driven experimentation. They'll do this by computationally manipulating shapes, textures, movement, reactivity, connectivity and feedback. Students will challenge themselves based on their level of technical knowledge. More experienced students will be expected to present more advanced projects.
Dr. Jonathan Giron
Foundation course. Prototyping Skills. 2 academic units. VR, AR, and MR all leverage 3D modeling as the basic prototyping tool. Students will work on several creative projects, learning how to develop simple immersive experiences using the Unity 3D authoring platform. Topics include: 3D modeling, content creation, and scripting object behavior for interactive VR and AR experiences.
Mr. Zvika Markfeld
Foundation course. Prototyping Skills. 3 academic units. Through a series of small projects with Arduino, boards students will prototype simple Ubiquitous Computing and IoT experiences that sense events in the physical world, leverage cloud computing for simple data analysis, and generate user feedback using movement, light, or sound.
Research Seminars Select 1 of the 3
Dr. Hadas Erel & Mr. Benny Megidish
This seminar provides both theoretical overview and hands-on experience with autonomous expressive objects. Building on the foundation courses, students will design and implement a new expressive object or expressive material and will evaluate it in a user study using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Seminar topics include: non-humanoid robot design, animation principles for gesture design, behavioral principles for human-robot interaction, and more. During the seminar students will read and analyze recent HCI papers related to non-humanoid robots, social robots, expressive objects, and shape-change materials. The seminar is relevant for students from all backgrounds. Students that wish to design and build a novel new robotic object can do so, and students who prefer to use an existing object/technology as their subject of study can do so as well.
Prof. Oren Zuckerman & Mr. Asaf Barzilay
This seminar will provide both theoretical overview and hand-on experience of Mobile HCI, the academic discipline that studies interaction with mobile devices. In addition, this seminar will cover UX and Product methodologies, including user research, need finding, competitive analysis, concept design, customer journey mapping, iterative prototyping using Figma and Framer, intensive and iterative user testing including A/B testing in academic standards, data collection, data analysis, and insights definition.
Topics include academic literature review, market research and competitive analysis, qualitative user research techniques (interview, journey, observations), need definition and need validation, research question definition with special focus on mobile interaction technique, iterative design of a mobile prototype using Figma, Framer, or custom JS/React, pilot studies to justify design decisions, experimental design for full evaluation of the mobile UX/interaction assumptions, data collection and data analysis, and writing of an academic report about the design process and user study. Students will read and analyze recent Mobile HCI papers related to mobile interaction techniques.
Prof. Doron Friedman & Dr. Jonathan Giron
This seminar will focus on cutting-edge research and development in the fields of VR and AR. Students will design and implement a new VR/AR experience and evaluate it in a user study using qualitative and quantitative research methods, gaining an understanding of the unique concepts of these immersive technologies based on psychological and neuroscientific research findings. The seminar is relevant for students that are motivated to design and implement a new interactive experience, or join a team that has the capability to do so.
Final project (4 credits) Personal mentoring towards a meaningful HCI project for the student's portfolio | Dr. Ayelet Segal, Mr. Ofir Sadka There are three types of projects, students can choose one from below.
HCI Research Marathon
Mr. Idan Yaniv
Foundation course. Prototyping Skills. 2 academic units. A weekend of prototyping before the beginning of the Spring semester, to integrate the skills and concepts acquired in the fall semester and introduce basic skills in Electronics prototyping. The Hackathon will be defined around a contemporary HCI challenge, together with an industry partner.
Dr. Talia Lavie
The product and UX roles are intertwined more than ever. Both aim to solve customer and user, problems from various perspectives. In this course, we will learn to better understand the role of the product manager, and how it overlaps and differentiates from the role of the UX practitioner. We will review development methodologies and frameworks and analyze what it means to work in an Agile environment. The tools used throughout the development cycle will be presented and discussed. The goal of this course is to provide practical knowledge and tools for the UX practitioner in product teams in industry.
Prof. Doron Friedman
Electives course. 2 academic units. While there are ongoing attempts to design ever more intuitive user interfaces, what could be more intuitive than devices reading the commands directly from your brain? Brain computer interfaces (BCIs) are systems that apply signal processing and machine learning techniques to brain signals, in order to translate mental patterns ("thoughts") to commands, which can then be sent to any device. In this course we will learn about the design and engineering behind such systems, the opportunities they offer in a wide range of application domains, as well as the challenges that still prevent BCIs from becoming widely available. As part of this class the students will be instructed in designing and "hacking" a BCI to any device or artifact of their choice, using a range of electroencephalogram (EEG) devices. Emphasis will be placed on designing realistic demonstrations that are based on a deep understanding of the limitations of EEG-based BCIs, and overcoming or bypassing these limitations in creative ways.
Prof. Amir Amedi
In this course we will explore the neuroscientific effects that interaction with technology has on the human brain, in an effort to better understand how HCI researchers should integrate technology with human biological and psychological systems. Topics include introduction to innate brain structures and processes such as the dopaminergic reward system and technological addiction; the motor and sensory brain region and their functions; extension of human ability by technological instruments and sensory substitution; biological aspects of telecommunication and the comparison between face to face communication and communication that is mediated by technology; the neuroscientific aspects of virtual reality and reality substitution; and more.
Dr. Jonatan Giron
This course is about the scientific field of psycho-physiology and how it can contribute to innovative types of wearable technologies that go beyond the basics of smartwatch or smart activity bracelet. The human body communicates with us using biological and physiological signals, using technology we can analyze such signals, design feedback for people, and create innovative applications in new domains, including wellness, meditation, sport, gaming, medical assessment, rehabilitation and many more.
Dr. Jacob Greenshpan
Electives course. 2 academic units. This course will deal with theoretical and practical topics and challenges that emerge in the process of designing successful products from a UX perspective. The course objective is to provide students with advanced techniques in UX, for startup and corporate. Students will work on individual projects in mobile, desktop, or physical UX.
Ms. Mai Amit & Mr. Tzachi Toledo
Foundation course. Applied Methodology. 2 academic units.
Service design and design thinking use a set of methodologies to create unified and meaningful user experiences that reflect customer needs through physical & digital touchpoints. Methodologies include: Design thinking, Design research, Human-centered design, Stakeholders research, Customer journeys mapping, Participant observation, Contextual interviews, In-depth interviews, Cultural probes, Personas, Data visualization, Data synthesis, Thematic analysis, Co-creation, User stories, Concepts testing, Service prototypesMs. Galit Galperin
Our computing future will rely heavily on voice enabled technology. Natural language understanding and ML are rapidly evolving, allowing personalization and interaction with machines in all fields - from automotive and hospitality, to healthcare, smart homes and commerce. AI driven voice assistants will become part of human interaction with the world, projection of 8 billion assistants by 2023. Voice queries reduce technology friction, allowing brands and companies to enrich their customers journey with conversational services.
The course will cover how machines understand humans and how people can teach them to better anticipate user’s needs and will cover examples from leading voice services and use cases from habit forming products, news and media consumption, robotics, commerce and voice enabled entertainment.Students will gain the knowledge of the evolving voice interfaces, get familiar with today's tools and technology, and learn the foundations of the voice design process, while accommodating AI ethics practices into the design process.
Ms. Dana Gordon
This course is an introduction to the process of interaction design from a cultural perspective, including critical design, design research, research through design, design fiction, and speculative design. These design approaches can assist technology designers to better study and understand how technology influence and interact with society and culture. We will examine classic prototypes, theories, and approaches in this field, and provide students with tools to apply such methods in their future designs and developments.
More About the Program
Further Information:
- Studies will take place twice a week: Wednesday afternoon and evening; Friday morning.
- The program length is 12-16 months, three or four semesters, depending on the choice of courses.
- Between semester 1 and 2 there will be a research marathon (full weekend) to enhance students' design & prototyping skills.
- Grading is based on course projects and position papers.
- As a learning-by-doing program, class attendance is mandatory.
- Electives can also be selected from other Reichman University programs and schools: MBA, Communication and New Media, Computer Science, Law, Psychology. Limited availability.
- Students who wish to invest more time in their studies, can use the lab's prototyping workshops on additional days with no extra charge, and can take more electives without credit.
- Thesis students will be encouraged to join a research team in one of the Reichman University research labs, and to contribute to journal publications and international conference presentations.
- The program provides a limited number of scholarships for eligible students, based on unique achievements or professional excellence.The deadline for submitting scholarship applications is June 30, 2022. For additional questions, please contact the registration department
For the Program Brochure please click here
*For the entire list of courses please refer to the Student Handbook
*The academic administration of Reichman University reserves the right to make changes to the curriculum.
Lilach Spivak
HCI Researcher & Designer at miLAB
"The HCI program is a meeting point between the worlds of design, psychology and computer science and provides a broad perspective in HCI. I believe the toolbox I will be graduating with will open up a wide range of opportunities for integration into the worlds of user experience, advanced technology and innovation."
Paz Rothstein
Founder and creator of Brainder Creative
"My MA in HCI gives me tools to develop my entrepreneurial skills as a creator, through knowledge and experience in a variety of areas of human-computer interaction and development."
Dana Yichye Shwachman
Industrial designer and lecturer in the Department of Industrial Design at the Holon Institute of Technology, HIT
"Ever since I started studying for a masters in HCI, I feel like I'm constantly researching and exploring my environment from new, exciting perspectives."