As a student of Human-Technology Interaction, you will acquire knowledge and skills to enable you to assess the feasibility of new technological developments in view of human values, goals, constraints and capabilities. As with all master’s programs at TU/e, this is structured with a mix of core courses and elective tracks so that students can tailor their education to their own interests and ambitions. In the second year, you may also opt for either an international semester or an internship and additional electives before you start your graduation project.
Core courses
The Behavioral and Social Computing track is embedded in the Human-Technology Interaction master’s program. During the first year of this degree, students are introduced to the overarching content of the program with core courses on user experience (UX) design, advanced data analysis and metascience. These courses are accompanied by a dedicated challenge-based project in which you enter the field and apply the methods learned. Fundamental knowledge, which is further developed in the Behavioral and Social Computing track, is imparted through a mix of interactive lectures, engaging assignments and group work covering topics related to state-of-the-art research by TU/e professors.
Behavioral and Social Computing track courses
Students who choose the Behavioral and Social Computing track follow a mix of compulsory courses and electives. The core courses for this track are:
- Advanced Cognitive Engineering, which introduces you to theories to understand and investigate themes such as embodied and embedded interaction, ubiquitous computing, affective computing and virtual/augmented reality.
- Super Crunchers, which gives an in-depth understanding of the literature on model-based versus human decision-making with an emphasis on the way in which humans and models deal with large amounts of information (‘big data’).
- Life Online and Social Media, which gets students acquainted with the academic discussion about the social impact of the internet, social media and online consumer research.
- Network Society, which introduces theories and techniques of network analysis and discusses their application to questions of technology adoption and use of innovation in general.
Students may also select electives from elsewhere in the Human-Technology Interaction program, including technical courses to deepen their knowledge and non-technical courses to broaden the scope of their education.
Skills
Regardless of their choices, graduates of this track will be familiar with the state of the art in cognitive psychology and sociology (as well as related disciplines) in order to understand, evaluate and help design online media and virtual spaces. They will boast a well-grounded understanding of how ICT-mediated interactions shape the human mind and behavior and the implications of this for technological design. Finally, they will have a strong grasp of foundational computational techniques and data science methods that enable a profound understanding of human behavior and social dynamics in digital communities and networks.
Graduation project
Master’s degrees at TU/e conclude with a graduation project that takes up two quartiles of the program and is often conducted within an organization in the relevant domain. Given that Brainport boasts over 5000 high-tech and IT companies, the region provides a wide array of options to find a place that suits you. Together with their company supervisor and academic supervisors, students formulate a practical, scientific and relevant research question. This always involves a high degree of freedom to choose a topic that appeals to them and matches their career vision.
Studying abroad
The digital world is global by nature. TU/e therefore wishes to provide students with opportunities for international experience and a master’s degree in Human-Technology Interaction offers the option to go abroad in the first two quartiles of the second year of the program. In an increasingly interconnected world, the opportunity to spend part of your program elsewhere can provide valuable experience for an international career in (technological) innovation.