PhD Program

The PhD in Human Computer Interaction is an interdisciplinary degree program that prepares students for careers in business and industry as well as academia. In addition to the four required HCI courses, students take electives from a wide variety of disciplines and conduct research for their dissertation under the direction of their major professor and Program of Study Committee. Specific requirements for the program are outlined below.

PhD Course Requirements

For the PhD course requirements, students must include the following courses in their program of study:

The three core HCI courses listed below, if not completed as part of the student's masters program.
One or more research methods courses listed below.
A minimum of 6 additional courses (18 credits) spanning both the student's primary area of specialization and HCI-related courses necessary to provide additional background relevant to the student's research.

The core (required) courses for the HCI Graduate program are listed below. Additional courses may be added at the direction of the Program of Studies Committee.

•	HCI575X	Computational Perception.
•	MIS 655	Organizational and Social Implications of Human Computer Interaction (Fall semester).
•	Psych 521	The Cognitive Psychology of HCI.

Courses that satisfy the Research Methods Requirement include the following:

•	Stat	401	Statistical Methods for Research Workers
•	Psych	508	Research Methods in Applied Psychology
•	Psych	522x	The Scientific Methods of HCI
•	Psych	540	Psychological Measurement
•	Psych	586	Research Methods in Social Psychology
•	Stat	430x	Empirical Methods for Computer Science

A grade of 'B' (3.0 GPA) or better is required.

Admission to the PhD HCI Program

Admission into the HCI graduate degree program depends on a combination of your academic qualifications, area of interest, research specialties and the current research needs of the faculty. Evidence of creative talent, the ability to speak and write English clearly, and promise for a successful career are also important considerations for entry into the HCI Graduate program. Other admission requirements include:

Transcripts, test scores and other indicators that the student applicant can be successful at the graduate level.
3.0 GPA.
GRE for all international students.
TOEFL 240 (IELTS7.0) for nonnative English speakers.
The demonstrated ability to write software competently. For those who do not have the required computing background, we provide an introductory survey course, with appropriate follow up material

In addition to the above requirements, the following conditions apply when reviewing your application for admission.

Meeting or exceeding these guidelines does not guarantee admission.
An HCI faculty member must agree to work with and support you as a major professor.
Your complete file is made available for member of the HCI faculty to review. (See the faculty page to learn more about the diverse members of the HCI faculty.)

The PhD Graduate Program Application Process

Using the resources found on this web site, determine which faculty members and related fields of study (departments) best match your interests. You will be asked to specify up to three faculty members on the pre-admission application.

Fill out and submit the online HCI pre-admission form. No costs are associated with this step. (Please complete this form and wait for notification from the HCI Graduate Program before applying to the Iowa State University Graduate College.)
Send your resume to .
Send an e-portfolio demonstrating potential for research to .
Ask references to send their letters of reference to . A suggested template for letters of recommendation can be found at http://www.admissions.iastate.edu/apply/pdf/us_gr_rec.pdf.
If you are invited to enter the HCI Graduate Program, apply to the ISU Graduate College ($30 US fee for non-ISU students, $70 US for international students) to be formally admitted to the University.

Contact Pam Shill at or if you have any questions about the program, the university or any part of the process.

Deadlines

The application deadline for the Fall semester is January 15. For the Spring semester, the application deadline is October 1. These dates are for priority consideration.

Faculty Notification and Review

After all of the pre-application materials are received, the three faculty members listed on the pre-application are notified of your application. If those faculty members are not able to admit you, the application package is made available to all HCI faculty. Students are accepted into the program throughout the year and are able to begin the program at the beginning of the Fall, Spring, or Summer semesters. Our policy is to send email notifications to those not admitted by June 1 for the Fall semester and by December 1 for Spring.

If you need to know if you will be admitted before those deadlines, please contact Pam Shill at , and she will update you on your admission status.

Checklist for Admissions

Fill out the pre-admission form found here.
Send resume to .
Ask references to send their letters of reference to . A suggested template for letters of recommendation can be found at http://www.admissions.iastate.edu/apply/pdf/us_gr_rec.pdf.
Send an e-portfolio demonstrating potential for research to .

If you believe that you can add value to this process by contacting the faculty member directly with additional information about yourself, please feel free to do so.

Contact Pam Shill at with questions about your admission status.