Carnegie Mellon's Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) takes an interdisciplinary approach to ensure that technology harmonizes with and improves human capabilities and goals.

The Carnegie Mellon Human-Computer Interaction Institute is an interdisciplinary community of students and faculty dedicated to research and education in topics related to computer technology in support of human activity and society. The master's program is a rigorous 12-month curriculum in which students complete coursework in programming, design, psychology, HCI methods, and electives that allow them to personalize their educational experience. During their second and third semesters, the students participate in a substantial Capstone Project with an industry sponsor.

The Capstone Project course curriculum is structured to cover the end-to-end process of a research and development product cycle, while working closely with an industry sponsor on new ideas or applications that may work with their existing human-to-machine technology. The goal of this 32-week course is to give each student the opportunity for a “real-life” industry project, similar to an actual experience in a research/design/development setting.

Company sponsors benefit from the innovative ideas produced by the students, to fix existing systems or reach into new markets. Some companies also use this project as a recruiting tool, offering industry positions to the top producers in their project team.

For questions about the content, or to learn how to sponsor a project please contact:

Jenna Date, Director of MHCIjdate@cs.cmu.edu
412-268-5572
Human-Computer Interaction Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA


The Pausch Bridge at Carnegie Mellon connects drama and computer science buildings, symbolizing an interdisciplinary link between art and technology.