<aside> 🌟 Pictured to the right are CMU students Ankitha, Kaitlyn, and Minsung.

Interested in the HCI minor or additional major but unsure of how to make it work with your primary major? Join us this week as we chat with Ankitha, Kaitlyn, and Minsung about balancing HCI courses with your core courses!

🐱 Ankitha - LinkedIn 🥸 Kaitlyn - LinkedIn 🧸 Minsung - LinkedIn

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🍁 What year are you, and what are you studying?

🐱 Ankitha - I’m currently in the AMHCI program but before this I was pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture with an additional major in HCI.

🥸 Kaitlyn - I’m a 2nd year, and I’m studying Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).

🧸 Minsung - I am a Junior studying Art and HCI as an additional major.

🍁 How did you become interested in HCI?

🐱 Ankitha - I become interested in HCI initially because I heard of 15-104, the creative coding class, and wanted to try it out. After taking that and meetings some students in HCI I realized it aligned with my interests in user-centered design and decided to pursue the minor first. After taking some HCI minor classes like Interaction design Overview, I became very passionate about design strategy and UX design and decided to apply for the additional major so I could take the core classes.

🥸 Kaitlyn - I became interested in HCI because I found both CS and design to be very interesting, and HCI was a way to combine both of them. I also firmly believe that considering the actual people who utilize technology is just as important as the technology itself. I want to supplement my ECE studies with a major that allows me to design and create products that follow this philosophy.

🧸 Minsung - I became interested after speaking to my cousin who is working as a UX designer. My studies in HCI started as a light exploration which later became a career goal for me.

How have you balanced taking HCI courses with your primary major courses?

🐱 Ankitha - Regarding the balance, I planned out my schedule for my junior and senior year before applying to the additional major which really helped me balance my workload and not get overwhelmed. Making friends in HCI through UXA and having a support group also really helped me get through the HCI core classes while pursuing Architecture.

🥸 Kaitlyn - I haven’t necessarily taken many HCI-specific courses yet, but I’ve taken a few HCI-adjacent electives such as Social Psych (85-241) and Product Design Fundamentals (51-264). I’ve balanced these courses with my primary major courses by mainly not ‘cramming’ the harder ECE technicals if I am taking HCI electives (i.e. taking 1 difficult primary course with electives). Or, if I need to focus on completing my ECE technicals, I opt to not take HCI electives, so that I can truly give those electives time in future semesters.

🧸 Minsung - I am an Art major with not a lot of courses from my primary major that count as HCI courses. I managed to balance it by taking Art studio courses more in my early years of college so that I have the time and energy for HCI courses later. I still need to take a lot for Art courses, but I have been using independent studies from Art and HCI to have more freedom this semester.

What advice do you have for students who are not majoring in HCI that are interested in the minor or additional major?

🐱 Ankitha - My advice: 1. if you’re really interested in the minor or additional major HCI, just apply! I was initially intimated to apply for the additional major, but I knew I wanted to pursue UX design and I really focused on that in my application. 2. Plan ahead and make a schedule of your classes if you feel overwhelmed. You’ll need to submit this anyways if you apply to the major/minor so it’s worth getting a head start on it.

🥸 Kaitlyn - ECE is a pretty uncommon major to pair with HCI, but I wouldn’t let ‘uniqueness’ deter you from trying for the major/minor. ECE is a considerably difficult major, but I think HCI provides a nice balance to ECE. And, especially with so many people coming from a software/CS background, having a unique/different major will definitely make you stand out! So, if you’re truly passionate about HCI, I’d say there’s no harm in trying a few electives/HCI-related classes to see if it’s something you’d want to pursue!

🧸 Minsung - I advise getting done with prerequisite courses early so that you have time to apply for the minor or major later. I also suggest try getting some projects done in clubs like Design for America, UXA, Scotty’s Lab, or other clubs associated with UX projects led by students.