More and more, employers are looking beyond technical skills when hiring and, instead, searching for additional training in user-centered design, which is crucial to the success of any software or commercial Web site. User-centered design is one of the main principles of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), which studies methods to improve the working relationship between humans and computers.

However, there is a shortage of university computer science departments teaching HCI. DePaul University, which offers a bachelor’s degree in HCI in its School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems (CTI), has been called upon to help remedy this situation.

DePaul recently received a grant of more than $271,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop curricula and supporting materials for a survey course in HCI to be used by universities that are looking to implement HCI instruction into their departments. The course will be designed for computer science majors, and materials will be produced for both students and instructors.

According to Rosalee Wolfe, CTI professor and a co-principal investigator on the grant, the need for expanding this area of technology education is crucial to creating students who are prepared to join today’s computer workforce.

“Of the 260 job announcements for Web developers sent to me last year, more than 97 percent mentioned knowledge of user-centered design in the qualifications,” Wolfe said. “It is critical that students who want to work in Web development have a strong foundation in the discipline of HCI.”

HCI draws on the principles of art, psychology, engineering and computer science to enable people to make more effective use of technology by creating more user-friendly interfaces and user-supportive surrounding environments.

“The popularity of Web technology among computer science students presents an opportunity to teach HCI,” Wolfe said. “We can use Web development as the technological ‘carrot’ to draw students into the course, providing instructors with the chance to discuss the principles and methodologies behind this important topic.” Wolfe said that a recent survey of university computer science departments conducted by a computer science professional society revealed that only half of respondents reported that their department offered a course in user-centered design or HCI, and only about 10 percent taught such a course regularly. This is due to its relatively recent appearance as a discipline in computer science. “Also, few faculty have any background in teaching HCI or user-centered design,” Wolfe added. “That’s why establishing curricula in this area are essential.”

DePaul is one of four universities that will test the completed course materials. The grant is effective until March of 2003. The other co-principal investigator on the grant is Daniel D. McCracken of City University of New York, City College.

DePaul CTI is the largest computer science program in the country. The undergraduate program enrolls 1,949 students and offers six different degrees. More than 2,300 students are enrolled in the graduate program, which offers nine different master’s degrees. DePaul CTI also features a Ph.D. program in computer science. For more information on DePaul CTI, visit www.cs.depaul.edu.