Introduction

The Human Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Madeira offer a professional Master’s double degree in Human-Computer Interaction under the CMU/Portugal agreement and with the cooperation of the Information and Communication Technologies Institute (ICTI).

Change your career! - Applications for the 2010 edition are open until 31 of January.

Scholarships available! - Students admitted to the MHCI will be eligible for scholarships from company sponsors and the Madeira Science and Technology Center.

To find out more - 

• Direct specific inquiries to mhci@m-iti.org
• Chat to students, staff and alumni on the FaceBook group
• Explore Madeira and the university using Google Maps.

Or simply read on for an overview of the program, its structure and objectives. 

Program Overview

1. Goals

The Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Masters program prepares you to participate in the design and implementation of software systems that can be used easily, effectively and enjoyably. With a Masters in HCI, you will be well prepared to contribute to the multi-disciplinary teams that typically construct software systems. You will become broadly knowledgeable about techniques for building successful user interfaces, design principles that make user interfaces visually clear and appealing, techniques for identifying needs for software and its success, and the people and organizations that will use their systems.

2. Interdisciplinary orientation

The MHCI program has an interdisciplinary orientation, with faculty and students from Computer Science, Design and Behavioural Sciences. The masters takes 3 semesters to complete, one of which is at Carnegie Mellon and two of which are at University of Madeira. The curriculum consists of ten conventional semester-long courses and an extensive team-oriented studio/project experience. You will take courses to obtain a broad background in computer science, human behavior, design, and evaluation and assessment, and you may elect to take more advanced courses to deepen your knowledge in a more specific area.

3. Capstone Project

The MHCI Project course is an 8-month long capstone project for the Masters of HCI program and integrates everything the students have learned in their coursework into one "end-to-end" experience. Students work in interdisciplinary teams with an industry sponsor to produce a working prototype that serves as a proof of concept of a novel service or product idea.

Past and current sponsors in the Portugal program include Portugal Telecom, MEO, Sapo, Critical Software, Promosoft, Novabase, PT Inovação and Vodafone

Get a glimpse of 2008-2009 projects with Portugal Telecom/Sapo, Critical Software and Promosoft below:

4. Summer Internships

The Madeira program includes a three month summer break between the second and third semesters. We encourage students to make the best of this time through internships. Previous hosting institutions include:

• Madeira-ITI (research on interaction for sustainability SINAIS)
• HCII at Carnegie Mellon University (research on human assistance)
• Logica (service design for utility companies)
• Microsoft User Experience (cultural differentiation)
• IBM Watson Research Center (experience management)
• Vodafone R&D Group (cloud computing).

5. Admission and Requirements

Students admitted to the HCI program are required to have a strong undergraduate degree or comparable work experience in computer science, a behavioral science (psychology, sociology, anthropology, or organizational behaviour), or visual or information design. Students are expected to have had at least one course in statistics, design, and programming prior to entry into the program.

Contact Us: mhci@m-iti.org / +351 291 705 151