Are you interested in doing research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)? Research in HCI at UW occurs primarily in four departments: Information School (iSchool), Computer Science & Engineering (CSE), Human-Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE), and Interaction Design in the School of Art (IxD). People from these units, along with industry affiliates from Microsoft Research and elsewhere, make up the DUB Group, an affiliation of faculty, students, and industry researchers devoted to advancing HCI and Design at the University of Washington.

Jacob O. Wobbrock, who directs the AIM Research Group, is an Associate Professor in the Information School and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Computer Science & Engineering. He is one of many HCI faculty in the Information School; others are Batya Friedman, David Hendry, William Jones, Julie Kientz (joint with HCDE), Andrew Ko, David McDonald, and Wanda Pratt (joint with BHI). Information School adjunct faculty in HCI include Alan Borning, Gaetano Borriello, and James Landay from Computer Science & Engineering; and Cecilia Aragon, Beth Kolko, Charlotte Lee, and Judy Ramey from Human-Centered Design & Engineering. HCI affiliate faculty include Mary Czerwinski, Jonathan Grudin, Susan Dumais, Ed Cutrell, and Meredith Ringel Morris from Microsoft Research; Sunny Consolvo from Google; Beverly Harrison from Amazon Lab126; and Daniel Avrahami from Intel. Thus, there are many HCI faculty associated with the Information School at the University of Washington, giving our students plenty of opportunities for mentorship.

Beyond the iSchool, its adjuncts, and its affiliates, there are even more HCI-related faculty at UW, including James Fogarty, Richard Ladner, Daniel S. Weld, and Shwetak Patel in Computer Science & Engineering; Mark Zachary and David Farkas in Human-Centered Design & Engineering; and Axel Roesler, Tad Hirsch, Andrew Davidson, and Karen Cheng in Interaction Design. For a complete list of all HCI-related faculty, see the DUB people page.

If you are a prospective Ph.D. student interested in pursuing HCI research, the Information School may be a great option. The iSchool brings together technology, social science, and design to pursue both activities of discovery (science) and activities of invention (research through design and prototyping). Areas of research strength include assistive technology, health and wellness, input and interaction techniques, value sensitive design, sustainability, computer supported cooperative work, studies of designers and software development teams, human-centered tools for programmers, biomedical informatics, computing for social justice, digital youth, social networks, and mobile computing, among others. HCI at the Information School uses technology to address contemporary social challenges, uniting the study of technical, societal, ethical, and environmental issues in the creation of new solutions and the study of phenomena surrounding them. We are highly collaborative, both within and beyond the iSchool.

HCI at the Information School is not just for Ph.D. students. If you are an undergraduate Informatics major, you can do an HCI option that appears on your diploma and transcript. The HCI option involves courses in the four main DUB-affiliated programs: iSchool, CSE, HCDE, and IxD.

For Ph.D. students interested in pursuing HCI, apply to the Ph.D. program in the department that best fits your interests and skills. In the Information School, the doctorate is a Ph.D. in Information Science, a broad customizable degree that can focus on most any aspect of people, technology, and information. Ideal candidates for joining Dr. Wobbrock's AIM Research Group will have a background in computer science or similar, possibly with joint degrees in psychology, human factors, communication, education, anthropology, mechanical engineering, or design. We actively publish at ACM CHI, ACM UIST, ACM ASSETS, and other top HCI venues. Human-Computer Interaction is a highly interdisciplinary field, so all qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.