In order to earn a Master of Science degree at Iowa State University, each student’s Program of Study (POS) must include at least 30 graduate credits. A minimum of 22 graduate credits must be earned at ISU.

Path #1: Master of Science in HCI, thesis: An HCI faculty member must agree to serve as your major professor (to supervise your research). The student's major professor usually provides funding for a half-time graduate assistantship.

Core Courses (12 credits) - MS students will be required to choose any four courses, one from each of the Design, Implementation, Phenomena, and Evaluation categories. MS students will therefore be required to take a total of four courses from the core.
General Electives (up to 15 credits) - The other courses taken can be any from the ISU Course Catalog.
Research Credits (minimum 3 credits) - Thesis students will take HCI 699, Research. Creative Component/non-thesis students will take HCI 599, Creative Component.
Thesis MS students only: students entering the program in Spring 2022 and after, 1 credit of GR ST 565 Responsible Conduct of Research will be required. For current thesis MS students, the HCI Graduate Program encourages these students to enroll in this course, but it is not required.
Non-Thesis/Creative Component students only (completing their creative component in Spring 2023 and after): All creative component projects must include gathering feedback data from at least 5 users (typically by interview, survey, or observation of a task). If project does not achieve the 5 users, the student may appeal to the DOGE for review.

Path #2: Master of Science in HCI creative component (capstone project): You do not need an HCI faculty member to serve as your major professor. Assistantship funding is unavailable for this path. Students are responsible for tuition and fees. This path is not available for online students.

Core Courses (12 credits) - MS students will be required to choose any four courses, one from each of the Design, Implementation, Phenomena, and Evaluation categories. MS students will therefore be required to take a total of four courses from the core.
General Electives (15 credits) - The other 500 or 600-level courses taken can be any from the ISU Course Catalog, including additional HCI courses (from the core course categories or HCI recommended elective list).
Research Credits (3 credits) - you will take the HCI 599, HCI Capstone Class (a course research project).

Differences between the research for HCI master's degrees