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NEW BACHELOR’S DEGREE PREPARES STUDENTS TO DESIGN APPLICATIONS BY FOCUSING ON THE PEOPLE WHO USE THEM Aspiring mobile and web application developers can now design the future of technology thanks to a new degree offered by the College of IST. This fall, the college began offering a human-centered design and development (HCDD) bachelor of science degree at University Park. The program focuses on the fundamentals of designing interactive technologies that put the needs and priorities of people first. Students will gain expertise in three key areas: designing and building useful technologies to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world, identifying opportunities to enhance user experiences through technology, and using quantitative and qualitative methods to identify how technology can better support human activity. “Graduates from the HCDD program will create new, interactive user interfaces that are informed by studying users, rather than just the assumption of the programmer,” said Steve Haynes, HCDD program coordinator and teaching professor. “They’ll be uniquely positioned to tackle user interface design in mobile and web-based contexts, and they will work to identify important software design challenges in businesses and organizations and for individual users.” The new degree was driven by industry demand and feedback from alumni and current students. It is the latest evolution of
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the design and development option within the information sciences and technology bachelor’s degree program. That option will be phased out as current students graduate, but remains available at several Penn State campuses. HCDD’s interdisciplinary curriculum combines foundational coursework in mathematics, statistics, information technology, and application development with specialized courses in the social and psychological aspects of technology use, usability engineering, user research methods, and user interface design. Students will also take a series of courses in an application focus area to explore these concepts within a particular domain, such as health care, data sciences, or psychology. “Interdisciplinary education is at the heart of the College of IST, and it is critical to the foundation of the HCDD program,” said Andrew Sears, dean. “Since application development platforms change rapidly, this program emphasizes the creation of lifelong and adaptable learners who can apply foundational design concepts to the technological tools of tomorrow in any area they choose.” “Technological solutions to human problems must be useable and useful in their unique contexts to be effective,” added Haynes. “Students in the new HCDD program will be at the forefront of developing solutions that enhance the way we live, work, and play.”
