Graduate school applications can be challenging and exhaustive. Since there are several aspects to the graduate school applications, there is a lot to do in order to present the best version of yourself to the admissions committee. The tricky part with MS HCI applications is the fact that most people are trying to get into HCI from different fields, and do not have much information about HCI.

I will be joining the University of Maryland, College Park this fall for a master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction ✌️. Having been through the application phase, I believe my experience can help answer some questions that aspiring candidates might have.

Preparing my profile and background

A significant amount of time went into this before I actually started my applications. Here’s what I did:

Exploration 🧭

As is the case with a majority of the candidates, I did not have much knowledge about HCI, initially. All I knew were a few keywords like HCI, UX, and UI. This was good enough for me to get started. The Internet is filled with amazing content, and all you need to know is what to search on Google. I learned about this field and understood what HCI is about.

Networking 🤝

Connecting with people in this field on LinkedIn helped me immensely. I cannot emphasize enough the power of LinkedIn and the UX community. Many people in the UX industry guided me to take the appropriate learning path, and I believe this has been the most fruitful part of my entire journey.

Learning 📚

To learn the basics of HCI and UX, I decided to take up online courses. Based on the recommendations of UX professionals, I started with Interaction Design Specialization by UC San Diego and UI/UX Specialization by CalArts. Additionally, I completed Graphic Design Specialization out of interest.

Hands-on 👨‍💻

Though the courses that I did had weekly projects, I wanted to take up design projects on my own. Applying what I had learned was essential. So I did a couple of UI/UX passion projects, which gave me the push to improve my skills.

Freelancing 🍥

Interestingly, I got an opportunity to work with a mental health startup in a design role. This was my first ever real-world project and helped me understand the practical nuances. I defined a very basic design system and designed the UI of a mobile app.

Taking all the above steps created a strong base for my applications. Without a doubt, there are a few things I could have done more:

UX Internship 💼

Relevant prior experience adds great value in any domain. A UX internship before applying for a master’s in HCI can make an application stronger. A portfolio piece out of this experience is an added benefit.

Research paper 📝

It is well known that a publication in your hat can be beneficial for a master’s application. Not only does it add laurels to your profile, but it also is a great way to learn new things.

Design competitions 🚀

Participation in design competitions/challenges/hackathons is a fantastic way to get involved with the design community and learn more. It also is a reflection of your dedicated interest in the area. And if you are able to win, that’s a cherry on the top.

Application materials

GRE

It took me roughly a month to prepare for the GRE General Test. Magoosh subscription is a lifesaver when it comes to GRE. Well-structured videos on every topic and a large question bank for practice cover everything that is needed. For expanding the vocabulary, Magoosh Flashcards are extremely helpful.

TOEFL

Once done with the GRE, TOEFL is not a big effort. I prepared for around two weeks and was able to achieve a good score. Free official material offered by ETS for TOEFL is sufficient.

Portfolio

I decided to build a website for my portfolio, as it would help further in my UX career as well. I coded my website from scratch and hosted it on Github Pages. Github Pages is free and easy to use, so this was my obvious choice. Ideally, 3–4 projects should be showcased on a portfolio. I decided to have one UI/UX project, one branding project, and two tech projects. This way, I portrayed a breadth of skills.

Personal Statement

This is probably one of the most important pieces of the application. The personal statement connects all the dots from the rest of the application materials. As the name suggests, the personal statement should be unique to an individual applicant. I spent a significant amount of time (more than 2 months) trying to craft my personal statement. I put dedicated efforts into creating versions of my personal statement specifically for every single university/program I applied to.

Key points to be addressed in the personal statement:

• Why graduate studies?
• Why HCI?
• What are my goals?
• What do I bring to the program?
• How will this program benefit me?

Supplementary materials

Some universities/programs require additional supplementary application materials such as short essay prompts or a video essay. It is important to pay attention and invest time in preparing these materials. For each program that demanded such supplementary materials among the ones I applied to, I spent sufficient time to produce those requirements. This is a way to showcase devoted interest in the program.

Recommendations

Letters of recommendation are a way for universities to validate information about candidates. I requested recommendations from people I had worked with, and who could write strong letters in favor of me. Overall, I tried to show different aspects of my personality and my work from each recommendation.

Choosing universities to apply

This task can be challenging, especially considering the fact that there is a big bunch of universities in the US that offer awesome HCI graduate programs. It is important to consider the following factors (in no particular order):

• Cost of attendance
• Duration of the program
• Curriculum
• Faculty
• Job prospects
• Location
• Ranking and reputation

For someone like me, who didn’t even know which schools offer HCI programs, Top UX School, Value Colleges, and blog by Lillian Xiao were helpful.

For the most part, university websites are great resources to get information about their specific master’s programs. I really like that almost everything you might want to know is already laid out on the university websites.

In addition, connecting with alumni and current students at these universities on LinkedIn further helped me gain better insights about each program.

If you are an international student, you would most likely prefer programs that are STEM-designated. Though most HCI programs generally are STEM-designated, it is important to check once before applying.

Management and planning

Preparing applications is a long process that typically covers months. Managing time, planning the tasks, and keeping everything organized significantly help in reducing the chaos.

• Maintain a schedule of daily tasks and keep tracking it
• Create a comprehensive sheet of potential universities and programs with relevant information for easy access

Something to remember

MS HCI applications require you to do a lot. No one thing is more important than the other. Perfecting one single aspect of the application while keeping the others hanging is not the way to go about it. Of course, it can be difficult to flawlessly craft every aspect of the application, but the goal is to do your best.

I have tried to pretty much cover almost everything from my experience of applying for MS HCI programs. If you want to know more, or for any help, I am glad to assist. Here’s my LinkedIn.

All the best! ❤️