Degree Requirements

The MHCIHF degree is a non-thesis master's degree. For general university requirements, please see Non-Thesis Master’s Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students.

Students pursuing the MHCIHF degree must complete:

  • A minimum of 11 courses (36 credit hours) to satisfy degree requirements.
  • A minimum of 36 credit hours of graduate-level study (coursework at the 500-level or above).
  • A minimum of 24 credit hours must be taken at Rice University.
  • A minimum overall GPA of 2.667.
  • A minimum GPA of 3.000 in required coursework.
  • A maximum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) from transfer credit. For additional departmental guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab.
  • An internship.1 All students in the Master’s program are required to intern in the summer between their two years of study.
  • A capstone design course. (This is to be a project course, supervised jointly by all the MHCIHF faculty, and should be taken in the second semester of the second year.)
Total Credit Hours Required for the MHCIHF degree
36

Degree Requirements


Core Requirements
Course Number
Course Title
Credit Hours
ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS I
3
ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS II
3
FOUNDATIONS OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
3
HCIHF RESEARCH SEMINAR (Fall Semester I)
1-3
HCIHF RESEARCH SEMINAR (Spring Semester I)
1-3
HCIHF RESEARCH SEMINAR (Fall Semester II)
1-3
HCIHF RESEARCH SEMINAR (Spring Semester II)
1-3
FOUNDATIONS OF ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY
3
HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION
3
TEACHING IN PSYCHOLOGY
1
METHODS IN HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION
3
Internship Requirement
Course Number
Course Title
Credit Hours
HUMAN FACTORS AND HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION PROFESSIONAL MASTER'S INTERNSHIP1
1
Elective Requirements (Choose 2)
Course Number
Course Title
Credit Hours
COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN PSYCHOLOGY
3
PSYC 521 PSYCHOLOGY OF PERCEPTION 3
INFORMATION PROCESSING AND ATTENTION
3
MEMORY
3
PSYCHOLINGUISTICS
3
REASONING, DECISION MAKING, PROBLEM SOLVING
3
FOUNDATIONS OF I-O PSYCHOLOGY
3
HUMAN FACTORS/ERGONOMICS
3
COMPUTATIONAL MODELING OF COGNITIVE PROCESSES
3
VISION SCIENCE
3
MULTIVARIATE STATISTICS
3
PSYCHOMETRICS
3
ADVANCED TOPICS IN I-O PSYCHOLOGY
3
PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY
3
TOPICS IN HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION
3
NON-TRADITIONAL INTERFACES
3
MEDICAL HUMAN FACTORS
3
USABILITY ASSESSMENT
3
PSYC 667 CYBER SECURITY HUMAN FACTORS 3
PSYC 668 HUMAN FACTORS OF A.I. 3
Capstone Requirement
Course Number
Course Title
Credit Hours
HCI & HF PROFESSIONAL MASTER'S CAPSTONE PROJECT2
6

Footnotes and Additional Information

1All students in the Master’s program are required to intern in the summer between their two years of study. That internship is reflected in the student's course of study as PSYC 595, and students should register for that summer course. Faculty in the MHCIHF area have relationships with multiple local and national companies and government labs that would be suitable. Students sponsored by their employer may return to that company for the summer internship, provided that the work was classified as human factors-related.

2The capstone requirement, PSYC 600, is to be a project course, supervised jointly by all the MHCIHF faculty, and should be taken in the second semester of the second year.


Proposed Plan-of-Study

The following plan-of-study represents the lockstep five-semester sequence in which students pursuing the MHCIHF degree complete the required coursework.

1st Semester - 10-12 Credit Hours
Course Number
Course Title
Credit Hours
HCIHF RESEARCH SEMINAR
1-3
ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS I
3
HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION
3
METHODS IN HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION
3
2nd Semester - 10 Credit Hours
Course Number
Course Title
Credit Hours
HCIHF RESEARCH SEMINAR
1-3
ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS II
3
FOUNDATIONS OF ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY
3
TEACHING IN PSYCHOLOGY
1
3rd Semester - 1 Credit Hour
Course Number
Course Title
Credit Hours
HUMAN FACTORS AND HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION PROFESSIONAL MASTER'S INTERNSHIP1
1
4th Semester - 9 Credit Hours
Course Number
Course Title
Credit Hours
HCIHF RESEARCH SEMINAR
1-3
FOUNDATIONS OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
3
PSYC XXX
ELECTIVE ONE
3
5th Semester - 10-12 Credit Hours
Course Number
Course Title
Credit Hours
HCIHF RESEARCH SEMINAR
1-3
PSYC XXX
ELECTIVE TWO
3
HCIHF PROFESSIONAL MASTER'S CAPSTONE PROJECT2
6

Footnotes and Additional Information

1All students in the Master’s program are required to intern in the summer between their two years of study. That internship is reflected in the student’s course of study as PSYC 595, and students should register for that summer course. Faculty in the MHCIHF area have relationships with multiple local and national companies and government labs that would be suitable. Students sponsored by their employer may return to that company for the summer internship, provided that the work was classified as human factors-related. In exceptional circumstances, the Director of the MHCIHF program may allow a student to substitute research conducted with a member of the Rice faculty for the internship.

2The capstone requirement, PSYC 600, is to be a project course, supervised jointly by all the MHCIHF faculty.