A Catalog of HCI and Computer Graphics Curricula: Towards a Better Visibility of European and Latin American Programs
Abstract
The last few years have seen the spectacular evolution and spread of computer applications, supported by technologies such as internet, wireless networks and mobile devices. User interfaces help people to easily access, understand, and process information. User interfaces depend on two relatively new fields: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Computer Graphics (CG). These domains have evolved continually to accompany the new generations of computer applications. They are an essential part of every computer system and therefore, they should have an important part in computer science education. However, their integration in world-wide degrees differs significantly from program to program. The aim of this paper is twofold: first, we present and discuss two reference curriculum proposals. Second, we conduct a case study to index several masters programs in Europe and Latin America, using the reference curriculum to see to what extent the practice reflects the theory. We have developed a web portal to collect and analyze information about master programs, and to present several graphical overviews of these data. By providing these resources through a web site, we hope to contribute to enhance computer graphics and human computer interaction visibility in computer-science education in a global context.