As a student of Human-Technology Interaction, you acquire knowledge and skills to enable you to assess the feasibility of new technological developments in view of human values, goals, constraints and capabilities. As with all master’s programs at TU/e, this is structured with a mix of core courses and elective tracks so that students can tailor their education to their own interests and ambitions. In the second year, you may also opt for either an international semester or an internship and additional electives before you start your graduation project.
Core courses
The Environmental Psychology track is embedded in the Human-Technology Interaction master’s program. During the first year of this degree, students are introduced to the overarching content of the program with core courses on user experience (UX) design, advanced data analysis and metascience. These courses are accompanied by a dedicated challenge-based project in which you enter the field and apply the methods learned. Fundamental knowledge, which is further developed in the Environmental Psychology track, is imparted through a mix of interactive lectures, engaging assignments and group work covering topics related to state-of-the-art research by TU/e professors.
Environmental Psychology track courses
Students who choose the Environmental Psychology track follow a mix of compulsory courses and electives. Visit the education guide to find more information about the curriculum of this track. The core courses for this track are:
- Advanced Environmental Psychology, which discusses theories about human-environment interrelationships on topics such as environmental perception, privacy regulation, perception of safety, restoration from stress and the experience of virtual environments.
- Advanced Perception, which gives in-depth insights into human perception and the applicability of these insights to modern technologies, including basic quantitative modeling of human recognition and information representation.
- Psychology of Light and Time, which delves into domains of chronobiological rhythms, sleep, psychology, and image-forming and non-image forming pathways of light that are relevant to psychological functioning, health and sleep.
- The Quantified Self in Health, which focuses on the application of mobile sensing technologies in practice (the quantified self) as well as the research context (experience sampling methodology), also discussing the importance of contextual factors for health, the ethical implications of these possibilities, and data handling.
Students may also choose to follow multiple (core) electives from across the Human-Technology Interaction program. In terms of non-technical electives, many students consider deepening their knowledge with Advanced Social Psychology. Good examples of technical electives for this track include engineering courses that are specific to the living or built environment, such as:
- Lighting Technology
- Architectural Acoustics
- Corporate Real Estate and Workplace Strategy
- Sustainable Building
- Smart Building Methodology & Technology
- Smart Healthy Urban Environments
- Data Science for Intelligent Buildings
These courses offer a broad understanding of a variety of domains that complement Environmental Psychology, including building physics and urban design, statistic signal processing, simulation, 3D modeling and VR rendering, and the recording and analysis of people’s behavioral and physiological responses as they navigate our physical world.
Graduation project
Master’s degrees at TU/e conclude with a graduation project that takes up two quartiles of the program and is often conducted within an organization in the relevant domain. Given that Brainport boasts over 5000 high-tech and IT companies, the region provides a wide array of options to find a place that suits you. Together with their company supervisor and academic supervisors, students formulate a practical, scientific and relevant research question. This always involves a high degree of freedom to choose a topic that appeals to them and matches their career vision.
Studying abroad
In an increasingly interconnected world, the opportunity to spend part of your program elsewhere can provide valuable experience for an international career in (technological) innovation. A master’s degree in Human-Technology Interaction therefore offers the option to go abroad in the first two quartiles of the second year of the program.