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MSE 343Human-Computer Interaction

Units
0.50
Faculty
Engineering
Subject
Management Science and Engineering

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course is designed to provide in-depth exposure to the concepts of human-computer interaction and methods of interactive information system design. The course will focus on techniques for building information systems that meet human needs and capabilities by following a system development lifecycle: user requirements analysis, information and interaction design, prototyping and evaluation.

Prerequisites

  • Complete 1 of the following
    • Complete all of the following
      • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
        • BME121 - Digital Computation (0.50)
        • CS137 - Programming Principles (0.50)
        • ECE150 - Fundamentals of Programming (0.50)
        • MTE121 - Digital Computation (0.50)
        • SYDE121 - Digital Computation (0.50)
      • Students must be in level 3A or higher
      • Complete 1 of the following
    • Complete all of the following

Antirequisites

  • Not completed nor concurrently enrolled in any of the following:
    • CS449 - Human-Computer Interaction (0.50)

Leads to

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 001530492 / 123TTh 10:00–11:20
LAB 201530792 / 123F 10:00–11:20
TUT 101530692 / 123F 08:30–09:20

Reviewed on UW Flow

67% liked it84% easy75% useful

From 21 ratings and 3 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • I've always heard great things from previous offerings of this course, but this term it's been really poor and difficult to get through. Expectations for assignments are not laid out whatsoever, so everyone is in shock when they receive feedback. Deliverables are extremely vague. Overall not a good experience and I would advise against taking it during a remote term. I also don't feel like I've learned much from this course, but I feel like I would have in a classroom environment.

    Nov 2020 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Course was okay. Very easy and exact same content as MSCI 343. Overall very boring and very useless in my opinion. Final project was done in groups, where members were assigned randomly. I got screwed over in this regard - and that tanked my grade. The worst part was the inconsistencies in marking by the TAs. I got a 60 on a lab, and my friend got a 90 marked by a different TA. I requested a regrade, but accidentally submitted the link to my friend's lab. The lab that was marked a 90, got a 60 by the prof. Goes to show how poor the marking in this class was.

    Mar 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • An engaging course where you design (but don't implement) a project of choice over the term, with a focus on user-centered design. While the software requirements and design process are covered, it's far less theoretical than the SE 463/ECE 451/CS 445 courses in that there's no UML diagram (thank you MSCI department...). Lectures are highly engaging and the workload is low. F23 breakdown is a group project (randomized teams of 5) (40%), assignments (15%), lecture activities (15%), lab activities (10%), and a final exam (20%). Good preparation for FYDP and I highly recommend as a course for the MSCI option

    Sep 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

2 posts and comments in 2 threads mention MSE 343, April 2024 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

uw management eng exchange 3 points, 3 comments

“hi all, all the title says, I’m a mgte student looking to go into exchange in a future term. Wanted to ask if there’s anyone out there that’s in mgte/knows of someone in mgte who went on exchange I …”

u/Ok-Conclusion-5481: “I have experience, but which term are you planning to go on exchange?”

u/Ok-Conclusion-5481: “… of Optimization | EASY MSE333 - Simulation Analysis and Design | VERY DIFFICULT MSE343 - Human-Computer Interaction | VERY EASY From my experience it's going to be very difficult to get an approval for MSE 333. …”

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Winter 2024

Questions for Management Engineering students: this program or UTSG CS? 1 point, 11 comments

u/KINGBLUE2739046: “- It’s an Engineering workload, it’s a lot better than ECE, much more time to do side projects, almost a joke honestly, other programs will be making fun of you for not being real engineers, no big …”

u/nyephe: “… paste from the MSE 251/253 tutorials but it's never tested I remember Excel being used in MSE 100/131/251/253/331/263/334/431/332/333/343, and this is only up to 3B and excluding TEs”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar