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human-centered technology design

Types of Degrees human-centered technology design Majors Are Earning

People majoring in human-centered technology design have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	416
Master’s Degree	349
Doctor’s Degree	12

What human-centered technology design Majors Need to Know

Studies in human-centered technology design emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that human-centered technology design graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in human-centered technology design emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Design — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Communications and Media — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a human-centered technology design program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Programming — Importance 4 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Complex Problem Solving — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to human-centered technology design careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Fluency of Ideas — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Originality — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Near Vision — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, human-centered technology design graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Thinking Creatively	4.9 / 7
Working with Computers	4.8 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.7 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.0 / 7
Processing Information	4.0 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.8 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	3.8 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.7 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.6 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by human-centered technology design professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
PHP	Web platform development software	—
Hypertext markup language HTML	Web platform development software	✓
MySQL	Data base management system software	—
Microsoft Visio	Process mapping and design software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Adobe Illustrator	Graphics or photo imaging software	✓
Python	Object or component oriented development software	✓
Extensible markup language XML	Enterprise application integration software	—
Perforce Helix software	Configuration management software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Ruby on Rails	Web platform development software	—
Linux	Operating system software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for human-centered technology design graduates include:

• Web Design Specialist
• Web Software Engineer
• UX Developer (User Experience Developer)
• Intranet Developer
• Graphics Designer
• Web Site Developer
• Internet Specialist
• Web Page Developer
• PHP Website Developer (Personal Home Page Website Developer)
• Product Designer
• Web Engineer
• HTML Developer (HyperText Markup Language Developer)
• Web Site Designer
• User Interface Developer (UI Developer)
• UX Researcher (User Experience Researcher)

What Can You Do With a human-centered technology design Degree?

Graduates with a degree in human-centered technology design commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Web and Digital Interface Designers	13.0%	$88,198	$70,323–$106,073
Video Game Designers	2.6%	$62,617	$51,581–$73,653

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to human-centered technology design graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	55%
High school diploma or equivalent	15%
Some college courses	10%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	10%
Less than a high school diploma	10%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in human-centered technology design?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 61.6% of human-centered technology design degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	479	61.6%
Men	299	38.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of human-centered technology design graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	294	37.8%
Asian	134	17.2%
Hispanic or Latino	53	6.8%
Black or African American	72	9.3%
Two or More Races	34	4.4%
Race Unknown	45	5.8%
International Students	146	18.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do human-centered technology design Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of human-centered technology design graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$69,148
4 years	$77,570
5 years	$88,131

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $88,131 — roughly 27% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online human-centered technology design Programs

Distance learning are documented by IPEDS for human-centered technology design. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	2	0
Master’s	3	0
Doctoral (Research)	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in human-centered technology design Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, human-centered technology design graduates earn a median of $77,570 four years after completion — roughly 104% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Computer and Information Sciences, General	118,381
Computer Science	79,857
Computer and Information Sciences, General	67,926
Information Technology	42,322
Information Science/Studies	22,425
Computer Programming/Programmer, General	11,341
Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design	5,236
Informatics	3,067
Computer and Information Sciences, Other	2,635
Artificial Intelligence	1,653
Web/Multimedia Management and Webmaster	760

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.