Master's Program
My courses and activities at the UC Berkeley School of Information
During my four years with the National Park Service, I witnessed firsthand how a cumbersome information management system can make workers’ lives more difficult. I’m now focused on user experience design and research at the School of Information, and am building an understanding of how to make business software that is easier to use.
In addition to my coursework, I’ve been actively involved in the Information Management Student Association. I served a term as the Social Co-chair, organizing fun events for my fellow students. I also helped plan, and volunteered for, the annual InfoCamp event and Social Innovation Hackathon.
- School: UC Berkeley School of Information
- Program: Information Management & Systems
- Focus: user experience design and research
- Time Period: Fall 2013 - Spring 2015
Main Coursework
Qualitative Research Methods
This course focused on the use of qualitative methods for research. Methods covered included interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and ethnography.
Applied Behavioral Economics
Writing case studies and designing experiments to explore principles of behavioral economics such as choice architecture, ambivalence, risk calculation, and bias.
Needs & Usability Assessment
Hands-on practice with a number of user experience research methods, including heuristic evaluation, observation, interviews, surveys, and focus groups. This class emphasized the collection and interpretation of data about user activities, and translating that data into design decisions.
User Interface Design & Development
Designing, prototyping, and evaluating user interfaces. Included contextual inquiry, personas, scenarios, paper prototyping, interactive prototyping, heuristic evaluation, and user testing.
See the final project.
Design & Development of Web-based Products & Services
I worked on an interdisciplinary team of business and School of Information Students to design a better group calendaring service. The class emphasized topics such as ideation, concept selection, prototyping, user testing, and A/B testing.
Interface Aesthetics
Interactive seminar on designing aesthetically engaging interfaces. Included visual design basics, critiques, and class projects.