The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's MET course, offered by the School of Design, is a Master of Science program that covers f

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University's MET course, offered by the School of Design, is a Master of Science program that covers four focus areas: psychology, social and mobile internet, game media, and digital media technology. Its purpose is to equip versatile design professionals with expertise in design, psychology, digital media, and technology. For this session, we have invited senior Harris (pseudonym) to discuss the MET-psychology track. Please note that the audio recording of the interview will not be shared to protect privacy. Here is a summary of the topics we will cover.

Students' backgrounds are the first thing to consider

No matter what your background is, everyone has a bright spot

While majoring in design and having many school projects, I got the offer as a freshman despite having no work experience.

As far as I know, non-professional technology skills are more common than other professional abilities, such as those in systems design management, among applicants. However, this is not the main criterion for companies when selecting individuals for their organization. Instead, what holds greater weight are the applicant's individual development traits and distinctive qualities. A solid track record and significant experience gained through internships or previous employment can greatly strengthen an application. In addition, showcasing international education experiences from well-respected universities or top companies can also be advantageous throughout the application process.

Although my class is small, I am exposed to the media, news, design, and computer direction at present. Even in psychology, Hong Kong still considers diversity when selecting students.

Occupational characteristics aligned with psychology

Psychology is well-known for its commitment to research. While it may not appeal to individuals solely interested in pure or hands-on design thinking, the field offers a solid groundwork of research and theoretical concepts crucial to the design process. The Metropolitan Museum's focus on psychology allows students to receive comprehensive academic preparation and gain proficiency in valuable research methods such as user interviews and quantitative questionnaires. This program is notably more scholarly than other design majors.

In the same way as academic research, teachers will provide us with a lot of documents and have us write some small papers with references. However, the requirements are less rigid.

A professional researcher who engages in experimental research, data analysis, and other research methods.

In addition to literature reading and writing short papers, our previous semester also involved a project. This task required us to design and participate in experiments, collect and assess quantitative research data, and now we will proceed with a two-semester research project. Throughout these practical studies, we will identify and develop independent and dependent variables, while controlling other factors to establish their causal relationship. Following data collection, we will apply scientific statistical methods such as hypothesis testing to analyze it and account for any significant variations.

The program trains academically minded design researchers.

Some team members are good at data processing, while others are good at collecting and researching data. As an example, my last semester's data research was inadequate, so I've put a lot of effort into data analysis this semester. If you're interested in this kind of academic research, then 50% of your energy might be used here.

In other design majors, projects are a common way to teach, including working with companies to produce relatively better projects. However, in the MET-psychology major, there are few very specific design output projects, primarily design research.

The core technical course of statistics is design and development psychology, and statistics is the most difficult course of statistics

Apart from teaching research methods, this major also offers courses on statistics that may be demanding and call for individual effort for improvement. As the program does not presuppose prior knowledge in statistical design, the overall difficulty level is deemed moderate. Students will learn key concepts in class and supplement their understanding with extra materials outside of class, progressively gaining proficiency in fundamental principles and necessary statistical techniques applicable to real-world scenarios. While the major emphasizes the significance of research, the initial semester prioritizes developing an intuition rather than conducting rigorous scientific investigations similar to those required of a doctoral candidate.

In most non-science fields, data analysis courses are the most challenging. Fortunately, this is not a major, but an additional course within the core curriculum of Design Psychology. There are only one or two classes, and the class time is a small percentage. The core courses of this major are Design Psychology 1 and Design Psychology 2.

The third topic is harvesting

Improve reading and writing skills by training inductive and deductive logic.

The most valuable aspect of this major is the systematic reading ability. It has taught me how to rapidly and effectively extract the main points from a document, as well as how to engage in thorough reading rather than skimming. Additionally, I have honed my skills in efficiently constructing a framework for writing and then filling it in with detailed content. Both my use of inductive and romantic logic have greatly improved throughout the learning process.

Develop the ability to apply theory

The main aim of this study plan is to improve your analytical abilities. In addition, it will develop your capacity to utilize these skills and apply your research and psychological expertise in the area of instructional design, a component of enterprise applied psychology. The design process involves a range of techniques and resources; however, due to time limitations, hands-on project opportunities may be restricted. Nonetheless, you will gain knowledge on effectively implementing your expertise.

IV. Application

Interviews are one of the most challenging parts of the application process

Students with humanistic backgrounds would be better suited for this project, so we might choose design science, anthropology, sociology, journalism, and so on.

In this program, interviews are restricted and the interviewer will discuss your background and experience. Inquiries typically focus on psychology and entail examining details and concepts in your portfolio through a psychological lens. Furthermore, the interviewer will have numerous follow-up assignments that may prove difficult to anticipate and prepare for. This can be especially challenging for those with a singular interest in psychology, without a comprehensive understanding or formal education in the subject. Consequently, they may encounter difficulty in answering complex psychological questions. The significance of excelling in interviews is highly esteemed in this particular field of study.