Usable Privacy and Security
Course Number: 05-436 / 05-836 / 17-334 / 17-734 / 19-534 / 19-734
There is growing recognition that technology alone will not provide all of the solutions to security and
privacy problems. Human factors play an essential role in these areas, and it is important for security
and privacy experts to have an understanding of how people will interact with the systems they develop.
This course is designed to introduce students to a variety of usability and user-interface problems related
to privacy and security and to give them experience in understanding and designing studies aimed at
helping to evaluate usability issues in security and privacy systems. The course is suitable both for
students interested in privacy and security who would like to learn more about usability, as well as for
students interested in usability who would like to learn more about security and privacy. All students will
work in small teams on a group project throughout the semester.
The course is open to all students who have at least some technical background (e.g. an undergraduate
computer programming course). The 12-unit course numbers (17-734, 5-836, 19-734) are for PhD
students and masters students (but open to undergrads). Students enrolled in these course numbers will
be required to read and comment on a research paper each week in addition to the other assignments.
The 9-unit course numbers (8-534, 5-436, 19-534) are for undergraduates and masters students.
Academic Year: 2025-2026
Semester(s): Spring
Required/Elective: Required
Units: 9 or 12
Prerequisite(s): Prior computer science courses are helpful
Location(s): Pittsburgh
Format
LectureLearning Objectives
- Gain an appreciation for the importance of usability within security and privacy
- Learn about current research in usable privacy and security
- Learn how to conduct usability studies
- Learn how to critically examine UPS studies