Karyn Moffatt

Interests

My research is in Human-Computer Interaction and Accessibility. I spend most of my time thinking about how we might design interactive technologies differently if we forefronted the needs, preferences, and lifestyles of older adults. Recent projects have designed new augmentative and alternative communication technologies for aphasia, investigated social sharing environments for dementia, examined older adult's learning preferences for novel devices, and considered ways of making social technologies more inclusive for older adults. At the moment, I'm especially interested in how recent advances in AI stand to impact technology design for later life, in both positive and negative ways. Most of work these days involves qualitative methods.

The most up to date listing of my publications can be found on Google Scholar. More details on my research can be found on the ACT Lab website.

Supervision

Thank you for your interest in my research! Unfortunately, I am currently at capacity in my group, and thus there is a fairly low likelihood I will admit a PhD student for Fall 2027. Also note that admissions are competitive and determined by an admissions committee, which considers a range of factors, including the School’s overall capacity.

If you wish to be considered for admission under my supervision, please ensure you list me as one of your potential supervisors. I genuinely love engaging with prospective applicants and wish I could meet informally with everyone who reaches out. However, due to the high volume of inquiries I receive daily, I carefully review relevant applications during the official admissions process and meet with short-listed candidates at that time.

If you are applying to work with me, here are a few things I look for in strong applications:

Research alignment: Projects should fall within HCI and accessibility and align with my expertise and interests. Reviewing the work of my current and former PhD students may help illustrate this. I do not supervise projects outside my established areas.

Domain knowledge: Evidence of prior engagement with HCI and accessibility through coursework or projects is essential. A successful PhD builds on an existing foundation rather than starting from scratch in the field.

Research potential: A well-crafted proposal that demonstrates your ability to formulate compelling research questions. This proposal is used to assess fit and readiness, not to lock in a specific project.

Funding potential: Strong applicants typically have external funding or are well positioned for obtaining a major scholarship within a year or two of starting the program. Potential is assessed via the quality of the research proposal as well as past scholarship acheivements.

You can find more information on the application process on the McGill School of Information Studies website, and I encourage you to subscribe to McGill Future Graduate Students for updates on information sessions and events.

Thank you again for considering my group—I wish you all the best as you move forward in your academic journey.

Courses

I currently teach the following graduate courses in McGill's Master of Information Studies program. Students outside the program may be able to take these courses but should contact the School directly to inquire about permission and process.

• INFS 626: Usability Analysis & Assessment
• INFS 627: User-Centered Design

I also developed an introductory programming course for our MISt program.

Undergraduate Research

I supervise a small number of undergraduate research projects each year, typically with students from the McGill Cognitive Science program. If you are interested in conducting a project under my supervision, please fill out this application form.

Please note that it takes weeks to go from an initial point of contact to a meeting to discuss interests to a final course application. I am often offline for a good part of August and December. Last minute project requests will not receive a response.Moreover, undergraduate supervision requests often exceed my supervisory capacity, so submitting a detailed application on time is critical for full consideration.

Recommendation Letters

If you would like me to write a letter of recommendation, please complete this form at least two weeks before the submission deadline. I generally can write positive letters for people I've had in more than one class and who earned an A in those courses. Of course, recommendation letters vary in their requirements. The kind of letter requried for a national doctoral scholarship is very different from that needed for a summer job. Please do not hesitate to reach out by email if you think the general guidelines might not apply to your specific case.