MDes vs MHCI @CMU
Part 1: A comparison highlighting the differences and similarities
With application season around the corner, a lot of people reached out to me asking about the difference between CMU MDes and CMU MHCI courses apart from a general overview of the MDes program. So, here is a blog where I want to share a few insights about the two programs based on my experience.
Before jumping into the details, a bit about me — I’m Anupriya, currently an MDes student in my second year in the School of Design at CMU. In the past year and a half, I have taken courses both within the school of design and within the HCI department. While both courses have some commonalities, there are several key differences. To start with an overview, the following table summarizes these aspects on a high level —
Admission Process —
While the admission process keeps changing from year to year, here is an overview of the materials and background required for applying to the two programs —
Other References:
Going through the admission process myself, I found this blog by Antonio Song on MDes vs. MHCI @ CMU — Carnegie Mellon University super helpful. It further digs deeper into the career opportunities coming out of each program. Additionally, the Top UX school website offers a good objective comparison but might be outdated. While both these are great references that I would recommend checking out, since they haven’t been updated, several things have changed since they were published.
I hope that through this blog, I can shed some light on the current differences but at the same time, I would highly recommend checking out the official websites to clarify and refer to all details as a source of truth.
CMU MDes Website | CMU MHCI Website
In the next part 2↗, I compare more subjective details on teaching style, cohort background, and area of focus.
Disclaimer: All the above-mentioned details are based on information as of November 2022 and my own experience and opinions. It doesn't reflect the opinions of the school itself.