Same fields, no narrative padding. Share the URL. It already holds the selection. Visa prior is a planning range, not a score. Indices, future proof, job security, all-in sketch, holds, costs you, and full freight are defined in the word list under a finished comparison.
Seattle, Washington
UW MHCI+D
1 year · 46 credits minimum
A locked, cohort-based year rather than a track menu. Studio, prototyping, and human-centered methods carry the degree. Technical and strategy electives exist inside a short calendar, so you add a skill; you do not change fields twice.
Capstone / internship. The year culminates in a substantial team design project. It is the case study you graduate with. It is not a substitute for a summer at a company, because there often is no separate summer left.
Cohort. The public class-of-2026 roster on the program site is on the order of 35–40 students. That is a headcount of a webpage, not an official cap. Editorial band: 50 hours or more in peak studio weeks. Critique, plus a job search, is the load. People underestimate the second one.
Seven core courses and four electives. Full-time study is at least 36 units a semester. Most courses are 9 or 12 units. Electives can be taken across Carnegie Mellon, which is the actual flexibility, not a menu of unnamed ‘design tracks.’
Capstone / internship. The capstone is two courses: HCI Project I in spring (15 units) and HCI Project II in summer (48 units). Teams of four to six students partner with an external sponsor for about seven months, from discovery through a tested prototype or, sometimes, an MVP.
Cohort. Fall 2025: 57 new MHCI students, plus 1 continuing student (official FAQ). Editorial band, not a published hour count: 45–60 hours a week once Project I starts, higher in the summer. The 48-unit summer course is the evidence.
City names are places, not scores. Updated 11 October 2026. Visa ranges are editorial planning priors, not school statistics. No program on this list publishes an OPT-to-sponsorship rate. The range assumes a STEM-eligible I-20, a portfolio aimed at companies that have sponsored before, and a 2026 hiring market in which design studios sponsor less often than large tech and some product orgs. H-1B remains a lottery. Update your plan when policy or the market moves.
Word list
Decision framework
The rules for reading the order on the homepage. It is a weighting for one applicant, not a quality ladder of the six schools.
Indices
Five scores from 1 to 10: livability, job security, future proof, selectivity, and ROI. Each score compares these six programs only.
Visa prior
A planning range for OPT and for whether employers in that market sponsor. It is not an admission rate and not a promise.
Future proof
How directly the curriculum treats human-AI work, systems, and the mix of research, craft, and technical skill after 2026.
Job security
How usable the path is into product design, UX research, or product management: brand, network, internship, and where alumni land.
All-in sketch
Tuition plus a living estimate for the length of the degree. Not an invoice. Fees, flights, and aid sit outside it unless a line says so.
Holds
Where the program is strong for this decision.
Costs you
What you give up, or the risk you take, if you pick it.
Full freight
You pay the published tuition. Do not assume a scholarship or an assistantship will cut it.