Compare · 2 or 3 programs

Put them next to each other.

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.

Three is the maximum. Remove one to swap.

Berkeley, California

UC Berkeley MIMS

2 years

The class of 2023 median salary was $120,000. Recent titles on the career page include product manager, UX researcher, interaction designer, product designer, data scientist, machine learning engineer, and trust and safety. Employers named include Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Salesforce, and PayPal, plus startups and public agencies. The field chart on that page is older (2018 graduates). Read the 2023 report before you quote a percentage.

Search. Planning band: 2–6 months, faster with a returning summer internship, slower for visa-dependent design roles.

Acceptance. Not published. Admissions calls the review holistic and prints a class profile instead of a rate. Relative to this set it belongs with CMU: small class, experienced pool, high unspoken bar.

Visa prior. 65–80%. STEM-designated, in the densest market of employers that already sponsor, with a curriculum that points at PM and engineering-adjacent titles. Those titles sponsor more often than visual design. The top of the range still assumes a competent search and a lottery. It is not an admission outcome.

Roles. Product manager, UX researcher, Product designer, Data or AI product roles

Official program site

Ann Arbor, Michigan

UMich MSI

2 years

Class of 2025, reported in the 2026 MSI employment report: 88% employment among respondents, $91,000 average salary ($95,000 private sector, $103,000 in technology, $64,000 public or nonprofit), 90% of respondents highly satisfied. 358 graduates, 52% response. Average search was three to four months. 45% stayed in Michigan, 11% California, 11% New York. Top industries: technology 31%, universities 14%, consulting 7%, health 7%.

Search. 3–4 months average for MSI graduates in the class of 2025 report. International UX searches are not broken out.

Acceptance. Not published. No rate on the pages reviewed. Hundreds of MSI graduates a year means the school-level door is the widest in this set. Strong UX and PM applicants still compete inside it. A higher headcount is not a lower standard for the work.

Visa prior. 45–60%. Confirm STEM on the I-20. The employer list includes sponsors (Microsoft, Amazon, Adobe) and many organizations that hire locally without a visa practice. Forty-five percent of graduates staying in Michigan is a clue: the modal job is not a Bay Area sponsorship story. International outcomes exist in the report. They are not the majority plot.

Roles. UX researcher, Product designer, UX strategist, Product manager, Also librarians, analysts, and consultants. The report is the whole school

Official program site

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Carnegie Mellon MHCI

12 months · 3 semesters

The honest claim is brand plus capstone, not a published placement percentage. MHCI is the program hiring managers in product design, UX research, and PM already file under ‘serious.’ Pittsburgh itself will not hire the whole class. Most people search nationally.

Search. Planning band used here: 2–6 months, longer for many international students. The program does not publish a median search time.

Acceptance. 23% in the 2025–26 cycle. Official FAQ. The rate moves year to year. 23% is selective, not mythical. The pool is strong enough that the number understates how finished your story needs to be.

Visa prior. 60–75%. STEM-designated, which matters for the 24-month STEM OPT extension. The brand opens doors at employers that have sponsored before. Design studios often will not. Capstone sponsors are not visa sponsors. International searches in the program’s own commentary run longer. This range is a planning prior, not a rate.

Roles. Product designer, UX researcher, Product manager, Design strategist

Official program site

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.