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.
Austin, Texas
UT Austin MSIS
2 years · 36 credit hours
The flexible, lower-tuition HCI menu. You have to aim it or it will not aim you.
Best cost structure in the set, with real concentrations in HCI, UX, and human-centered AI. Last in this order because outcomes vary more by how you build the degree than by the name on it.
Holds
Where it is strong for this decision.
Lowest published tuition in this set for nonresidents
Automatic scholarship consideration, $1,000–$4,000 a year
STEM OPT eligibility, stated in the admissions FAQ
Room to mix HCI, UX, and human-centered AI without a second application
Costs you
What you give up if you pick it.
The brand will not carry a vague portfolio. Electives can become a tour.
No required internship with the force of Georgia Tech’s summer.
Austin sponsors unevenly. Local companies and big-tech satellites behave differently.
Two years of opportunity cost against a one-year program, even when tuition is lower.
The practical default. An internship is required, and the brand does not have to do all the work.
Best balance of design, research, and computing if you want a job-shaped summer in the middle and can tolerate Atlanta. Tuition is not ‘the cheap public option.’ It is a professional-program rate.
Holds
Where it is strong for this decision.
Required summer internship, which is the strongest structured bridge to a job in this set
Four tracks, so the degree can lean design, computing, or research
GRE is neither required nor considered
Atlanta costs less than Seattle or the Bay Area, and the airport helps a national search
Costs you
What you give up if you pick it.
Out-of-country tuition is a professional rate: about $20,096 per full-time term on the Fall 2026 bursar schedule, before fees.
No program scholarships. Assistantships exist and are not promised.
The track you apply to changes portfolio rules. Picking the wrong one is an unforced error.
Eighteen months is faster than a two-year MSI and slower than CMU or UW.
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.