Why Carnegie Mellon Masters programs (MDes, MHCI) are (statistically) the worst choices for international students pursuing UX Design
What MDes and MHCI hides from the F-1 internationals
Disclaimer: I graduated from the Information Systems + BHCI undergrad program, so I was not exposed to the disadvantages stated below. CMU undergrad is truly an amazing program, and I loved every minute of it. I strongly recommend to all high school students/college transfer students considering it.
Alright, it’s about time to talk about the uncomfortable truth about CMU’s MHCI and MDes program. Why isn’t MDes declaring STEM OPT? And why isn’t MHCI a 2 years program, but BHCI is? Or taking one step back, why isn’t CMU, as a university, offering a comprehensive UX design program that offers both 2 years + STEM OPT, to give their students maximum competitiveness in the job market?
After mentoring countless international students, I’ve had enough. I’m calling CMU Design & HCII out, they need to get on top of this situation now. Otherwise I simply cannot recommend CMU masters to international students. Period.
If you’re seeking a UX/product design job in the US, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Carnegie Mellon University’s MHCI program, or the MDes program. These two are some of the nation’s best programs for UX design.
However if you’re an international citizen, which is the majority of the MDes and MHCI students, you’re gonna wanna avoid coming to CMU at all costs. Why?
Other schools give you STEM OPT and summer internship chances. MDes and MHCI makes you choose one between the two.
MDes and MHCI have their own flaws that makes it difficult to recommend to international students. As I’ve covered in my other article, we all know that STEM OPT and summer internship is an important pre-requisite for a successful job searching experience for F-1 internationals. However, the two CMU programs only offer one of each.
- MDes is a 2 years program that gives you a summer internship opportunity, but does not have STEM OPT.
- MHCI does have STEM OPT, but is a 1 year program that doesn’t let you perform summer internship.
And we all know that summer internship is highly valuable because of the return offer system put in place by majority of the companies. We also know that many companies straight up do not hire international students without a STEM OPT.
In short, as internationals, you are much better off selecting other programs in other universities that offer the best of both worlds, such as but not limited to:
- University of Washington, HCDE MS, 2 years Master’s
- Georgia Tech, MS-HCI, 2 years Master’s
- Indiana University Bloomington, HCI/d MS, 2 years Master’s
- ArtCenter, Graduate Media Design Practices, 2–3 years Master’s
- Academy of Art University, MA/MFA Web Design & New Media, 2 years Master’s
- School of Visual Arts (SVA), MFA IxD, 2 years Master’s
- Parsons School of Design (The New School), MFA Design and Technology, 2 years Master’s
Why do I say (statistically) in the title?
Because there are international students who constantly beat the odds and achieve their goals. Honestly, it is all up to you. You could be from an MDes program without a STEM OPT, still find a dream company that sponsors your H-1B visa and get it on your first or second try. Lucky you. You could be from the MHCI program, work really hard and land your dream job without any internship and return offer leverage. Great, you’re highly talented.
Statistically speaking though, you are far better off in another program at another school. Why bet against the odds?
The only silver lining to this story is that CMU does have a top-notch career fair for designers, where many of the top-tier companies come to recruit. I know that this is a luxury not all universities have, and career fairs have definitely helped me find an internship during my undergrad. But what’s the point if you don’t have STEM OPT, or even worse, can’t even apply for an internship?
To all staff members at CMU Design and HCI:
Please fix the system. You know your international students are being disadvantaged in the job market because of your broken system. Yet every year, hundreds of international students still fly all the way to Pittsburgh, a lot of them not knowing about the disadvantages they brought upon themselves by enrolling at your programs. You explicitly don’t state this on your website. Don’t get upset at this post because I’m informing the internationals on a public information that every applicants have the right to know.
You’re the #1 institution in the US for HCI and Design. You have wonderful professors and students. You really have a special thing going on. I know you do. I’ve experienced them first-hand. So do the right thing, your majority of the students are internationals.
Please fix the system.
