Master's Programs FAQs

We have a mixed curriculum of studios, seminars, and lab courses. Most of them combine theory and practice, integrating a mix of hands-on experiences with reading and writing activities. In combination with the intellectual grounding of design, we believe that making skills—prototyping, tinkering, and iterating are critically important to the practice of design. We also strongly value design research and communication skills as core components of the design process. As a result, you'll see these topics woven into all facets of our curriculum.

The MA is a one-year program geared towards people who are interested in taking a first step in transitioning to design from another discipline or seeking to add a design complement to their existing profile. It focuses on introducing students to fundamental principles, approaches, and tools that are essential to designing for interactions, including visual communication, prototyping, and human-centered practices.

The MPS is a two-semester program to which only MA students may apply. It enables students to deepen their practical knowledge and skills in design for interactions while learning approaches and theories that are at the forefront of design and innovating with technology. Courses required in the first year of the MDes program, except for Thesis Prep, comprise the curriculum.

The MDes is still considered the "terminal" degree for design practice and university-level teaching. The key difference between the MDes and MPS is that, in addition to the required coursework of the MPS, the MDES program includes a thesis project that combines research and design practice, which students conduct primarily in their second year of study, alongside a set of three electives, one additional seminar, and a series of four thesis prep courses. Students also typically secure an internship between the first and second year of the MDes program.

The MDes is the terminal degree in design research and practice, qualifying graduates for college-level teaching and professional careers. The Ph.D. is a research degree focused on advancing theoretical and practical knowledge within the field of design. 

SoD & MHCI
The 12-month-long MHCI program, recruits students primarily with backgrounds in technology, behavioral science, and design, and offers cross-training in all three disciplines that culminate in a summer intensive capstone, which is a team-based client project. You can find more information at this link. https://hcii.cmu.edu/academics/mhci.

The 12-month-long MII-PS program recruits students primarily from Industrial Design, Engineering, and Business, and offers cross-training in all three disciplines through a collaborative course- and project-based curriculum. You can find more information at this link. https://www.cmu.edu/iii/degrees/miips/9.html

Similar to MHCI and MII-PS, the School of Design utilizes current and emerging technologies in projects.  However, our curriculum is squarely design-led, with an emphasis on human-centered design for interactions and design that doesn't harm living things, including our planet. Our research and education are focused on understanding people from a holistic viewpoint, addressing personal, social, and societal needs, and positioning design as a catalyst for positive change. Our research is not exclusively qualitative, but it certainly leans that way and employs design-based research methods.

Additionally, the vast majority of our 18-20 full-time faculty are designers of one stripe or another. Some come from professional practice; many are rooted in history, theory, and philosophy, and some in both. Most are active design researchers, and some maintain professional practices as well. Your education here is firmly grounded in design principles, methods, and practice, with an emphasis on both a rigorous design process and strong visual and verbal communication of research findings and solutions.

We take a very broad view of design and intentionally differentiate between "Design for Interactions" and interaction design. Design for interactions encompasses how people interact with each other and with the world (environment, artifacts), and the role design plays in mediating and enhancing these interactions. Whereas some programs focus almost exclusively on digital products (screens and devices), we see these as one of many possibilities within design for interactions. With the emphasis on the quality of interactions, design may leverage multiple touchpoints, including products, systems, environments, and services.

We are also differentiated from other programs through our reputation in human-centered research and design, which now includes a mindfulness for design's impact on all living things, including the planet. We are a process-oriented school, meaning that we care as deeply about how solutions are developed as the final form they take. We ground creative and visual/aural/temporal decisions in a rigorous approach, combining primary and secondary research methods. Being situated in a university setting also provides access to multiple disciplines, including sciences and social sciences, business, policy, and unique institutes such as Human-Computer Interaction, Language Technologies, and Robotics, among others.

Interdisciplinary collaborations on campus happen in a variety of ways. First, you will often encounter students from other disciplines in your required courses and those you elect to take. Second, many students fulfill their elective course options in other schools or departments on campus. In some cases, faculty are specifically looking for design students to join classes or teams. Third, there are often research projects, and sometimes competitions, that specifically recruit or look for an interdisciplinary cohort of students to participate. In general, CMU is an interesting place to work and study because of the diversity of schools, departments, and institutes on campus. For a relatively small university, there are world-class schools of business, computer science, humanities and social sciences, and public policy and arts management, along with entities such as the Robotics Institute, the Language Technologies Institute, the Tepper School of Business, the Integrated Innovation Institute, and the Human Computer Interaction Institute. While it is sometimes challenging to gain admission into specific courses, there is generally a spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration on campus.

Demographics for our graduate programs vary year to year, but because the MA explicitly caters to non-designers, we work with a wide range of students with backgrounds in such disciplines as engineering, sciences, social sciences, arts, and business. Former students have included a photojournalist, an anthropologist, an ethnographer, an engineer, someone with an MBA, a college English teacher, a former kindergarten teacher, and someone with a math and sciences background who had taken some design courses.

Our students tend to be career professionals who vary in age. However, the majority of our students are in their late 20s or early 30s. We appreciate a diverse student population, differing each year, that brings a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to our programs.

Yes, the Master’s programs are STEM eligible.

We accept students once a year, for Fall admission only. The application deadline is January 15.

The graduate program is intended to be in-person; please apply with this policy in mind.

We do not offer joint degrees. In the School of Design, as is typical of Carnegie Mellon's other graduate-level programs, courses may be counted towards multiple degrees.

Yes, you may apply to both graduate programs in the SoD and HCI. Please keep in mind that admissions committees and application requirements are completely separate, as they reside within different schools within Carnegie Mellon.

No, students may not transfer between graduate programs. However, you may take electives in another program and explore research opportunities to interact with a range of professors and students.

If you simply wish to take a course, whether it be for credit or audit, you need not be a matriculated student. You will have to pay a one-time fee to register as a non-matriculating student, and then pay tuition (tuition is charged even if it's an audit). Before paying the registration fee, it's best to email the instructor to see if you can gain admittance into a course. Very popular courses and those that are degree requirements give preference to Carnegie Mellon students.

We do not accept transfer credits because our graduate program is quite short, and most studios, seminars, and courses are specific and sequenced for the degrees we offer.

There is only one submission deadline per year (January 15) and applicants are notified of admissions decisions on or before March 15. There are other admissions events throughout the year to help those interested in our programs learn about them and meet with SoD faculty/students. For more information on these events, please email the graduate program coordinator.

The admissions fee is required for all applications. 

Acceptance rates vary among our programs and from year to year, depending on the number of applications we receive and the number of open spots we have for new students. Nonetheless, we typically accept about 40% of our applicant pool.

Each year, we strive to bring twelve students into each of our master’s programs—MA, MPS, and MDes—and welcome twelve returning MDes students to complete the second year of the program, for a total of approximately 50 students across the master’s cohort.

We define a design background fairly broadly, including but not limited to degrees in Communication/Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Product Design, Interaction Design, Multimedia, and Architecture. We are looking for you to have a strong command of foundational design knowledge and skills, and a deep understanding and practice of design processes. In the event that you apply to the MDes program and we believe you are better suited to the MA to gain a strong foundation in design, we may recommend entry into that program.

We review applications from a wide range of undergraduate degrees and professional backgrounds. Our programs are designed to accommodate students with design experience, as well as those looking to transition into design careers from other disciplines or add a design complement to their existing professional profile. Students applying from non-design backgrounds should apply to the MA in Design program.

We encourage you to review program guidelines and, based on your experience, apply to the program that you believe is the best fit. However, when the Admissions Committee reviews all applications, they may make a recommendation for another program depending on your background.

We will look for your resume and portfolio to demonstrate your design (ex. communication/graphic design, product design, industrial design, architecture)skills and knowledge, including and a clear understanding of design processes, research, iteration, critique, prototyping, and form resolution. If you think you have those, you may want to apply directly to the MDES program. However, if the committee believes that you would benefit from courses that teach foundational knowledge and skills that are needed for advanced study in designing for interactions, they may recommend admission into the MA program.

The School of Design recognizes full-time employment that is conducted after earning an undergraduate degree (preferably lasting at least twelve continuous months) as one year of professional experience. We do not accept time accumulated through internships as professional experience.

MDes students will engage in collaborative efforts that are strengthened by the lessons learned from professional practice. The skills, knowledge, and maturity that are gained through professional experience also support MDes students in conducting the independent research that is a core component of the required thesis project.

The School of Design requires all applicants to have at least one full year of professional, non-internship work experience (with one or more years being in design-related practice for those applying to MDes) after earning an undergraduate degree. We will not consider an application that does not fulfill our professional practice requirements.

Yes, non-traditional design experience is recognized. Students applying from non-design backgrounds should apply to the MA in Design program.

We have a strict policy that all our graduate students must have an undergraduate degree.

Equipping yourself with some prerequisite skills can help, but we recommend that you first put effort into really understanding the landscape of design, current conversations, trends, and careers. We also suggest investigating various schools and comparing what they have to offer. We have a 'pre-work' packet that we send to our accepted students at the start of each summer. If you would like to receive a pdf of our current packet to guide your design studies, please contact our graduate program coordinator. Lastly, you may want to keep an eye out for courses, workshops, etc. that may provide additional insights.

Four admissions committee members will review submissions, paying attention to ALL of the application criteria, so you can play to your strengths. Along with your application, which includes a statement, resume, portfolio, official transcripts, and a list of work experience, you will submit three letters of recommendation, and ESL scores (if applicable).

Yes. We accept degrees that act as an equivalent to a bachelor's degree.

No, but we do recommend that you attend one of our visitor days. Information on those can be found on our Plan a Visit page

We do not offer deferments to applicants. Should you choose to apply again the following year, your candidacy will be evaluated on the basis of the applicant pool at that time.

We recommend that you review financial aid information online at: https://www.cmu.edu/sfs/financial-aid/graduate/index.html, paying close attention to the FAFSA form that you may want to complete. If you have questions, please reach out to the university's HUB directly at: https://www.cmu.edu/hub/contact/.

Although we do not offer full funding, each year, the admission committee awards scholarships to a few students based on the merit of their applications. Recipients receive notification of the award in their acceptance package, which provides partial tuition. Full-time graduate students in the MDes, MPS, and MA programs may apply for assistantships in the School of Design, which provides the opportunity to earn $2,000 per semester in exchange for approximately six hours of work per week. Limited conference reimbursements are offered each year, and students can apply for research grants through the University to support their thesis projects. Additional scholarships and funding may be available, but these are up to the individual student to seek out for application. You can learn about other potential sources of financial aid from CMU's Student Financial Services.

A committee of four faculty members reviews applications. We look at them holistically, assessing the combination of all required materials. However, the design portfolio and the statements are critical components, as they aid the assessment of pertinent skills and knowledge. We look for your portfolio to demonstrate your design (ex. communication/graphic design, product design, industrial design,  architecture) skills and knowledge, including  a clear understanding of design processes, research, iteration, critique, prototyping, and form resolution. We review statements to gain critical insight into your background, your motivation for graduate studies in design, and why you see the School of Design as a particularly good fit for you.

We recommend that you focus less on differentiating yourself and more on describing your true interests and their alignment with what the School of Design offers. We think that it is important for applicants to seek programs that are well-suited to their aspirations, just as we are looking for applicants who we believe will benefit from our programs.

Your portfolio should be an honest portrayal of your skills, thinking, and interests. If your best work is graphic design, showcase it. If you have some interactive pieces or can produce some that you think would express your potential and interest in those areas, include them too.

MA applications are reviewed based on a variety of factors evident in submission materials, including some evidence of creative work and/or creative potential exhibited in a portfolio, and a statement that indicates motivation for an education in design, trajectory to design, and a fit within the School of Design in particular. Your portfolio, as indicated on our site, can include anything from your involvement in a project with your role clearly identified; creative output such as photography, drawing, sketching, painting, ceramics; design work or design tinkering; and writing — technical, academic, and/or creative. Please note that we review an MA differently than those submitted for acceptance into the MDes program. If you believe your self-taught or self-motivated work effectively communicates your interest and heartfelt attempts in design, we encourage you to include them along with an explanation of how and why they were created.

All prospective students must submit an online application that includes: a statement of intent, CV or resume, letters of recommendation, TOEFL/IELTS or Duolingo proficiency exam scores (where applicable), official transcripts, a portfolio of work, a one-minute introductory video, and your admissions fee. Detailed descriptions can be found on our website.
 

Submitted applications should be considered final and will be sent to the admissions committee for review. You will be unable to make additional changes at that time.

Request an official electronic transcript from U.S. schools you attended when completing your application in GradCAS. Select the appropriate electronic transcript vendor and follow the instructions for Sending Transcripts Electronically found in the GradCAS help center: https://help.liaisonedu.com/GradCAS_Applicant_Help_Center. GradCAS accepts electronic transcripts from Credentials Solutions, Parchment, and National Student Clearinghouse. If your school does not use one of these services, your transcript must be sent by mail from your school’s registrar to:

GradCAS Transcript Processing Center
PO Box 9217
Watertown, MA 02471

Official international transcript(s) that cannot be sent electronically using Credential Solutions, Parchment, and National Student Clearinghouse must request a certified transcript evaluation from ECE or WES. The electronic transcript evaluations can be ordered in GradCAS and when WES or ECE completes your evaluation, they'll send it to GradCAS. We do not accept unofficial transcripts. If a transcript is not in English, there must be an original or certified translation as part of the transcript(s).

We only accept valid (dated 2 years or less) TOEFL (iBT, iBT Home, Essentials), IELTS, IELTS Indicator, and Duolingo English Test (DET) with applications in GradCAS.

We require TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo online test scores from all applicants whose native language/mother tongue is not English. Note, we occasionally waive scores if an applicant completed primary education (K-12) in the U.S or has a valid passport from one of these English-speaking designated countries:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• The Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Canada* (ex: Quebec)
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Ireland
• Jamaica
• Liberia
• Malta
• New Zealand
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St Lucia
• St Vincent and the Grenadines
• Sierra Leone
• Trinidad and Tobago
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

We recommend that references be people who know you well and can speak about you candidly on a wide variety of factors. References do not need to be from academia, but we recommend including at least one prior educator, if possible.

We receive many letters from references who know candidates in various capacities. They should comment candidly on what they know about you — how they know you, your academic record in a program or class (in any field), interpersonal factors, and assessment of suitability for graduate studies. If they happen to know or can comment on your creative potential or design capacity, that's great; if not, we will focus on the other factors on which they feel qualified to comment.

Please verify that you entered their email address correctly and ask your recommender to check their spam folder for the message. If the problem persists, contact GradCAS for help at: https://help.liaisonedu.com/GradCAS_Applicant_Help_Center.

After you submit your application, your materials will be reviewed throughout January and February by the admissions committee. Decisions are rendered in late February or early March, and the graduate program coordinator prepares notification materials throughout the first two weeks of March. You can anticipate receiving an email from the School of Design by March 15. In addition, GradCAS will periodically send you application status updates. If you have questions about your application or application status, please contact GradCAS Customer Service at (857) 304 – 2053 ext. 4025 or gradcasinfo@liaisoncas.com.

Feel free to check your GradCAS application, which will indicate what has been received. You can anticipate receiving various notifications throughout the application process, which are described on the GradCAS site.

We do not offer portfolio reviews at the graduate level. Nonetheless, you may find it helpful to review the portfolio guidance we offer online in our Admissions section. You are also welcome to attend one of our Visitors’ Days that are scheduled throughout the year. Additional information can be found on our Plan a Visit pages.

In an effort to maintain fairness among our applicant pool and be respectful of the time of our faculty and staff, we do not review applications or provide feedback to interested applicants outside of our formal application review process. During the review process, each committee member carefully reviews all parts of your application and collaboratively discusses its merits and fit within our program. Their decision is thoughtful, thorough, and conclusive. Unfortunately, the specific details that inform the committee's decision cannot be shared due to the collective nature of the admission review. However, if you do have questions about our program, please contact our graduate program coordinator, who will gladly assist you.