Master Programme
Master of Human-Computer Interaction
The Human-Computer Interaction Institute's MHCI is an interdisciplinary professional degree completed in one calendar year, with students from design, social science, business and computer science backgrounds. Students take seven core courses (an HCI pro-seminar, user-centred research and evaluation, interaction design fundamentals, advanced interaction design, a programming course chosen to suit their experience, and two capstone project courses) plus four electives from across the university. The capstone is a seven-month industry project in which student teams work with an outside sponsor to research a real problem and deliver working prototypes and recommendations. The program warns of a 60-plus-hour weekly workload.
University
Carnegie Mellon University
Country
United States
Level
Master
Field
Human-Computer Interaction
Duration
12 months full-time (3 semesters: fall, spring and summer)
Language
English
Campus
Pittsburgh
Degree
Master of Human-Computer Interaction (MHCI)
Intake
Fall semester (2027-28 cohort)
Application Deadline
2027-28 cohort: a single deadline of 15 January 2027 at 3 p.m. EST, through the separate MHCI application (there is no early deadline). The application fee is US$100, and fee waiver requests are due a week before the deadline. Decisions are sent by 15 March. The MHCI admissions office is closed from 19 December 2026 to 3 January 2027
Tuition Information
2026-27: MHCI tuition is US$31,100 a semester for full-time students (US$93,300 across the three semesters at this year's rate); this covers tuition only. As an SCS program, the Student Financial Services graduate budget applies: Student Financial Services' 2026-27 graduate budget for the fall and spring semesters adds US$14,752 for housing, US$8,664 for food, US$2,212 for books and supplies, US$3,352 for health insurance, US$4,098 for personal costs, US$1,756 for travel and US$1,040 in required fees (student activities US$248, transportation US$302, technology US$490), a total of US$35,874 for fall and spring, and the summer semester adds further living costs. The MHCI program does not offer departmental financial aid or tuition support, though the program takes part in CMU's Rales Fellows program
Admission Requirements
- A four-year bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited US institution or a foreign equivalent by the start of the fall term; no specific major is required
- Application materials: three letters of recommendation (at least two from faculty or recent employers recommended), a statement of purpose of up to 500 words, resume, transcripts and a one-minute video essay. GRE scores and work examples (a portfolio, GitHub, publications and so on) are optional
- English proficiency (if you will study on an F-1 or J-1 visa and English is not your native language; no waivers): TOEFL iBT with at least 25 in each section, or 5.5 overall with no section below 5.0 on the scale used from 2026; IELTS 8.5 overall with no band below 8.0, as stated on the MHCI admissions page; or Duolingo English Test 130 overall with no subscore below 125. Scores must be under two years old (tests before 1 September 2024 are not accepted), even if you studied in the US