Professional MS degrees vary in their orientation and quality. You must consider each program individually. Students in the MIIS degree take the same courses as students in CMU's research-oriented MLT and PhD degrees. They are advised by the same faculty. The distribution of GPAs for MIIS and MLT students are very similar. It is just as difficult to get into the MIIS degree as it is to get into the MLT degree. The LTI is very serious about providing a professional MIIS degree that is just as good as its research-oriented MLT degree. You can find out how the first cohort of MIIS students did on our web page (http://www.lti.cs.cmu.edu/miis/graduates).
Best wishes with your decisions.
