desginengineeringmasters

@aqudon thanks for reminding me to update here. I ended up choosing MIT's IDM program In a crazy turn of events, I ended up getting into MIT's Media Lab (was originally waitlisted) on April 14th (a day before the deadline to accept/decline offers for the other programs), but had already committed to IDM and was really excited about it. It was a really hard to turn down the Media Lab, but ended up working it out with the PI of the lab to stay involved with the group, since I'll be at MIT, either through some kind of TA or research assistant position. We'll figure it out in the fall. I connected through this forum with 2 other students who were choosing between Harvard MDE and MIT IDM (and some other programs too). All 3 of us ended up choosing IDM. Harvard had planned an admitted student day, and MIT wasn't planning on hosting one, but the three of us felt like we really needed some more information before making our decision. So we talked to MIT's program director and academic director to ask if they could host an event for all admitted students, and within 48 hrs of talking to them they made it happen and it was great! We were all really impressed by their receptiveness to feedback, availability to chat with each of us, and we all left that event feeling really impressed by the quality of the program and the others in the cohort.

@aqudon I started a thread a few days ago where we're discussing different options: Would be great to hear your opinions on these as well

If it helps, I got the email for an interview Feb 26th, and interviewed on March 2nd. Important to note that even though I was accepted, I haven't received an email yet. Matt Kressy, the founding director, personally called to let me know of my acceptance. Everyone who was accepted so far got a call from him (I believe). He said emails would be coming in a week or so (I can't remember exactly because my head was spinning I was so excited), so don't quote me on that. Hope that helps and gives your F5 key a bit of a break ? Best of luck!!

Thanks for the thoughtful response and kind words! I'll add a few things based on what I've learned from talking to current students over the past few weeks: 1. Harvard MDE - There is not currently a dedicated person in the program to help with job finding. A drawback for me with this program is that it's technically housed in the GSD which is heavily architecture focused. Because of that technicality, you only have access to the GSD career portal, not the SEAS engineering career portal. It seems like the MDE program is much more focused on system and high level design vs MIT IDM which students expressed as being more technical and focuses on the entire design process (building a product from A-Z). Since MDE is more broad/general than IDM, students I spoke to said that people who do really well in MDE tend to have a very specific focus area, for example data privacy and governance. Those who do not tend to have a harder time finding themselves through all of the many options and may struggle more to find a job afterwards. *general note about Harvard and MIT: you can cross enroll in courses at either school. So courses and resources between Harvard and MIT including opportunities, speakers, courses, etc. seem widely shared and available to both the MDE and IDM courses. Looks like IDM started in 2015, and MDE started in 2016, so both are relatively new-ish and also have at least a bit of an alumni community. 2. MIT IDM - This program does have a dedicated person who is tasked with aiding in career resources. It seems widely known that IDM is more entrepreneurial in that a large portion of students start their own ventures after the program and its highly encouraged. As an entrepreneurial-minded person that's very attractive to me. Sounds like, compared to MDE, IDM is much more of a structured program and students come out with more tangible, technical skills from IDM which helps with future job prospects. I also really like that they require at least three years of work experience. There's a lot more I could say but I'll keep it at that for now. (There's a lot more I could add about MDE and IDM, but I'll leave it at that for now. I'm working on synthesizing all of the info I've been gathering about all of these programs and publishing it for everyone. Trying to get it out ASAP!) 3. CMU MIIPS - This is a great option. I think it's been less on my radar for a few reasons: 1) larger cohort size, 2) short program length (1.5 years feels too short), 3) since Harvard and MIT share so many resources, going to MDE or IDM sort of feels like getting 2 incredible schools in 1, 4) personal preference of preferring living in Boston area vs Pittsburgh, 5) I don't love that there might be some people in the cohort without work experience, because I think work experience is a pretty important factor considering how much the cohort impacts your experience in these types of programs. Other than those personal factors, you're right, it's an amazing program! 4. Berkeley MDes - I haven't gotten that environmental impression. Maybe you spoke to someone or read about someone's specific interest within the program? It's a very new program (their first cohort started in spring 2021 - a semester late because the students voted as a cohort to delay due to COVID and the staff listened to them which I think is pretty cool). I feel that they're making a big effort which has really impressed me. My interview with one of the faculty members was very interesting and I had a lot in common with them and their research. Seems like they did a lot of leg work personally pairing students with faculty with common interests. They've also added us to a Slack group so we can meet other admitted students. They've also already had admitted student virtual sessions where they physically showed us around their labs and spaces, we met with faculty and heard about some of the courses they teach and saw some work students have done in them. They also offered me one of their scholarships which was a total surprise to me and definitely makes them stand out to me. I feel really "seen" by them. As in I feel like I'm not just another student they're admitting. Seems like they really did their homework with each student and value what each one brings to the table. (I also feel this way about MIT's IDM program btw. The interview was almost an hour and was very personal and interesting and the program director himself called me to personally let me know of my acceptance and we had a nice conversation for about 20 minutes). One student I spoke to chose Berkeley's MDes program over Stanford's Design Impact and Harvard's MDE. Biggest downside for me is that it's only 3 semesters (1.5 years). Have much more info to share, but hope that helps someone out there trying to make their decision

Interesting! Thanks for sharing

Interesting. Curious what makes you feel like Harvard's MDE doesn't have a clear focus? I see a lot of similarities and differences between IDM and MDE so I'm curious to know more about your thoughts on those differences. I have a BS in neuroscience + minor in business and almost 4 years of work experience as a software engineer.

@Sheng thanks! And congrats on EDI! I applied to EDI after the first round. I just got the acceptance from IDM last night! Curious why you think it's the best choice. I think I agree with you, but curious to know your thoughts!

I just got my acceptance last night too! Super excited. @leeps would love to connect!

Anyone have any thoughts on Harvard MDE vs MIT IDM vs Berkeley MDes?

Anyone have any thoughts on Harvard MDE vs MIT IDM vs Berkeley MDes?

Anyone have any thoughts on MIT IDM vs Harvard MDE vs Berkeley MDes?

Anyone who decided between any of these programs, I'd love to hear your thoughts! There's such little info online about these design engineering/UX masters. I've been talking to current and past students, but it's still hard to get a clear sense of what I want to choose. I'm still waiting to hear back from Northwestern EDI and MIT IDM but interviewed for both programs. I'm looking for a program with a small cohort with an average age ~28 (I have almost 5 years of work experience so looking to be with a more senior cohort of students). I'm looking for a full-time program where the other students are also all-in and full-time in the program. After the program I'm looking to work as a product manager, design consultant, or start my own venture (potentially in healthcare). I'd like to be around other entrepreneurial-minded people who I could possibly build something with after/during the program. I tend to be more of a "service designer" but also would like to have a bit of experience with technical tools like 3D printing, etc. My background is in software engineering and a bit of business as well. Things I'm looking for in the programs: expanding my network and connections in the design/tech community, be challenged creatively by my cohort and faculty, availability and frequency of meetings with faculty, learning new skills in design, engineering, and business, etc. I'm more of a generalist than specialist, so looking for a program that similarly gives many opportunities in a broad array of topics. In general, though, I'd say I lean more towards engineering and business than design. Right now I think I'm between Harvard Master's in Design Engineering and MIT Master's in Integrated Design & Management with Berkeley Master of Design as a close third. Any help/insights would be much appreciated!!