About the Accelerated Masters Program

The HCII offers a three-semester (12-month), 11-course Master of Educational Technology and Applied Learning Sciences. Undergraduates who have taken the three core METALS courses (05823 E-Learning Design Principles and Methods, 05738 Evidence-Based Educational Design, and 05360 Interaction Design Fundamentals), and a METALS elective on the 400 level or above, will be considered eligible for the Accelerated Masters program.

These students will be allowed to complete the master’s degree in as little as two semesters (8 months) after their undergraduate degree, instead of the usual three semesters (12 months).

The bottom row in the table below describes how to move from the CMU undergraduate program into and through the master’s program. Students who want to be considered for the accelerated master’s program should apply to the HCII by November 1 of their senior year. Decisions will be made in time for spring registration week.

Undergraduate seniors in their last semester begin the masters program by taking 05840 Tools for Online Learning and 05681 METALS Project I, which is the first half of the master’s-level two-semester project course. They then take 05682 METALS Project II in the summer. They finish the program in the fall semester by taking four electives to satisfy the METALS requirement. Students who already took courses as undergrads that would satisfy the master’s electives must still enroll in at least four electives while a master’s student.

How to Apply

The METALS program must receive a completed application package and an application fee as early as April 1 of your junior year, but no later than November 1 of your senior year. Admission decisions will be made on a rolling basis and emailed before spring registration begins in November. A graduate orientation program is held during the week before spring classes begin and accepted accelerated masters students are expected to attend.

To apply for admission to the accelerated program, during the application period in the Spring or Fall semesters, please visit the School of Computer Science Admission Page to apply. Please read the instructions carefully and make certain that you have met all requirements when you submit your application. As part of the application you will be required to submit the following:

1. Statement of Purpose. Type or print a concise statement containing the following information:
   1. Your objective in pursuing a METALS degree, including your career goals, and your reasons for choosing to continuing your education at Carnegie Mellon.
   2. Your background in educational technology, learning science or other fields relevant to your objective. Describe how your academic, industrial or commercial experience prepares you for admission to the METALS program. Please verify that your description here is consistent with your resume. You may want to outline the areas of education with which you have experience or exposure (other than as a student).
   3. Any additional details you wish to give the Admissions Committee, including any projects on which you have worked.
2. Resume. Provide a complete up-to-date resume. Order the relevant work experiences chronologically with the most recent first. Clearly distinguish part-time, co-op, or intern work from full-time positions.
3. Transcripts. Submit official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions that you have attended.
4. Three Recommendations. The admissions committee wants to know about your ability to successfully complete graduate-level coursework at CMU and to work in interdisciplinary teams at a professional level. You should select letter writers who can best speak to these points. Professors who interacted with you extensively in small classes are a good choice. Employers are appropriate if they can speak to your ability to work in a group at a professional level, but letters that are simply character references will not provide good support for your application.
5. Application Fee. The application fee will be waived for Carnegie Mellon students. However, it is your responsibility to submit the waiver request at https://www.cs.cmu.edu/academics/fee-waiver.