| Ranking | School | State |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Washington | Washington |
| 2 | Stanford University | California |
| 3 | San Jose State University | California |
| 4 | University of California, Irvine | California |
| 5 | University of California, Berkeley | California |
Our 2025 rankings of the Top 5 graduate UX/UI/HCI school programs in the West. For reference, we define the West as California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Hawaii, and Alaska. For an explanation of ranking criteria, click here.
The College of Engineering at University of Washington (UW) houses the Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE) Department. Within the department are three programs for students seeking a graduate UX/UI/HCI program. These include MS and PhD degrees in HCDE, and a graduate certificate in User-Centered Design (UCD). Through several schools and departments (joint-initiative), UW also provides a Master of Human-Computer Interaction and Design (MHCI + D). UW HCDE and MHCI + D graduates go on to land leadership roles at places such as Boeing, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Amazon, Google, IBM, GE, T-Mobile, Adobe, Verizon, Accenture, and RTX Corporation.
The School of Engineering at Stanford University (Stanford) houses the Department of Computer Science. Within the department is a Computer Science MS with a specialization in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Students in other advanced degree programs can enroll in the HCI graduate certificate program. All students benefit from hands-on learning, collaborative projects, and research activities. Many graduates of Stanford’s HCI MS and graduate certificate programs go on to launch their own companies or work for Silicon Valley start-ups. Others have gone on to secure leadership roles at places such as Microsoft, NVIDIA, Apple, Google, Oracle, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Adobe, and Meta.
San Jose State University (San Jose State or SJSU) provides two graduate level UX/UI/HCI programs across two colleges. The College of Humanities and the Arts (Department of Design) houses a Master of Design (MDes) with a specialization in Experience Design (XD). The College of Engineering houses the Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) MS (MS HFE) with a User Experience (UX) concentration. This program also allows students to add a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) emphasis. The MDes culminates with a public showing of a master’s project, while MS HFE students may choose a project or thesis for the culminating experience. Across programs, graduates have been hired at places such as NASA, Oracle, Amazon, IBM, Google, Lockheed Martin, Cisco, Intel, Northrop Grumman, and Adobe.
University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine or UCI) is home to the Donald Bren School of Informatics and Computer Sciences (ICS). Within the school is the Department of Informatics, which houses the world’s only one-year, mixed format, low-residency Master of Human-Computer Interaction and Design (MHCID). Course examples include User Needs Analysis; Design and Prototyping; User Experience and Evaluation; Innovations in HCI and Design; and Interactive Technology Studio. All students have the opportunity to complete projects with industry partners such as Blizzard Entertainment, Google, and Boeing. Graduates have been hired at place such as Cisco, Amazon, Microsoft, Disney, EY, and Google.
University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) houses the School of Information (I School). One of the institution’s newest professional schools, the I School provides a Master of Information Management and Systems (MIMS) with a specialization in HCI and UX Design, and an Information Science PhD with an HCI study area. All students have access to labs such as the XR Lab@Berkeley; the student-run Extended Reality@Berkeley lab; and the FHL Vive Center for Enhanced Reality. UC Berkeley I School graduates are routinely hired at places such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, IDEO, Riot Games, Amazon, Visa, and Adobe.
