Program Overview

User Experience Design Certificate

The User Experience Design (UXD) Certificate equips students with a foundational understanding of user-centered design principles, methodologies, and tools essential for creating intuitive digital products and interfaces.

Program Overview

The UXD certificate program is ideal for those aspiring to delve into the world of UX/UI design or enhance their design skills. This program provides students with a foundational understanding of user-centered design principles, paving the way for a thriving career in crafting meaningful user experiences.

Skills You'll Gain

• User-Centered Design and Prototyping: Learn to develop user-focused products and services, using prototyping to understand user behaviors and needs, and applying design thinking and UX tools for innovative solutions.
• Interaction Design and UI Principles: Acquire knowledge of the design process in interaction design, teaching how to enhance user interfaces and apply UI principles effectively, including for mobile experiences.
• Emotional, Accessible, and Social Design: Gain insights into creating emotionally engaging and accessible UX designs, with a focus on Universal Design principles and the impact of social design elements.

Certificate Requirements

To earn the UX Design Certificate, students will complete 12 credits that consist of four upper-division, 7-week courses, at 3 credits each.

Course Descriptions

The User Experience Design (UXD) Certificate builds foundational skills in the high-demand field of user experience design. Key program methods include design thinking, human-centered design, ideation, human-computer interaction, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing. No previous experience in user experience, visual, or interface design is required to take these courses.

• COID 350 UX Design Foundations: In this course, students will be introduced to the foundational practices of User Experience Design (UXD). Using the Design Thinking process, students will learn how to empathize with users to design innovative and human-centered solutions.
• COID 351 Intro to Human-Computer Interaction: This course will help students recognize and understand the powerful role of human senses when designing interactive experiences. Using industry design software like Figma, students will apply basic design patterns and organize content effectively to enhance the user experience.
• COID 352 Designing for Impact: In this course, students will be introduced to human-centered design to explore solutions for complex global and local problems. Using systems thinking, students will learn how to identify the root of a problem and how making small iterative changes can make a significant impact. This course will also introduce students to the principles of Universal Design to create products that are more inclusive, accessible, and usable.
• COID 353 UX Design Studio: This course will introduce students to agile design thinking. Using the framework of a Design Sprint, they will work through a real-world design challenge with rapid prototyping and feedback techniques. Using iteration methods and applying usability testing data, students will refine concept design into a final product prototype.