UX Academy


Syllabus

TL;DR: How to Apply

If you’ve worked

as a designer before:

Show us your recent graphic, digital, or web design work

that highlights your understanding of design principles

and processes, or complete our design challenge.

Apply to UX Academy

If you’re new

to digital design:

Take our flexible 4-8 week foundational course, and showcase

your skills in the final project.

learn more about UX Academy Foundations

UX Academy: Key Facts
People like you have been switching careers with UX Academy  

since 2015. Did you know, we were the first online design educator to
introduce features like Group Crits and Career Services?

The rigorous UX Academy experiences includes all these elements to

make sure you’re successful:

COURSEWORK
490 hours of UX & UI design coursework

30+ video tutorials to immerse yourself in UX techniques

60+ lessons that reflect latest industry trends and practices

100+ hands-on projects to help you put theory into practice and
build a unique, diversified portfolio

4 portfolio projects

MEntorship
Up to 30 1-on-1 mentoring sessions

Written feedback on course submissions

Exclusive UX/UI design techniques that help you create intuitive designs

Career support community

1-on-1 career coaching
Vibrant & active community

26 weeks of post-graduation Community design critiques:

Career Services Support “Group Crits”

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The UX Academy Journey
You can skip Step 1 if you have digital design
experience —see Page 1 for details.

Step 1

Complete UX Academy
Foundations

4-8 weeks, minimum 10 hours per week

UX Academy Foundations is an introductory course to prepare you for the main
UX Academy curriculum. You’ll be paired with a hand-picked expert mentor who
will help you sharpen your knowledge of fundamental visual and UI design
principles. If you move forward to Step 2, you’ll receive a $500 credit towards
your UX Academy tuition.

UX Academy Foundations tuition: $499. Enroll today

Step 2

ENROLL IN UX Academy

15 weeks full-time, 30 weeks part-time, self-paced, up to 18 months

If you meet the prerequisites, you can begin Step 2—the main UX Academy
curriculum. With help and guidance from a mentor, you’ll work through over 480
hours of UX and UI design coursework and projects. By the end, you’ll have
completed over 100 hands-on design exercises, and built out a portfolio with 4
substantial projects.

UX Academy Tuition: $7,249

(after UX Academy Foundations credit applied). Apply now

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Step 3

Enter Career Services

Up to 6 months of 1:1 career coaching and lifetime access to

additional resources to help you land a job

Once you’ve graduated from UX Academy with your professional-quality design

portfolio, it’s time to begin your job hunt. You’ll be paired with an expert Career
Coach who has hiring experience in the field and familiarity with the market you
plan to work in. You’ll work together to identify the right job opportunities, polish
your portfolio, perfect interview technique, and more—all so that you land your
first UX/UI design job as soon as possible.

Included in the UX Academy tuition

Not sure if you can commit to a full-time or part-time option?

Designlab now offers a self-paced option for UX Academy. You'll receive the same
curriculum, mentorship, community access, and career support, at a flexible pace
that works for you. Learn more at this article on our Help Center.

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What You’ll Work On in UX Academy
Phase 1
Module 1

1 Design is...
Begin your learning journey by gaining essential information about the field of
UX and UI design.

Determine what design means to you and set achievable goals for yourself.

12 Hours 13 Lessons 5 Projects

Module 2

2 User Research
Get started on a realistic design project by practicing various research
methods such as interviewing actual human beings.

Synthesize your research into actionable insights.

34 Hours 18 Lessons 13 Projects

Module 3

3 Ideation to Prioritization
Learn how to think divergently using numerous brainstorming techniques before
deciding on a product idea that would bring value to the people you interviewed.

8 Hours 7 Lessons 6 Projects

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 Module 4

4 Information Architecture
Build up your skills in organizing information, content strategy,

navigational design, search engine optimization,

and sitemap diagramming.

12 Hours 11 Lessons 5 Projects

Module 5

5 Interaction Design
Develop task flows, user flows, and learn the fundamentals of
usability, accessibility, and inclusion.

Take a mobile-first approach to create responsive wireframes.

37 Hours 22 Lessons 10 Projects

Module 6

6 User Interface Design

Apply visual design principles to the creation of components that will be
utilized in your prototype.

Learn the basics of branding, typography, color theory, and iconography.

22 Hours 17 Lessons 8 Projects

Module 7

7 Prototyping and Testing

Prepare a high-fidelity prototype that you will then test and iterate upon.

Wrap up your first major design project by preparing your designs for hand-
off to software developers.

35 Hours 11 Lessons 10 Projects

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Phase 2

MODULE 1

1 Personal Brand and Portfolio Setup

Register a domain name for your portfolio

Create the first draft of your portfolio site

40 Hours 3 Lessons 7 Projects

MODULE 2

2 Capstone: Add a Feature

Design a new feature for an existing digital product

Demonstrate how you can work within brand guidelines, and integrate with
existing features

75 Hours 20 Projects

MODULE 3

3 Capstone: Responsive Web Design

Design a website with mobile, tablet, and desktop breakpoints

Showcase your ability to use layout grids and design for multiple devices

65 Hours 20 Projects

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 MODULE 4

4 Capstone: End-to-End Application

Design an iOS or Android mobile app experience from scratch

Show off your skills as a generalist UX designer, from research to handoff

100 Hours 25 Projects

UX Academy Graduation
Add the completed Capstone projects to your portfolio

Submit your portfolio to our expert panel for review

35 Hours 5 Projects

Certificate of Completion
You’ll receive this after passing portfolio review. It includes a summary of
everything you learned so you can showcase this on LinkedIn, in your resume,
and during interviews.

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Part-Time and Full-Time Tracks
Part-time
Full-time

Phase 1: Practicum 20 hrs/week 40 hrs/week

Module 1: Design is... Week 1–2 Week 1

Module 2: User Research Week 2–4 Week 1–2

Module 3: Ideation to Prioritization Week 5 Week 3

Module 4: Information Architecture Week 5–6 Week 3

Module 5: Interaction Design Week 6–9 Week 3–5

Module 6: User Interface Design Week 10–11 Week 5–6

Module 7: Prototyping and Testing Week 11–14 Week 6

Part-time
Full-time

Phase 2: Portfolio 20 hrs/week 40 hrs/week

Personal Brand and Portfolio Setup Week 15–16 Week 7-8

Capstone Project 1: Responsive Web Design Week 17–28 Week 9–14

Capstone Project 2: Adding a Feature Week 17–28 Week 9–14

Capstone Project 3: End-to-End Application Week 17–28 Week 9–14

UX Academy Graduation Week 29–30 Week 15

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How Career Services Works
Career Services is a follow-on program, included in the
price of UX Academy, which provides you with extra help
as you enter a competitive UX/UI design job market.

Career Services Features:

6 Months of Focused 1-on-1 Career
Support and Lifetime Coaching
Resources
We’ll pair you with an expert Career
Career Services lasts up to 6 months, Coach, in the same way that you’re
so that you’re fully supported matched with a mentor for UX Academy,
throughout the job search after who has hiring experience in the industry
graduating from UX Academy. Plus, and in your desired job location.

you’ll have lifetime access to our Slack

community, job postings and networking
opportunities, curriculum, and internal
career advisor’s advice.

26 Coaching In-house Career

Sessions Services Curriculum
During your weekly sessions, your This bonus coursework allows you
Career Coach can help you with any to keep your skills sharp through
aspect of the job search: from finding regular design challenges and
roles to refining a cover letter, from quizzes. It also teaches practical
practicing interview technique to job-hunting skills and helps you prep
negotiating a job offer.
for whiteboard challenges.

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Huntr App Monthly

Checkpoints
You’ll have access to an app called
Huntr, which helps you keep track of job These quick check-ins are embedded
opportunities, organize ongoing into the curriculum and help the
applications and interviews, and share Designlab Team know how you’re doing,
progress with your Career Coach.
so we can offer extra support if you
need it.

Career Services Partnership

Slack Channels Projects

We’ve created dedicated channels in You can opt in to be notified about

the UX Academy Slack community opportunities for part-time freelance

workspace to facilitate peer support, or internship work. These are a great

discussion, and sharing of networking way to add some real-world

and job opportunities.

experience to your resume.

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Testimonials
“I felt a void in my creative side, so I decided to make the career switch and seek out
happiness in my everyday work. At Designlab, I never felt like a number. Every
Designlab associate is just a Slack, Zoom, or email away to address any questions or
concerns you might have.”
– Isaiah Robinson
UX Designer at JP Morgan Chase

“I loved the 1-on-1 mentoring experience. It pushed me to develop a great mindset for
design, and my mentor was really reliable and professional! My career coach was also
a treasure trove of insights and information while I was job searching and
interviewing. He offered me so much advice and perspectives that I would otherwise
be unaware about.”

– Alvin Kuang
Product Designer at Glassdoor

“I chose Designlab for my UX design education because I could do it all online, while
still working and maintaining an income. Also, it was clear that at the end of the
course I'd have an extensive portfolio of projects that would allow me to be
considered for UX design jobs. I always knew I would get valuable feedback from my
peers in Group Crits, while also working on my presentation skills. It was relieving to
know my peers were going through a lot of the same highs and lows that I was. It was
also inspiring to see their work, and how they were approaching the design briefs in a
different way to me.”

– Mary Schwab
UX Researcher at National Geographic

“There are a lot of different reasons I settled on UX Academy: being able to interact
with multiple mentors, having a community of other students to work with, and the
get-a-job guarantee they offered. The fact that UX Academy had a stake in my
success gave me confidence that we both had the same goal: to get me a full-time
product design role.”
– Wendy Pei
First UX Academy Graduate

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 Tuition and Financing
We offer three payment plan and financing options for UX Academy:
1 Upfront Payment (via PayPal or by credit/debit card) 

2 6-month Payment Plan ($400 fee, serviced by Designlab)

3 Extended Payment Plan (serviced by Climb Credit)

$7749 Base Tuition

Choose one of the following payment methods

UPFRONT PLAN CLIMB CREDIT 6 MONTH PAYMENT PLAN

Course Deposit $399 Course Deposit $399 Course Deposit $399

Remaining Tuition $7350 Remaining Tuition $7350 Remaining Tuition $7350

Foundations Discount* -$500 Foundations Discount* -$500 Service Fee $400

Balance Due $6850 Balance Due** $6850 Foundations Discount* -$500

Due on 1st day $6850 Due on 1st day $0 Balance Due*** $7250

Due on 1st day $1200

*Discount only granted for students who paid for a completed UX Academy Foundations course.

**Monthly payments start at $0, click here for more details.

***Split across 6 monthly payments: 5 payments of $1200, 1 payment of $1250.

Read this Help Center article for full details of payment options.

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 Want to

Learn More?
Sign up for a weekly Open House webinar where you can take part in a Q&A.

Schedule a call with one of our Admissions Reps. We’d love to chat
about what the journey will look like for you!

Check out our UX Academy FAQs

Read our full UX Academy policies in detail.

Please note, UX Academy is a selective program with rigorous admissions

requirements for entry. Your application will be evaluated on the basis of your
design work, your motivations and goals, and your interactions with your mentors
and the wider Designlab community.

View this Help Center article for more on admissions requirements.