What is the Best UX Design Course? Our Top Picks for 2024

2. SheDesigns: SheDesigns provides a 6-Week Intro to UX design course, as well as a 12-week Immersive UX course. Course prices are not disclosed on the site. We are always excited by mission-driven programs that elevate specific communities, especially fellow women-led programs in education. The programs require an application process and interview before admission into the courses, and so offer a chance for a personalized fit. The 12-week Immersive UX design course provides an introductory UX research curriculum and a more holistic user experience design education.

3. AllWomen: AllWomen is a woman-focused learning community based out of Barcelona, Spain, and offers UX, Product Management, and Data Analytics bootcamps. We are again very excited by their mission to help women break into tech! Their online UX bootcamp can be completed in 10 weeks and covers a holistic UX research and UX design syllabus. UX Design Bootcamp prices are not listed on the site, but they do offer mini courses priced between 500-800 Euros.

4. Avocademy: Another affordable UX foundations program that is preferred by women and priced at $2997, Avocademy offers a fully online ux academy that takes 8-16 weeks to complete. There is no mention of class size, as this seems to be a self-paced, online way of learning, although mentorship is offered. The curriculum offers an introduction to both UX research and UX design.

5. DesignLab: Design Lab is preferred by folks who like a more intimate option in comparison to larger bootcamps like General Assembly, Springboard, and Thinkful. They offer an introductory UX course and a more intensive UX program that takes 15 weeks to complete full-time and 30 weeks to complete part-time. Their programs offer a UI UX design curriculum along with career coaching. The intensive UX program costs $6,850 if paid upfront but includes interest if paid in installments.

6. The Coursera Google UX Design Certificate: Although the Coursera GoogleUX Design Certificate is not a traditional UX bootcamp, it’s a great, free, accessible introduction to the end-to-end design process and helps students self-study with a project. It's a great option to take if you are still figuring out whether or not UX as a career path is right for you before committing to an intensive UX program that requires a tuition payment.

7. Georgia Tech Institute’s Intro to UX Course on Coursera: This is a short, free, 6-hour UX course that will help you decide if UX is really the right career path for you without investing too much time or money. It is a crash course in UX that is less time-consuming than the Google Coursera Certificate and is a great prerequisite before considering lengthier or more intensive UX courses or UX bootcamps.

8 UPenn XSD: The UPenn XDD program is specifically designed to teach design thinking for non-profit initiatives and is a great option for non-profit directors, social workers, and folks interested in designing for social innovation initiatives. We love programs that have a good cause behind it! The curriculum covers web design thinking and social impact rather than focusing on digital or UX/UI design. It lasts 14 weeks and costs $5750.

9. Columbia University: Columbia’s UX bootcamp is an in-person, 24-week, intensive program that covers UX/UI Design and web development basics as well.

10. Berkeley University: Berkeley’s 24-week part-time UX program focuses on UX/UI Design and web development and costs $13,995.

11. UT Austin: UT Austin’s 24-week part-time UX program focuses on UX/UI Design and web development and costs $12,745.

12. Flatiron School: Flatiron provides a 15-week product design program that costs $16,900 and primarily covers UX/UI design within the curriculum. They do offer small loans and interest-free payment plans as well.

13. Brainstation: Brainstation offers both full-time (online, in person) and part-time (online only) learning options. Tuition amounts to $16,500 upfront, and the curriculum primarily focuses on UX/UI design.

14. Cornell: The Cornell university UX course costs $3,750 and is a 5-month online program to learn UX research and UX design.

15. Ironhack: Ironhack’s UX program can be completed in 9 weeks full-time or 24 weeks part-time, priced between $12,500 and $13,000. They offer in-person or online courses and primarily focus on a UX/UI design curriculum.

16. CareerFoundry: Career Foundry’s UX program is a time commitment and takes 6-10 months to complete, depending on whether students complete the program part-time or full-time. The curriculum focuses on UX/UI design, with specializations in front-end development, voice interface design, or UX UI design. The program costs between $7,500 and 7,900, depending on whether tuition is paid upfront or in monthly installments.

17. Thinkful: Thinkful’s UX program costs between $12,350 and $14,823, depending on whether you choose the part-time or full-time study option. The curriculum primarily focuses on UX/ UI design with an introduction to user research. Project work includes working with a client to solve a problem or challenge.

18. Springboard: Springboard’s 6-month UX program costs between $7,900 and $9,540, depending on whether you are able to pay upfront or in installments. The curriculum consists of UX/UI design and an introduction to UX research.

19. General Assembly: General Assembly offers large online cohorts that last around 12 weeks, priced at a tuition rate of $16,450. Their curriculum mostly focuses on UX/UI design with an introduction to user research.

20. Interaction Design Foundation: The Interaction Design Foundation offers workshops and mini-courses on a variety of topics for $22 per month or $240 per month with a coaching option included. This could be a good avenue for self-study on specialized topics but might not be the best UX course option for career changers looking to learn about the end-to-end design process.

How do I choose the best UX Design course for me?

We recommend choosing a UX course or UX design bootcamp based on what you value and prioritize with your learning. Some important considerations are cost and accessibility. Other considerations are whether you prefer online learning or in-person learning.

We have noticed that some of our most successful students at Ideate Labs have done some research on the variety of UX career paths available and have a clear plan in mind on how they would like to rebrand their past career experience into a new UX career. Check out our YouTube video here to hear about traits our most successful students have from Day 1 that help them land a 6-figure UX job within 7 months.

Some reasons why our alumni have chosen Ideate Labs:

• Affordable 1:1 mentorship and lifelong career coaching: The course price is 2x-3x less than a lot of the larger UX design courses and UX design bootcamps while providing more 1:1 mentorship and lifelong career coaching. Our promise is that we help you land a 6-figure UX job offer in 7 months or coach you till you get it.

• In-depth UX research, UI UX design, and business strategy curriculum: Most UX courses on this list provide a great UI UX design curriculum, and some of them even offer a few modules on frontend development as well. However, almost none of these UX courses and bootcamps have a very in-depth UX research curriculum and focus on research for only 1-2 modules while not touching on business strategy at all. We focus 7 weeks of our program on learning quantitative and qualitative UX research methods, as well as how they connect to business strategy, entrepreneurship, and product management. Some of our alumni go on to land UX management jobs and lead UX research or UX design efforts within companies.

• Choose your own project topic: Rather than assigning a generic project topic to the whole cohort, we encourage all students to choose their own project topic, like startup founders, because this helps them learn skills like product positioning and product scoping from a business strategy perspective. This also ensures that each cohort member has a unique UX portfolio after they graduate that showcases their unique strengths and specific skills.

What can I do to get started learning UX design or UX research?

We recommend getting started by first seeing if UX design or UX research as a career path is right for you in the first place! Here is our checklist on how to get started in UX without breaking the bank! Take a week or two to really do some research on UX as a career path before investing more time, money, and effort into taking a UX course or UX bootcamp.

Our FREE UX blueprint for breaking into UX:

• Check out our free webinar on the different types of UX career paths: UX Career Paths for Folks from Non-Traditional Backgrounds

• And our free blueprint to pivot into UX: A Blueprint to Pivoting into UX/UI as a Career

• Take our free UX career blueprint quiz: What UX/UI career path best suits your personality?

• Get an in-depth understanding of design thinking: An Introduction to Design Thinking

• Understand how cognitive science and psychology intersect: The Laws of UX, The Psychology of Action

• Learn About Design Systems: Atomic Design by Brad Frost

• Learn some Figma basics: Top 10 Skills, Tips & Tricks in Figma for Beginners

• Join an interactive UX research ideation workshop: Design Thinking for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• Join an interactive UX design ideation workshop: Redesign Netflix Ideation workshop

• Get tips on building a UX resume and portfolio: Storytelling for UX/UI Designers on the Job Hunt

• Watch our info session on How to Successfully Pivot into UX/UI Design or Research in 6 Months

Speak to an instructor today

If you are interested in taking our UX courses, please contact an instructor today to learn more about the program. You can book a 20-minute design therapy call here, where we go into detail about your specific background and how we can create a personalized blueprint to pivot into UX/UI design for you!

This consultation will feel like a design therapy session, and we dig deep to understand your personal and professional goals.

You will be having this call with Samaya, our co-founder at Ideate Labs. Hear about anecdotes from her work for INCREDIBLE Fortune 500 brands like Frog Design, Disney+, Hulu, J&J, Ford, Facebook + more these past 8 years.

Connect with her on LinkedIn to get UX beginner tips! She’s excited to give back to the UX community and help women, immigrants, and POC especially.

FAQs: 29 common questions about UX courses and UX bootcamps

1. What is a UX design course?

Most UX design courses and UX bootcamps cover design thinking and walk through the end-to-end design process. However, the majority of UX bootcamps and UX courses focus on UX/UI design and visual design while just touching upon UX research. A few UX courses and UX bootcamps also cover UI frontend development within their curriculum as well. At Ideate Labs, our UX courses cover UX research, UX/UI design, and business strategy while touching upon product management.

2. Is it easy to learn UX design?

It is neither easy nor hard to learn UX design - we believe that relying on previous work experience or educational experience can help with pivoting into UX design. At Ideate Labs, we have had women pivot into UX design and UX research from a variety of backgrounds, including physical therapy, education, marketing, sales, HR and office management, graphic design, customer success, and many other non-traditional backgrounds! In the cases of our most successful students, they were able to rebrand their past experiences to define them in UX terms and terminology. Check out our video on skills and characteristics our most successful students had that led them to pivot into UX in 7 months.

3. How long does it take to learn UX design?

There are self-paced UX courses and UX bootcamps available, like the Google Coursera UX course and our Self-Paced UX course. There are also mini UX courses and bootcamps available that last 4-6 weeks. However, most UX courses and UX bootcamps with a comprehensive UX curriculum tend to have a duration of 3-9 months. It is possible to pivot into UX in as little as 3-4 months as part of an accelerated or self-paced program; however, it is more common for folks to pivot into UX design in 6-9 months.

4. What is the Best UX Design Course?

It depends on what you are looking for. If you are interested in learning UX/UI design and frontend development, then Columbia University’s program might be a good option. If you are more interested in UX research and UX/UI design, as well as product management and business strategy, then Ideate Labs could be a good option. You should also vet your options based on cost and accessibility to see what the best UX courses are for you.

5. What’s a good UX course with job guarantees?

While a few programs do provide job guarantees, they only do so for students who receive high grades within their programs. Students who do not receive high grades tend to self-select out of qualifying for the job guarantee. Certain UX programs also connect students with unpaid internships as part of their job guarantee program rather than connecting them with paid opportunities, so be sure to read through the fine print in detail when looking at a UX program that offers a job guarantee.

6. What’s a good UX course for product managers?

While there are certain programs out there for folks looking to pivot into product management, Ideate Labs offers product managers a chance to learn UX research, UX design, and business strategy. We have had product managers take our course to help rebrand their past work experience into UX research or UX design roles.

7. What are some free UX courses?

There’s the Google UX Coursera certificate and a free course on our list from Georgia Tech Institute- these are both short courses designed to be introductions to UX as a career path. In addition to this, Ideate Labs provides a free YouTube channel with introductory workshops and lessons to help you learn more about UX research or UX design.

8. What are some advanced UX courses?

Due to its interdisciplinary approach to learning UX, the Ideate Labs 4-Month Design MBA has been compared to college-level courses because it provides an in-depth curriculum that delves into UX research, UX design, business strategy, and product management. In this course, students learn about product positioning and get to scope their own MVP product and features while creating a vision for their startup. Some of our alumni have gone on to start their own side hustles, startups, and businesses post-graduation, while others go on to get senior-level and management-level UX research and UX design roles as well.

9. What are some UX classes near me?

Certain UX programs do offer in-person UX classes at certain city hubs like NYC, LA, San Francisco, and more. You can look up local options in your area if you prefer an in-person UX learning experience.

10. Can I do UX design with no degree?

Yes! That is absolutely possible - however, just keep in mind that you might have to work a little extra hard to stand out from candidates who do have a degree. At Ideate Labs, one of our alumni did not complete her Bachelor’s degree but was still able to land a UX role. She worked extra hard to showcase her skill sets within her resume and portfolio and applied to multiple positions each week to really maximize her chances of getting a UX job.

11. Can I do UX design with no coding experience?

Yes, you absolutely can! If you are looking to pivot into UX design with no coding experience, then you should consider career paths like UX research, UX design, product design, and even content design. However, keep in mind that startups tend to prefer hiring UX designers with some frontend dev experience or hiring unicorn UX designers who can do both the UX design and the UX research. In startups, it's important to be able to wear multiple hats, but it does not necessarily have to be coding!

12. Who can do a UX design course?

There are very few barriers to entry when choosing a UX course or UX bootcamp. At Ideate Labs, we believe that anyone can take a UX design course as long as they are willing to put in the time and effort needed to attend lectures, complete HW, meet with mentors, and collaborate with peers. We have found that students who put in at least the minimum time and effort that we require for our 4-Month Design MBA (5-10 hours per week) have success when it comes to pivoting into UX and making a career change. In addition to this, Ideate Labs provides lifelong career coaching for all alumni. Alumni who attend career coaching sessions tend to have more success with finding and landing a 6-figure UX job.

13. How much is a UX design course?

There are a few free introductory UX courses and programs like the Google Coursera course and the Coursera course from Georgia Tech Institute. However, most UX courses and UX bootcamps that provide an in-depth curriculum and learning experience tend to cost anywhere between $1500 - $17,000, depending on what each UX course offers.

14. Can anyone become a UX designer?

Yes, anyone can become a UX designer as long as they put in the time and effort needed to attend lectures, complete HW, meet with mentors, and collaborate with peers. At Ideate Labs, we require that students spend 5-10 hours per week on course materials, collaboration, mentorship, and HW. We also provide lifelong coaching services to alumni, and alumni who take advantage of coaching services end up having more success with pivoting into UX.

15. Can UX designers work remotely?

Yes, remote work is a great option for UX designers, UX researchers, content designers, and product managers, as well as other folks in tech. Remote work and distributed teams are more common in startup environments and agency environments. However, there is a push across corporations to follow a hybrid work system or work in-person at an office as well.

16. Can UX designers work part-time?

It is possible to get contract opportunities or freelance as a UX designer. Although you might be working “part-time” as a UX designer, considering the marketing and business aspects of freelancing can make it a full-time job.

17. Can I learn UX UI on my own?

Yes, it's possible to learn UX UI on your own if you are disciplined and follow a schedule, completing the research on what topics your self-study should cover. However, we’ve found that self-study cannot be completed in isolation. It is important to talk to senior UX designers and UX researchers to build a curriculum for yourself based on your interests and UX career goals. This is where it might be beneficial to take a guided course with an established curriculum, where you can have access to multiple mentors and collaborators. UX design as a practice is extremely collaborative and should not be practiced in isolation!

18. Which degree is best for UX design?

There are very few bachelor's degrees that cover UX in depth. If you are looking into bachelor's programs, then consider Information Systems, Graphic Design, or Psychology as majors that could lead to UX roles post-graduation. If you are looking for a master’s program, then consider Human Computer Interaction or Product Design programs.

19. Where can I start learning UX design?

You can learn UX design online through a variety of free introductory courses or via YouTube videos. There are also live, online learning options available via online UX courses and UX bootcamps, as well as in-person learning options via UX courses, UX bootcamps, grad programs, and undergrad programs.

20. When should I apply UX research methods?

It’s important to understand the end-to-end design process and product development process from a technical and business standpoint to really know when to apply each UX research method. This is why gaining hands-on experience scoping and designing a digital product from scratch can be so valuable for folks pivoting into UX. There are a variety of UX research methods that can be used throughout the design process - in addition to this, UX processes are modified depending on whether the work is for a startup, consultancy or corporate firm. It is important to understand how UX research methods might vary across these different types of companies as well.

21. Will UX design die?

No- while aspects of visual design might be templated, there is still a need for UX designers and UX researchers who can understand very specific user scenarios and use cases and then adapt design systems and services to suit that particular user scenario or use case.

22. Will UX design be automated?

While some aspects of visual design and prototyping can be automated and templated, there is still a need for UX designers and UX researchers to help set up automation for very specific use cases and scenarios.

23. Will UX design be replaced by AI?

UX or user experience is all based on user behavior, user psychology, and cognitive psychology. While it is possible to automate or template visual design systems, the user needs, behaviors, scenarios, and use cases behind them will have to be researched and understood by UX researchers and UX designers, not robots or computers. Human-centered design must be completed by humans, just as inclusive design requires that UX researchers and UX designers co-create with marginalized communities to build solutions.

24. Will I like UX design?

There’s only one way to find out! UX design is a hands-on career path, and it requires trying an interactive workshop or diving into Figma to see if this is a career path that is suitable for you. It is good to try a live UX workshop or interactive UX workshop to see whether you will like it.

25. Will the Google UX Certificate get me a job?

The Google UX Certificate is a great overview of the design process and a great introduction to UX design. However, we believe that more self-study is required to land a UX job. Folks who complete the Google UX Certificate usually go on to self-study some more or end up taking an immersive UX design course or UX design bootcamp before landing a UX job.

26. Is a UX design degree worth it?

There are pros and cons to getting a degree. The pros are that a UX design degree shows credibility and expertise while being a great way to have an immersive learning experience and network while in school. The cons are that a UX design degree is more expensive than UX courses and UX bootcamps and might require quitting your job to complete the immersive learning experience.

27. Is becoming a UX designer worth it?

Yes, it’s worth it! UX designers and UX researchers enjoy applying their creativity to solving large problems, have high-paying 6-figure jobs, and often enjoy remote work or work-life balance within their roles.

28. Should I become a UX designer?

Only you can answer that question for yourself :) We recommend trying a few free and introductory UX workshops or UX courses at first to see if this is something that you might like. If you enjoy these free resources, you might want to consider taking an immersive UX course to really help you make a career change.

29. How do I train as a UX designer?

A good UX design curriculum covers the end-to-end design process, including discovery research, topic scoping, competitor analysis and heuristics, business models and monetization strategy, prototyping, building a design system, as well as creating a solid UX resume and portfolio.