Career Track Program: UX Academy
|
|
|
|
This article covers frequently asked questions about our UX Academy course. Questions covered in this article:
|
|
|
|
|
Do you offer certifications/degrees?
When you complete any of our courses, you’ll earn a certificate of completion which details your newfound skills and project work. You can add these to your resume and share them on LinkedIn to showcase your professional skills.
When it comes to UX Academy, while you’ll also receive a certificate of completion, the main deliverable will be your professional UX/UI portfolio — something that will ultimately help you land a job in the industry.
What's important to note is there are very few certifications or accredited programs when it comes to learning UX/UI, as the industry is so young. Based on our graduates' successes in UX Academy, and our own experience of the industry, we believe that the formal degrees and certifications that do exist are of limited value. Employers are usually more interested in the level of skill and experience on display in your design portfolio when they consider whether or not to hire you.
Through UX Academy's combination of project-based learning and 1-on-1 mentoring, we aim to give you a leg up in that regard by helping you build a robust portfolio containing 4 portfolio projects that you can present to prospective employers.
Can you provide an overview of UX Academy?
UX Academy is broken into 3 phases.
Coursework: Phases 1 and 2
Time: 480 hours
Phase 1 is devoted to building skills through a series of modules that cover the UX design process, including topics like introduction to UX design, user research, information architecture, interaction design, user interface design, and iteration and implementation. In Phase 1 you'll complete video lessons, readings, and projects. In total, you'll do more than 50 short projects in the first phase of the course—each module contains many hands-on exercises to help you build skills. These small projects build on one another to form a cohesive project that some students choose to showcase in their portfolios.
Phase 2 is focused on portfolio-building, through in-depth capstone projects. You'll work on 3 in-depth capstone projects—a responsive web design project, adding a feature to an existing product, and a full end-to-end design of a product—that help you build on the foundation you developed in Phase 1. We've intentionally crafted our capstone project briefs to be open-ended so that every student develops a completely unique portfolio that stands out to recruiters and hiring managers. You’ll create portfolio deliverables, write case studies, and put it all together with your own online portfolio. We’ll also focus on getting prepared for the next steps: creating a cover letter and resume, polishing your online presence, and putting together an action plan for your job search.
When you finish Phases 1 and 2, you'll have a well-rounded set of UX design skills, the ability to use new tools and a solid portfolio that showcases your background and work.
Looking for an example of a UX Academy graduate's work? Check out Amy's portfolio.
Career Services: Phase 3
While completing your portfolio is a huge accomplishment and a big achievement to celebrate, there are still a few things to do to help you land your first job in the industry. Things like:
- Improving your portfolio, resume, and cover letters
- Focusing your job search by identifying the kinds of roles that fit your skillset
- Developing your interview technique by preparing strong stories about yourself, your background, and the work you’ve done
- Handling job offers and managing negotiations about salary and conditions
Once your core coursework is over, you'll begin Phase 3 of the journey: Career Services, where we pair you with your Career Coach, who will be like a mentor to help guide you through your job search.
Job hunting can seem like a complicated process, and our goal is for Career Services to support you by providing structure and practical advice.
When you first meet, you’ll touch base about your skills, talk about your near-term and long-term goals, and jointly devise a plan of attack for the weeks ahead. Whether you’re already being invited to interviews or are just getting started with the job search, you’ll agree on a strategy, and set a timeline for further check-ins.
Mentorship and community
UX Academy is an online program with a robust set of peer-to-peer interactions, both with your mentor and fellow students. Here are some of the core aspects of the course experience:
1:1 mentorship: You'll work with a mentor 1:1 throughout the entire course. You’ll interact with your mentor in 2 primary ways:
- Regular, 60-minute video sessions. You can use these sessions to discuss your work in depth, share your goals, ask questions, and more. Students find this time to be the most valuable part of the course experience.
- Part-time (20 hrs/wk) students have 1 mentor session per week
- Full-time (40 hrs/wk) students have 2 mentor sessions per week
- Mentors will leave written online feedback on your project submissions to help you as you progress through each week.
Discord community: UX Academy has an incredibly active Discord community. Students use Discord to ask questions, get feedback, chat about the course, answer discussion items, share job opportunities, and connect with other students. We have cohort-specific channels, location-specific, and topic-specific channels, and much, much more!
Group crits: As a designer, it is crucial that you can present and defend your design decisions. This is a soft skill that you must learn through practice. In UX Academy, we help you develop this skill through Group Crits: weekly video group critique sessions with other students in the course. You’ll present the work you completed in the previous week, receive critique from your fellow students, and share critique with other students. Each session is run by a facilitator—a Designlab mentor, UX Academy graduate, or advanced UX Academy student.
Alumni
After graduating from UX Academy and landing your first job, you'll enter our UX Academy Alumni network. UX Academy alumni include product designers at places like Facebook, Sony, Adidas, Microsoft, and more.
We take the job of educating you very seriously; 480 hours is a lot of coursework, so we ask for 100% of your commitment in return. We’re here to support you but the success of your UX Academy journey depends on your commitment to the program and the amount of time and energy you put forth.
Ready to apply? Check out the prerequisites and application instructions here.
What is the time commitment like for UX Academy? (Full-time, part-time, and self-paced?)
UX Academy is offered on full-time, part-time and fully self-paced tracks. The curriculum is the same regardless of which track you select—the main difference is the pace you move through the material. Here's how the time commitment breaks down for each track:
Full-time track (40 hours/week for 15 weeks)
Each week, you can expect to spend approximately 40 hours completing all course activities, with the following time allocation:
- 29 hours completing coursework
- 6 hours completing iterations on your project work
- 2 hours in 1:1 mentor sessions
- 2 hours completing general administrative tasks and engaging in the Designlab community
- 1 hour participating in Group Crits
Part-time track (20 hours/week for 30 weeks)
Each week, you can expect to spend approximately 20 hours completing all course activities, with the following time allocation:
- 13 hours completing coursework
- 4 hours completing iterations on your project work
- 1 hour in 1:1 mentor sessions
- 1 hour completing general administrative tasks and engaging in the Designlab community
- 1 hour participating in Group Crits
Format
The format of UX Academy is mostly asynchronous, so there's no specific time you need to be in front of your computer each day. Rather, you can complete the coursework each week at whatever days and times fit best into your schedule. You'll be able to schedule your 1:1 mentor sessions through the course platform, so you can ensure they're at a time that's convenient for both you and your mentor. You'll also be able to see the Group Crit calendar and sign up for sessions that fit well into your schedule, as they're offered every day of the week at a wide range of times.
Self-Paced track
The fully self-paced track of UX Academy provides maximum flexibility in how to move through the course materials, and we suggest a recommended pace of 5–10 hours per week over 18 months. You can learn more about this option below.
Please note: If you’d like to pursue the self-paced track of UX Academy, please reach out to us at admissions@designlab.com, as this option currently requires some behind-the-scenes work!
UX Academy guidelines (self-paced):
- Students on the self-paced track have a flexible schedule. We recommend dedicating about 5–10 hours per week to the curriculum, for a completion timeline of approximately 18 months.
- How you choose to approach the curriculum is up to you. Students can take an unlimited amount of pauses or breaks, and choose to work more slowly or more quickly on a week-to-week basis. Unscheduled, unannounced, variable-length breaks from participating in the program are permitted.
- Students on the self-paced track have the same number of mentor sessions as other tracks and will be able to meet with their mentor up to 30 times. All mentor sessions must be utilized within 18 months from the cohort start date.
- Students are still required to attend Group Crits, with a minimum of 10 sessions and a maximum of 20 sessions over the 18-month run-time.
- Students on the self-paced track will have access to our Discord community and other community offerings.
Career Services guidelines (self-paced):
- Students will be eligible for Career Services as long as UX Academy is completed within 18 months from the start date of their course.
- Graduates will receive 26 sessions with a career coach, the same amount of sessions as other tracks.
- Graduates can access coursework and community services (peer sessions, portfolio clinics, and other events) for an extra 6 months after graduating.
Tuition and refund policy (self-paced):
- Students on the self-paced track are eligible for a refund of the course; however, students on the self-paced track are not eligible for our Tuition Reimbursement Policy.
- Students on the self-paced track are eligible for a full refund for the first two weeks of UX Academy, and a pro-rated refund up to 11 months from their start date in the program.
- The tuition for the self-paced track is the same price-point as other tracks: the total cost for the program is $7,749 USD.
- Students who begin with UX Academy Foundations will still be able to use their $500 credit towards the self-paced track of UX Academy.
Any questions? Please contact us at admissions@designlab.com to get in touch with our Admissions team.
Please note that at this time, self-paced is only available for students starting March 2024 and beyond.
Can I switch tracks during the course between full-time, part-time, and self-paced?
Yes, you can switch tracks during UX Academy once. See here for more details.
How many projects will I work on during UX Academy?
You’ll complete 4 holistic case study projects and graduate with a job-ready portfolio.
The 480-hour UX Academy program is split into two halves, or "phases." Phase 1 is devoted to skills building, and you'll be working through a series of 40-60 hour modules that cover the UX process (topics like User Research, Interaction Design, Prototyping & Testing, UI Design, and more). Phase 2 is focused on portfolio-building, through in-depth capstone projects that you work on.
In total, you'll do over 50 short projects in the first half of the course in the form of many hands-on exercises to help you build skills. The small projects you complete in Phase 1 build on themselves to form a cohesive final project that many students choose to showcase in their portfolios. In Phase 2, you'll build out your portfolio through 3 more in-depth capstone projects.
One of the goals in the course is to help you create a strong body of work, and to end up with well-crafted projects that showcase your abilities as a designer.
How are UX Academy mentors vetted?
Designlab mentors are UI/UX designers with demonstrated expertise and a stellar portfolio to match. Our mentors are talented designers who’ve worked at agencies, well-known tech companies like Pinterest, Square, and Uber (to name a few), and as freelancers.
We thoroughly vet mentors before inviting them to join Designlab — we look for a solid body of work, excellent verbal and written communication skills, and enthusiasm for design education. Our rigorous vetting process ensures that our mentors are not just great designers, but also have other important skills to help you develop your own abilities as a designer.
In addition to our upfront vetting, mentors also receive student reviews as they participate in courses, allowing us to maintain high standards for mentor quality.
What kind of job support do you offer for UX Academy students?
Once you’ve graduated from UX Academy, you’ll begin Career Services. Think of Career Services as Phase 3 of UX Academy. The overall goal is to help you identify the job opportunities out there, and ensure that you have the resources and feedback you need to capitalize on them!
Career Services lasts for 26 weeks following your graduation, during which you’ll be paired with your own Career Coach. A Career Coach is a specialist mentor with either hiring experience or a track record of landing jobs at well-known companies. They will help you search for a generalist role as a UX, UI, or Product Designer (whether full-time, part-time, internship, or freelance).
You'll have up to 26 sessions with your Coach. You can use these calls to help streamline your online presence, add extra polish to your portfolio, prepare for interviews, sharpen your networking skills, and understand the art of negotiating and accepting offers.
Please note: even if your city is not currently on our list of cities that are eligible for our Tuition Reimbursement Policy, we promise to provide you with the same level of support and guidance as any other UX Academy graduate.