UX/UI Design Bootcamps
Everyone knows the frustration of visiting an unnavigable website with autoplay videos and 15 pop-up ads. Or you may be familiar with a customer service app that seems to offer 1,000 links, but not the link you need to get in touch with a real human being.
These experiences demonstrate bad user experience (UX) design, and they also exemplify why UX design is so important. When we use our digital devices, we want it to be easy, comfortable, and intuitive. UX designers are responsible for making websites, applications, and products straightforward to use and accessible for everyone.
With a plethora of new websites, mobile apps, and digital devices being released each year, UX/UI design is a desirable job in an expanding industry. In fact, people in other industries may decide to switch careers to take advantage of the increased opportunities and earning potential within the UX/UI design field.
Coding bootcamps are an increasingly popular way for people to switch their careers without investing years of schooling and tens of thousands of tuition dollars.
As with many other tech-based industries, aspiring UX/UI designers do not necessarily need to return to school to get a new degree. Instead, they may be able to gain the skills they need through intensive UX bootcamps that typically last from 3-6 months. Coding bootcamps are an increasingly popular way for people to switch their careers without investing years of schooling and tens of thousands of tuition dollars.
You can find many great coding bootcamps online and in person, but this guide focuses specifically on UX design bootcamps. Use this guide to browse the best UX/UI bootcamps, and learn more about potential career paths and salaries you can expect in UX design.
Best UX/UI Bootcamps
Note: The bootcamp provider information below lists default locations and learning formats for each program. COVID-19 may have impacted the location and learning format of many bootcamps, with in-person programs moving online. Please contact the bootcamp provider or visit their website for more information on current program availability and future program formats once health and safety precautions are no longer in effect.
- Bloc
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- Location: Remote
- Programs Starting At: $7,500
- Learning Format: Online
- Time Commitment: Self-Paced
CIRR Verified
Evening & Weekend Options
Job Placement Assistance
Money-Back Guarantee
This online UX design bootcamp consists of several different modules that train students in user interface and user experience design. These modules require learners to complete a functional prototype as an independent capstone project and create a professional portfolio.
The program allows students to pay upfront, take advantage of a payment plan, or take out a 3-5 year loan. In addition, women, underrepresented minorities, and veterans can apply for scholarships. Bloc guarantees that graduates will gain employment within six months of graduating, or receive a complete tuition reimbursement.
- Columbia University
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- Location: New York City
- Programs Starting At: $13,495
- Learning Format: In Person
- Time Commitment: Part Time
Evening & Weekend Options
Job Placement Assistance
Columbia runs bootcamps in partnership with Trilogy Education Services. The 24-week UX/UI bootcamp invites students with no design or programming experience to enroll. The curriculum focuses on user-centric design, visual prototyping and wireframing, user interface development, and web prototyping. A final module involves a capstone project that students create in small groups. Learners receive job placement help through soft skills training, one-on-one career coaching, and portfolio reviews.
- Designlab
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- Location: Remote
- Programs Starting At: $6,749
- Learning Format: Online
- Time Commitment: Full Time, Part Time
Evening & Weekend Options
Job Placement Assistance
Money-Back Guarantee
Designlab offers the UX Academy, which includes a four-week, part-time introductory course and then either a full-time, 15-week or part-time, 24-week program. The curriculum involves over 100 hands-on exercises, four substantial projects, and a portfolio creation process.
Designlab also integrates job placement services into its program, allowing students to work with career coaches. In addition, this bootcamp pairs students with mentors already working as professional designers in the field. They help students learn through written feedback and phone calls. Graduates of this program work as UX, UI, and product designers at big-name companies like Adidas, Facebook, Microsoft, and Samsung.
- Devmountain
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- Locations: Remote, Dallas, Lehi
- Programs Starting At: $7,900
- Learning Formats: In Person, Online
- Time Commitment: Full Time, Part Time
Evening & Weekend Options
Job Placement Assistance
Devmountain offers two different formats for its UX design bootcamps: either a 13-week, full-time bootcamp or a 16-week, part-time bootcamp. Students can participate online or in person at Devmountain's Utah campus.
Devmountain offers several career placement services, including networking opportunities with potential employers and interview coaching. In a 2019 survey of about 25 graduates, about 76% found employment in a UX design position within 180 days of graduating. Survey respondents earned an annual average salary of $63,000.
- General Assembly
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- Locations: Remote, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and other major cities
- Programs Starting At: $14,950
- Learning Formats: In Person, Online
- Time Commitment: Part Time, Full Time
Accepts GI Bill®
Evening & Weekend Options
Job Placement Assistance
General Assembly offers bootcamps across the U.S. and in cities around the world. The school created its UX design bootcamp with guidance from the User Experience Design Standards Board, a group of executives from companies such as WarnerMedia.
The program consists of six units, including user design and user interface foundations, design iteration and development, working with a product team, and UX in the real world. Learners build a capstone project in teams, creating designs for apps, websites, or products in three weeks. The final unit covers career planning, with job support and networking opportunities provided. General Assembly offers scholarships to help cover tuition costs.
- Georgia Tech
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- Locations: Atlanta, Peachtree Corners, Savannah
- Programs Starting At: $10,000
- Learning Format: In Person
- Time Commitment: Part Time
Evening & Weekend Options
Job Placement Assistance
Georgia Tech offers several bootcamps, including a 24-week UX/UI design bootcamp. Program sessions occur three times a week in the evenings and on weekends so working professionals can enroll.
Students learn about topics like information architecture, interaction design and iconography, decision flow diagrams, and web prototyping in different programming languages. Learners create a portfolio, and build an interface and application on small student teams. The bootcamp offers career coaching and hosts quarterly panel discussions with local industry professionals.
- Springboard
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- Location: Remote
- Programs Starting At: $6,900
- Learning Format: Online
- Time Commitment: Self-Paced
Evening & Weekend Options
Job Placement Assistance
Money-Back Guarantee
Springboard offers both a UX design bootcamp and a UX/UI design bootcamp. These programs teach skills like design thinking, user research, prototyping, and interaction design. Learners either complete a 40-hour industry design project or four portfolio projects, depending on which program they choose.
Springboard matches students with mentors, who guide learners through weekly calls. Although this program follows a remote learning format, students can still connect with each other through in-person meetups, the annual Springboard conference, and an online community. Springboard design graduates have found employment at major companies like Facebook, Google, IBM, and Lyft.
- Thinkful
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- Location: Remote
- Programs Starting At: $8,586
- Learning Format: Online
- Time Commitment: Full Time, Part Time
CIRR Verified
Evening & Weekend Options
Job Placement Assistance
Money-Back Guarantee
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At Thinkful, UX/UI design students can enroll in a five-month, full-time bootcamp or a part-time, six-month bootcamp. The curriculum follows a cohort-based model in which students learn together and work on projects in teams throughout the program. Learners also work with personal mentors who can help them with anything from assignments to job placement.
Thinkful offers a payment model in which students do not need to pay tuition upfront. After graduating and finding a job, graduates may opt to pay a percentage of their salary for a set period of time. Designers who complete the program have found employment at companies like Google, IBM, Boeing, and Amazon.
- University of California, Berkeley
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- Locations: Belmont, San Francisco
- Programs Starting At: $12,495
- Learning Format: In Person
- Time Commitment: Part Time
Evening & Weekend Options
Job Placement Assistance
Berkeley runs several coding bootcamps, including a 24-week UX/UI design bootcamp in which students complete hands-on projects. Learners can take advantage of job preparation services like portfolio reviews, resume evaluations, one-on-one coaching, and soft skills training. At the end of the program, graduates earn a certificate of completion.
- University of Texas at Austin
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- Locations: Austin, Houston
- Programs Starting At: $11,995
- Learning Format: In Person
- Time Commitment: Part Time
Evening & Weekend Options
Job Placement Assistance
UT Austin offers its coding bootcamps in partnership with Trilogy Education Services, which includes an extended network of graduates at over 2,000 companies. The 24-week UX design bootcamp covers skills like user experience interviewing, heuristic evaluation, storyboarding, and coding languages for web prototyping. Students may take advantage of a tutor network, quarterly panels with industry professionals, and career planning assistance. Upon completing the program, students receive a certificate from UT Austin.
Bootcamp Ranking Guidelines
At BestColleges, we believe the best bootcamp is the one that fits your schedule, your learning needs, and your career aspirations. That's why we often present our recommendations in alphabetical order -- because the real best bootcamp is the bootcamp that's best for you.
Other Notable UX Bootcamps
Listed in alphabetical order.
| Provider Name | Programs starting at |
|---|---|
| Bethel Tech | $15,900 |
| BrainStation | $3,250 |
| Burlington Code Academy | $3,950 |
| CareerFoundry | $6,900 |
| Deep Dive Coding | $7,495 |
| Eleven Fifty Academy | $5,000 |
| The George Washington University | $10,000 |
| Kenzie Academy | $20,000 |
| Prime Digital Academy | $16,000 |
| Rice University | $11,995 |
| The Tech Academy | $9,980 |
| University of Arizona | $9,995 |
| University of California, Irvine | $12,495 |
| University of Central Florida | $10,995 |
| University of Denver | $10,995 |
| University of Minnesota | $10,995 |
| University of Utah | $11,995 |
| Wyncode | $15,000 |
What Is UX Design?
UX design ensures that people can easily use websites, mobile apps, digital devices, and other products. Using any of these products should feel intuitive -- any confusion is probably an indication of bad design. UX design, therefore, often involves tasks like developing prototypes, conducting usability testing, and evaluating user feedback. The end result should be an easy-to-use product.
UX vs. UI Design
UI designers focus on just one part of the user experience -- the user interface, or the components of a product that people physically see and encounter. They deal with buttons and links, for example, considering factors like font, color, and interactivity. UX designers, on the other hand, are responsible for the overall user experience. UX design does take into account the user interface, but within the context of identifying and fixing problems that users might encounter in the course of using a digital product.
What Will I Learn in a UX/UI Design Bootcamp?
UX/UI design bootcamps often consist of multiple modules, each focusing on a specific aspect of UX or UI design. Most prioritize hands-on learning and projects; students often carry out these projects in teams, as they might do in a professional setting.
UX/UI design bootcamps cover essential skills that aspiring designers use once they join the field, such as conducting qualitative and quantitative research and user experience interviews. Students also learn about user interface development, including atomic design, color theory, typography, and heuristics. They practice making prototypes with programming languages like Java and HTML, and they study visual prototyping as well.
Some bootcamps concentrate on either UX or UI design. However, most combine the two and integrate concepts useful to both professions into the curriculum.
UX Design Career Paths
Although government organizations like the Bureau of Labor Statistics do not gather job outlook data for this profession specifically, other jobs websites do provide some insight into the field. A report compiled by the employment search site OnwardSearch claims that user experience is "one of the fastest growing" segments in the interactive industry. UX designers and professionals in similar fields can earn six-figure salaries, especially after gaining ample experience.
What Does a UX Designer Do?
A UX designer carries out many responsibilities in order to make products as user-friendly as possible. They plan and create prototypes, and they often carry out tests with users to evaluate how to improve those prototypes. UX design is just one job bootcamp graduates can pursue; you can find more information about other potential positions below.
UX/UI Design Jobs
- User Experience Designer
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UX designers make sure that when people use a product, they have a smooth and pleasant experience. According to data compiled by PayScale, UX designers earn an average salary of $74,220. The salary for this job can range from under $50,000 to over $108,000, depending on factors like a worker's experience level and location. Entry-level UX designers earn an average of about $62,550 annually, while the average experienced designer makes about $95,550.
- User Interface Designer
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Designers who prefer to work exclusively with a product's interface -- the parts of the product that people actually touch and interact with -- can become UI designers. UI designers make average annual salaries of about $64,420, according to PayScale. Income for these professionals typically range from $45,000-$93,000. Early-career UI designers earn an average salary of $60,320, while experienced designers typically earn about $82,600 a year.
- User Experience Researcher
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User experience researchers focus on carrying out research to determine how users actually interact with a product. That might involve testing products with focus groups, creating surveys and simulations, and employing other quantitative and qualitative research methods.
PayScale reports that these professionals earn an average annual salary of $85,700. Entry-level researchers bring home average earnings of about $67,740. With 10-19 years of experience, the average salary for user experience researchers reaches $116,550. Overall, user experience researchers can typically expect to make anywhere from $57,000-$131,000.
- User Experience Strategist
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UX strategists not only think about how a product's design impacts the user experience, but they also deal with other business considerations of a product's user experience. In other words, they make sure that the product or device aligns with business priorities and the organization's overall strategic plan. They work with various stakeholders to ensure that products can both give users an easy experience and bring in a profit. Therefore, UX strategists often have a background in business in addition to user design.
Frequently Asked Questions About UX/UI Design Bootcamps
- Do I need previous experience before taking a UX design bootcamp?
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No. Many bootcamps are designed for individuals without any previous programming or design experience. However, students with some prior experience or design skills may be able to find bootcamps that move more quickly over the basics and delve into advanced topics.
- Are UX/UI bootcamps worth it?
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For many students, yes. If you feel unsure about whether your time and money will be well-spent at a particular bootcamp, investigate the program's job placement rates. Bootcamps usually collect data about their graduates' employment and often share that data. If the bootcamp is a member of the Council on Integrity in Results Reporting, its job placement data is also independently verified.
In addition, some bootcamps offer a money-back guarantee, reimbursing bootcamp tuition to graduates who do not find employment within a set time frame after graduating (usually 6 or 9 months).
- Are there online UX design bootcamps?
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Yes. Many bootcamp providers offer online UX design bootcamps in addition to in-person programs, and several run exclusively online programs. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many on-campus programs to redesign their curriculum to be offered in an online format.
- What is the difference between UX and UI design?
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UX, or user experience, essentially refers to the way people feel when they use a product or application, such as a website, mobile app, or software program. UX designers help users have an intuitive, comfortable, and smooth experience while interacting with these types of digital products. UI, or user interface, specifically involves the components of a product with which users interact. In the world of technology, that includes screens, buttons, notifications, menus, and input fields.
- Are there UI-only bootcamps?
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Yes. Some bootcamps may focus on just UX design, and some on UI design. However, many bootcamps include a mix of both UX and UI design.
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