User experience architect education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a user experience architect. User experience architects usually study graphic design, computer science, or fine arts. 69% of user experience architects hold a bachelor's degree, and 20% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 865 real user experience architect resumes to see exactly what user experience architect education sections show.

The most common colleges for user experience architects are the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.

There are also many online user experience architect courses to help get the education required to be a user experience architect.

There are certain user experience architect certifications that you should consider. These user experience architect certifications include Certified Usability Analyst and Certified User Experience Professional (CUXP).

What education do you need to become a user experience architect?

What degree do you need to be a user experience architect?

The most common degree for user experience architects is bachelor's degree, with 69% of user experience architects earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 20% and master's degree degree at 6%.

Bachelor's, 69%

Master's, 20%

Associate, 6%

Diploma, 2%

Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become a user experience architect?

You should major in graphic design to become a user experience architect. 17% of user experience architects major in graphic design. Other common majors for a user experience architect include computer science and fine arts.

Graphic Design, 17%

Computer Science, 15%

Fine Arts, 9%

Computer Applications, 6%

Other Majors, 53%

Most common colleges for user experience architects

User experience architects often get their degrees at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, University of Washington, and DePaul University. Here are the most common colleges for user experience architects in the US based on their resumes.

User experience architect common college	Percentages
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	8.41%
University of Washington	7.48%
DePaul University	7.48%
University of California - Davis	6.54%
Carnegie Mellon University	6.54%

Show more common user experience architect colleges

Best majors for user experience architects

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Graphic Design	17.3%
2	Computer Science	14.9%
3	Fine Arts	8.5%
4	Computer Applications	5.9%
5	Human Computer Interaction	5.6%

Show more common user experience architect majors

Best colleges for user experience architects

The best colleges for user experience architects are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Swarthmore College.

A user experience architect with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for user experience architects. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become user experience architects.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

2. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

3. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

4. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

5. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

In-state tuition

$53,430

Enrollment

5,963

6. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$12,424

Enrollment

15,201

7. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

8. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

10. University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$53,391

Enrollment

8,568

20 best online courses for user experience architects

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4. Full Stack Web Developer

Design and develop modern web applications.Students will also learn how to deploy a Flask-based web application to the cloud using Docker and Kubernetes...

5. User Experience Research and Design

Integrate UX Research and UX Design to create great products through understanding user needs, rapidly generating prototypes, and evaluating design concepts. Learners will gain hands-on experience with taking a product from initial concept, through user research, ideation and refinement, formal analysis, prototyping, and user testing, applying perspectives and methods to ensure a great user experience at every step...

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4.5

(879)

Learn the basics of successful User Experience Design and User Interface Design...

8. UX Design Process from User Research to Usability Testing

4.1

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14. User Experience (UX): The Ultimate Guide to Usability and UX

4.7

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Get a job in UX and build your user research and UX design skills with this hands-on user experience training course...

15. Adobe XD Mega Course - User Experience Design

4.6

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UI Design, User Interface, User Experience design, UX design & Web Design...

16. Front-End Web Development (Part Time)

Start building responsive websites with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — a versatile skill set with powerful applications in a variety of design, marketing, and other tech-adjacent roles. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...

17. JavaScript Development (Part Time)

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19. iOS Developer

Master the Swift programming language, and create a portfolio of iOS apps for iPhone and iPad to showcase your skills!...

20. User Experience Design Essentials - Adobe XD UI UX Design

4.6

(45,005)

Use XD to get a job in UI Design, User Interface, User Experience design, UX design & Web Design...

Top 10 most affordable universities for user experience architects

The most affordable schools for user experience architects are SUNY Farmingdale, brigham young university, and purdue university.

If the best universities for user experience architects are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for user experience architects.

1. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

2. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

3. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

4. Queens College of the City University of New York

Queens, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,338

Cost of attendance

14,281

5. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

6. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

7. Brigham Young University - Hawaii

Laie, HI • Private

In-state tuition

$5,560

Cost of attendance

18,043

8. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

9. Louisiana Tech University

Ruston, LA • Private

In-state tuition

$9,645

Cost of attendance

20,098

10. San Jose State University

San Jose, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,796

Cost of attendance

24,514

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for user experience architects

The hardest universities for user experience architects to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Swarthmore College.

Some great schools for user experience architects are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for user experience architects based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

3. Swarthmore College

Swarthmore, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,465

4. Clemson University

Clemson, SC • Private

Admissions rate

47%

SAT average

1,337

5. Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY • Private

Admissions rate

50%

SAT average

1,284

6. Southern Methodist University

Dallas, TX • Private

Admissions rate

51%

SAT average

1,395

7. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

8. American University

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

32%

SAT average

1,320

9. Yale University

New Haven, CT • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,517

10. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

Admissions rate

58%

SAT average

1,309

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for user experience architects

The easiest schools for user experience architects to get into are Notre Dame de Namur University, lim college, and la roche college.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a user experience architect without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for user experience architects.

1. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

2. LIM College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

1,061

3. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

4. Curry College

Milton, MA • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

1,026

5. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

6. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

7. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

8. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

9. Clarke University

Dubuque, IA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

1,058

10. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

Average user experience architect salary by education level

According to our data, user experience architects with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $122,921 annually. User experience architects with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $112,605.

User experience architect education level	User experience architect salary
Master's Degree	$112,605
Bachelor's Degree	$102,500
Doctorate Degree	$122,921

User experience architect education FAQs

What is the best college for User Experience Architects?

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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