User experience designer education requirements

Q: How to learn ux design.

To learn ux design, you should first start with learning the terminology, principles, and fundamental concepts, and then work on applying practical ux design skills. Here's more detail on each of those steps: Learn the fundamental concepts, principles, and terminology. The first thing you need to understand is what exactly ux design is. After you have a basic understanding of what it is, you need to learn the typical ux design process steps. To better understand the steps, there will be key terminology that you will need to learn as well. Apply practical ux design skills. Once you have a good grasp of the concepts, fundamentals, and terminology, it is time to apply what you have learned. The end goal is being able to carry out the ux design from start to finish. While you can experiment with different aspects independently, you need to also practice the full ux design process together.

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a user experience designer. User experience designers usually study graphic design, fine arts, or computer applications. 71% of user experience designers hold a bachelor's degree, and 17% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 5,692 real user experience designer resumes to see exactly what user experience designer education sections show.

The most common colleges for user experience designers are the University of Washington and the University of Washington.

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

There are certain user experience designer certifications that you should consider. These user experience designer certifications include Certified User Experience Professional (CUXP) and Master Certified Web Professional - Designer (CWP).

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

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

The most common degree for user experience designers is bachelor's degree, with 71% of user experience designers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 17% and master's degree degree at 7%.

Bachelor's, 71%

Master's, 17%

Associate, 7%

Diploma, 1%

Other Degrees, 4%

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

You should major in graphic design to become a user experience designer. 32% of user experience designers major in graphic design. Other common majors for a user experience designer include fine arts and computer applications.

Graphic Design, 32%

Fine Arts, 8%

Computer Applications, 7%

Design And Visual Communication, 6%

Other Majors, 47%

Most common colleges for user experience designers

User experience designers often get their degrees at University of Washington, Academy of Art University, and New York University. Here are the most common colleges for user experience designers in the US based on their resumes.

User experience designer common college	Percentages
University of Washington	10.45%
Academy of Art University	8.77%
New York University	7.46%
Savannah College of Art and Design	7.09%
Carnegie Mellon University	5.78%

Show more common user experience designer colleges

Best majors for user experience designers

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Graphic Design	32.1%
2	Fine Arts	8.2%
3	Computer Applications	6.8%
4	Design And Visual Communication	6.5%
5	Computer Science	6.3%

Show more common user experience designer majors

Best colleges for user experience designers

The best colleges for user experience designers are Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pennsylvania, and Northeastern University.

A user experience designer 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 designers. 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 designers.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,465

Enrollment

6,483

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,522

Enrollment

13,760

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

6. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

7. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

8. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

9. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,230

Enrollment

12,161

10. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

20 best online courses for user experience designers

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1. User Experience Design Immersive (Full-time)

Launch a future-proof career designing digital experiences that power revenue, user loyalty, and product success. Distinguish yourself as a designer by compiling a portfolio to showcase solo, group, and client projects to employers based on UI design and Agile methodologies...

2. User Experience Design (Part Time)

Translate user wants and needs into intuitive digital experiences that power revenue, loyalty, and product success. Build confidence and credibility to tackle complex design problems on the job. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...

3. UX Designer

Design impactful user experiences for products in today’s digital world. Build a portfolio that showcases your ability to transform user research to high-fidelity interactive designs...

4. Product Design

Learn the steps you need to turn an idea into reality. By the end of this course you’ll learn how to bring an idea from concept to hand off for development and onto creation of a prototype...

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...

6. User Experience Design & User Interface Design Fundamentals

4.5

(879)

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

7. 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...

8. Visual Design (Part Time)

Gain the vocabulary and tools to tackle diverse design challenges on the job. Kickstart your portfolio and create beautiful, responsive designs for the web. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...

9. Intro to UX Design

Are you interested in UX Design, but have no prior experience or an idea of where to start? You’ve come to the right place! In this two-hour livestream, we’ll explore the decision-making process that separates a good user experience from a great one, and learn some tools that you can implement in your own UX process today. All in real time, taught by an industry professional. Come learn the basics and gain the skills you need to begin your UX Design journey!...

10. Adobe XD Mega Course - User Experience Design

4.6

(532)

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

11. Learn Figma: User Interface Design Essentials - UI/UX Design

4.7

(1,730)

Master Figma app to get a job in UI Design, User Interface, User Experience design, Web Design & UX design...

12. User Experience Design: Complete UX Fundamentals Course

4.2

(2,112)

Understand User Experience Design ( UX ) to begin designing web and mobile apps to keep your users engaged and happy...

13. UX Design Process from User Research to Usability Testing

4.1

(731)

UX Process for Beginners from User Interviews to Personas, User stories, Information architecture to Usability testing...

14. The Complete User Interface Design Bootcamp - Sketch UI/UX

4.3

(429)

Master Sketch software to get a job in UI Design, User Interface, User Experience design, Web Design & UX design...

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

4.7

(6,513)

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

16. Learn User Experience Design from A-Z: Adobe XD UI/UX Design

4.6

(2,029)

Learn how to become a professional UX/UI Designer and create beautiful websites and applications from scratch...

17. User Experience (UX) Design For Engagement

4.5

(262)

Learn how to design a user experience (UX) that people want to use...

18. User Experience Design Fundamentals

4.5

(15,245)

Design Web Sites and Mobile Apps that Your Users Love and Return to Again and Again with UX Expert Joe Natoli...

19. UX Design & User Experience Design Course - Theory Only

4.5

(11,018)

This course is for anyone interested in learning the theory of UX design...

20. UX Fundamentals: User Testing

4.4

(1,896)

Get better in UX by understanding your users...

Top 10 most affordable universities for user experience designers

The most affordable schools for user experience designers are Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and brigham young university.

If the best universities for user experience designers 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 designers.

1. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

4. Fashion Institute of Technology

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$5,740

Cost of attendance

17,864

5. Lehman College of the City University of New York

Bronx, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,210

Cost of attendance

14,359

6. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

7. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

8. University of Utah

Salt Lake City, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$9,222

Cost of attendance

20,422

9. San Jose State University

San Jose, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,796

Cost of attendance

24,514

10. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Cost of attendance

25,275

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for user experience designers

The hardest universities for user experience designers to get into are Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pennsylvania, and Northeastern University.

Some great schools for user experience designers 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 designers 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. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

3. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

4. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

5. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

6. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

7. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

8. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,520

9. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

10. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,516

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

The easiest schools for user experience designers to get into are Notre Dame College, notre dame de namur university, and cardinal stritch university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a user experience designer 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 designers.

1. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

2. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

3. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

4. Marymount University

Arlington, VA • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,065

5. Grand View University

Des Moines, IA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,060

6. Centenary University

Hackettstown, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

67%

SAT average

987

7. Linfield College

McMinnville, OR • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

1,117

8. Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley, PA • Private

Admissions rate

92%

SAT average

1,031

9. Longwood University

Farmville, VA • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,065

10. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

Average user experience designer salary by education level

According to our data, user experience designers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $107,201 annually. User experience designers with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $98,573.

User experience designer education level	User experience designer salary
Master's Degree	$107,201
Bachelor's Degree	$98,573
Some College/ Associate Degree	$88,853

User experience designer education FAQs

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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.

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