How ECU’s UX Design Certificate Program is Made for You
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The eight-month curriculum is created and regularly updated by industry experts, educators, students, instructors and program alums, making it the ideal pathway to developing your skills in one of BC’s fastest-growing and most diverse areas.
Looking to enhance your skills, pivot within your current role, or explore user experience (UX) design for the first time? Emily Carr University of Art + Design’s (ECU) UX Design Certificate Program will help you reach your professional goals in just eight months with our specialized curriculum.
Not only is the course content co-created by industry experts, educators, students, instructors and program alums, but it gets regularly refreshed to ensure you learn the most in-demand skills and are job-ready upon graduation.
You’ll learn from instructors who are actively working in the UX industry alongside students from diverse backgrounds. By the end of the program, you’ll have built a network of peers and mentors to support your transition into the workforce.
“At ECU, you’ll join a supportive community that welcomes learners at different stages of their educational and professional paths, where unique experiences are enriched and knowledge is expanded through collaboration,” says Ridzwan Aziz, Director of Continuing Studies at ECU.
“You will journey with expert instructors through a program that adapts to industry changes, ensuring you gain relevant, long-lasting skills. With a focus on real-world, hands-on learning, you’ll be prepared for lasting success in UX design.”
Want to know more? Here’s some of what you can expect with ECU’s UX Design Certificate:
After careers in hospitality, the film industry and as an entrepreneur, Jared Zecchel found a career he loves after graduating from ECU's UX Design Certificate program. (Photo by Perrin Grauer)
We’ve reshaped the UX Design Certificate program to offer an even richer learning experience.
In addition to annual reviews and updates, the UX Design Certificate curriculum periodically undergoes major reshaping to reflect industry trends, changing technologies and reporting on the state of hiring from alums and UX professionals.
The latest major revision brought new features to the program including two new courses: User Experience Futures and Team Projects. In User Experience Futures, you’ll explore emergent technologies and the future of design, inspiring you to become a leader in design innovation. In Team Projects, you’ll engage in collaborative, hands-on projects, learning to present, influence and support your peers in dynamic team settings.
Pauline Lai is a seasoned UX/UI strategist and designer who focuses on cross-cultural design in both print and digital platforms. She is also a longtime instructor in the ECU UX Design Certificate program. Pauline says these two new courses are a great example of the balance between hard skills — such as technical expertise and specialized knowledge — and soft skills — such as teamwork, pitching and storytelling — that students receive at ECU.
Focusing on collaborative, group projects reflects the reality of working in UX, meaning students graduate with the ability to meet real-world workplace demands.
“After the program, students are ready for the industry,” she says. “All the requirements and information they need, we have provided. The industry is changing constantly, but because our program is changing to mirror that evolution, students receive the direction they need to be qualified and capable.”
Alina Danilyuk built her award-winning app Elsewhere with Apple after graduating from ECU's UX Design Certificate program. (Image courtesy Alina Danilyuk)
The ECU UX Design Certificate program is designed to be accessible to anyone, regardless of their professional background or previous experience.
Some students come to the program for up-skilling. Others come from industries such as healthcare or marketing. Pauline says the UX Design Certificate program is designed to accommodate all types of learners, and to set them up for success.
Many of the instructors have themselves undertaken significant career shifts and bring that experience, mindset and guidance to the classroom, she says. At ECU, students learn the fundamentals while also being able to leverage their past experience to define themselves as professionals.
And the program doesn’t require the kinds of basics you might assume.
“Especially with these latest curriculum updates, the program helps students find their own unique path,” Pauline says. “Some students have a design background they want to develop. Others are being introduced to the industry for the first time and finding new things they want to explore. They can follow their talent and values to decide where they want to take their career.”
During her studies at ECU, UX Design Certificate grad Desirée Chek took on a small freelance project for Telus Health in collaboration with UBC. (Image courtesy Desirée Chek)
The ECU UX Design program prepares you for work in a vast range of industries and roles.
Many people believe UX and user interface (UI) design are about applying graphic design skills in specific ways. But the industry offers an extraordinary and ever-evolving diversity of opportunities.
Startups, apps and web design are only a few of the industries where ECU’s program alumni find work. Many grads pursue successful careers in healthcare, finance, the tech sector, nonprofit, entertainment or gaming.
ECU’s UX Design Certificate curriculum offers a broad-ranging skill base to prepare you for work across these — and many more — vital and growing industries. You graduate ready to step into a role that will help you build the career of your dreams.
“There are so many possibilities,” Pauline says. “I encourage my students to explore. There’s far more opportunity than just solving problems or building a product. Students simply need to keep an open mind.”
Learn how to jumpstart your career in UX now with the UX Design Certificate program.
