Trying to figure out which is the best UX design course online to help you launch or grow your career in UX, UI, or product design?
With hundreds (or thousands) of tutorials, classes, and intensive courses available online—it can be tough to figure out which is going to help you reach your career goals.
In this guide, we’ve curated two lists of standout options to fit the needs of: 1) students just starting out with UX, and 2) experienced UX or product designers who want to take their career to the next level.
Courses for UX Beginners
- The Top UX Design Courses for Beginners
- UX Academy Foundations by Designlab
- UX Academy by Designlab
- Interaction Design Foundation
- UX Design Certificate by Google
- User Experience Design Fundamentals (Udemy)
- Intro to UX Design (Careerfoundry)
- UX Design Fundamentals by Skillshare
- Advance Your UX Skills (Linkedin Learning)
Courses for Experienced UX Designers
- The Top Courses for Experienced UX Designers
- Data-Driven Design by Designlab
- Advanced Figma by Designlab
- Prototyping in Figma by Designlab
- UX for AI: Design Practices for AI Developers (Linkedin Learning)
- Design Leadership at Scale (Maven)
- Figma UI UX Design Advanced: Become a Figma Pro (Skillshare)
- BONUS: Growth.Design
Courses for UX Beginners
Criteria for Selecting the Best Beginner UX Design Courses
To build our list of the best UX design courses for beginners we’ve looked at a few qualifying criteria:
- Comprehensive & Updated Curriculum: Each course on this list covers concepts and practical skills that are appropriate for those who want to become UX designers.
- Experienced Instructors: Courses are created or led by industry experts with a strong background in UX design.
- Hands-on Projects: Each course offers hands-on projects to give you practical experience.
- Peer Interaction: Courses with an active community or group projects enhance collaborative learning.
- Flexibility: All courses are online, and can accommodate different schedules in some capacity.
Bonus criteria:
- Mentorship: If you want to learn quickly, it can be a great idea to look for courses that include some component of mentorship to get feedback and tips on your work—and be available to answer your design questions.
- Career Support: While these won’t guarantee you a job (for obvious reasons), it can help you pair your UX skills with the nuances of a UX job search.
The Top UX Design Courses for Beginners
1. UX Academy Foundations by Designlab
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- Duration: 4 weeks (full-time) or 8 weeks (part-time)
- Price: $499
- Best for: Those without any prior design experience who are looking for an introduction into the world of UX/UI design to see if it's right for them.
UX Academy Foundations is a focused 4-week course that's intended to give you a crash course in UI design. As a student, you'll be paired up with an experienced design mentor, to help you throughout the program and give you feedback on your work.
From ideation to handoff, this curriculum takes you through a design workflow similar to what you’d find in an actual studio or company. You’ll bring your ideas to life as a fully responsive website by the end of the course. The course also integrates AI-related content into the curriculum so that students start to gain familiarity with integrating AI tools into their design workflow.
Many students take the course as a precursor to Designlab’s UX Academy. One of the biggest benefits to the course in this capacity is that it allows students to trial Designlab’s award-winning course format and mentorship before committing to the longer, more intensive UX Academy.
What Students say (sourced from Course Report):
“A Great Start to UX/UI!"
I highly recommend the UX Academic Foundations course with Designlab. I learned so much in those eight weeks, and I feel like I have a strong foundation to start from in moving to the Academy. My skills are fresh and sharp, and I feel ready to learn more and land that dream job!”
“Affordable, exciting, motivating!"
Designlab is a great choice when considering UX design bootcamps. I appreciate the 1:1 weekly mentorship I had with my mentor. The weekly opportunity to work with an industry professional made me feel really excited to continue learning and motivated me to find resources outside of Designlab. My mentor provided many great insights like reading material, information on the ever-evolving industry, as well as tools and tricks on Figma. The optional Group Crit was also incredible! I loved getting the opportunity to work with other students and UXA alum. Getting feedback from not only just my mentor made learning more fun. The other element of Designlab that I really enjoyed was the Discord channel. This allowed me to connect with other students, learn from others, and it made committing to a fully remote education program a lot less lonely. Overall, I am excited to move forward with UX Academy in a few short weeks now that I have a great understanding and feel for the overall education structure and format.“
Learn More: Join an upcoming Informational Webinar or set up a time to speak with the Designlab admissions team.
2. UX Academy by Designlab
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- Duration: 15 weeks (full-time) or 30 weeks (part-time)
- Price: $7,249 (payment plans and scholarships are available). UX Academy Foundations graduates receive an automatic $500 discount off tuition.
- Best for: Those who are looking to make a career shift into UX/UI design and walk away with in-depth knowledge on design thinking, UX processes, and a standout portfolio.
UX Academy combines asynchronous learning with 1:1 mentoring to create an educational experience that prepares you with in-demand knowledge and skills in UX/UI design. In addition to personalized 1:1 mentorship throughout the program, you’ll also receive a completed portfolio with 4 unique capstone projects; lifetime access to a network of mentors and UX designers; and actionable insights, feedback, and career support throughout the program.
With both part-time and full-time tracks available, UX Academy offers a flexible, asynchronous learning environment … designed to work with your schedule.
What Students say (sourced from Course Report):
“The best decision for a career switch"
I would highly recommend Designlab's UX Academy course if you are planning to switch careers to UX Design. 1-1 mentorship, student community, group critic sessions, flexible class hours, career services are just few of the many amazing aspects of the program.”
“A great place to get into UX Design"
Definitely loved the mentorship and the group critiques. They both allowed me to come out of my shell and be more confident in my design thinking. For anyone who's looking to switch career paths, DesignLab is a great place to get into UX Design. Idid the part-time route and worked part-time at my accounting job. Once I completed the program, I was able to land an internship in a couple months, then landed a full-time job a few months after that. If you know this is the field you want to be in, I highly recommend DesignLab.”
Learn More: Join an upcoming Informational Webinar or set up a time to speak with the Designlab admissions team.
Go Deeper:
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3. Interaction Design Foundation (Membership)
- Duration: Self-paced, monthly membership
- Price: Membership starts at $22/month for the Professional level. Upgrade to the $240/month "Design League" tier for personalized coaching to help you pair your coursework with career goals.
- Best for: If you want to dip your toes into the world of UX, or are simply looking for a way to gain in-depth knowledge on a specific topic, you might enjoy a membership with Interaction Design Foundation.
Interaction Design Foundation offers a suite of self-paced UX design courses, ranging from beginner to advanced, and even a few masterclasses. Rather than sell the courses individually, Interaction Design Foundation operates on a membership model (similar to Skillshare), where you can opt to become a member and then take as many classes as you want, as long as your membership is active.
4. UX Design Certificate by Google
- Duration: ~6 months (10 hours/week)
- Pricing: $39/month for a Coursera subscription
- Best for: Beginners who are looking for a focused, relatively inexpensive way to gain understanding of the UX design process and earn a certificate.
The Google UX Design Professional Certificate covers the foundations of UX design, including user empathy, building wireframes and prototypes, and conducting research to test your designs. Simply sign up for a Coursera membership and you'll be able to work your way through this course, learning design thinking basics, an overview of the UX design process, and practice with design projects that are reviewed by course peers. While this isn't a comprehensive course, it comes with a certificate and a glimpse into Google's innovative perspective on UX design. Want to learn more? Read our deep dive into our comprehensive overview of the Google UX Design certificate program.
5. User Experience Design Fundamentals (Udemy)
- Duration: 10 hours
- Pricing: $119.99, or $19.99/month with a personal subscription.
- Best for: Someone with a basic understanding of design who's interested in making more user-friendly, effective websites.
Joe Natoli's User Experience Design Fundamentals is a perennial recommendation for anyone who wants to learn more about how UX design works, and how it can be used to create more user-friendly, effective websites. Throughout the 10 hours of on-demand video in this design course, you'll be introduced to concepts like the user research process and the basics of visual design, as well as project-specific work like creating content requirements, identifying business goals, and more. At the end, you'll receive a certificate of completion.
6. Intro to UX Design by CareerFoundry
- Duration: 1 month (~15-20 hours/week)
- Pricing: $690
- Best for: Someone with no previous design experience who wants to learn the essentials of UX.
CareerFoundry's Intro to UX Design teaches the fundamental principles of UX design including design thinking, user-centered design, and information architecture. Throughout the month-long course, you'll learn and practice core UX skills—such as user research and iterative design—as you create your very first app design. More recently Careerfoundry has also integrated some AI content into the course as well.
7. UX Design Fundamentals by Skillshare
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- Duration: Self-paced, membership-based
- Price: 7-day free trial, varies by subscription type
- Best for: Those who want to dive into various topics within UX or start exploring without a high cost or time commitment
Skillshare offers a variety of self-paced UX courses ranging in length and covering different topics. Users can find courses on transferring skills from existing roles, learning Figma basics, understanding responsive design, and more. Their UX Design Fundamentals pathway lays out the recommended order of courses, but users can feel also move freely through the programming however suits them best. Skillshare is membership-based, meaning you can take as many courses as you like as long as your membership is active.
8. Advance Your UX Design Skills (LinkedIn Learning)
- Duration: 8 hours, 16 minutes
- Pricing: Free with a 1-month trial. LinkedIn Learning membership starts at $19.99/month (paid annually).
- Best for: A designer who is looking to sharpen and expand their UX design skillset.
The Advance Your UX Design Skills on LinkedIn Learning is a short, varied collection of UX design courses that allow you to explore UX design facets like prototyping, mobile design considerations, validation techniques, and more. You'll work your way through 8 mini-courses that teach you how to use Figma for UX design, as well as interaction design basics, UX web analytics, and remote research.
Next Steps for UX Beginners:
- Learn more about how to become a UX designer without a 4-year design degree.
- Ready to go all-in? The next cohort of UX Academy Foundations is currently open for enrollment. Sign up here.
Courses for Experienced UX Designers
Criteria for Selecting the Best Courses for Experienced UX Designers
Looking at courses for experienced UX designers is somewhat of a different animal in that there is a great range of different topics that these courses might cover and the relevance of a particular course may depend on your specific seniority, interests, strengths/ weaknesses as a designer, and the priorities of your organization. Nonetheless we did look at several factors when curating these courses:
- Course Topic: As we just mentioned, different course topics are going to be relevant to different students. That said, we tried to include courses with widely applicable course topics that would benefit the careers of a wide range of working designers.
- Reputation of Instructor or Course Platform: Each course is led by a reputable instructor and/ or is through a well-known and reputable course platform.
- Reviews: Where available we looked at reviews from previous students in the course.
- Hands-on Projects: Each course offers some level of project work or interactive component to allow students to apply what they have learned
- Peer Interaction: Courses with an active community or group projects enhance collaborative learning.
- Flexibility: All courses are online, and can accommodate different schedules in some capacity.
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The Top Courses for Experienced UX Designers
1. Data-Driven Design Course (Designlab)
Duration: 6 weeks
Price: $999
Best for: Mid to senior-level designers looking to enhance their data proficiency and impact on business decisions.
This comprehensive course on data-driven design is tailored for design professionals who aim to harness data in enhancing their design process and strategic influence within their organizations. It combines self-paced learning with weekly live peer group sessions, providing a blend of autonomous study and collaborative learning environments. The curriculum covers practical applications of data in design, from running experiments and justifying design decisions based on business impact to effectively communicating and presenting data-driven insights to stakeholders.
Participants will engage in hands-on projects analyzing real data sets, thereby applying theory into practice. This course not only boosts your data handling skills but also prepares you to confidently present data-backed design decisions, enhancing your credibility and influence in decision-making processes within your company. Upon completion, participants receive a Certificate of Completion, adding a valuable credential to their professional profiles.
For those looking to deepen their understanding of data-driven design and its application across various stages of product development and user experience enhancement, this course offers a robust training platform.
Go Deeper: Read the article: What is Data-Driven Design?
2. Advanced Figma Course (Designlab)
Duration: 4 weeks
Price: $799
Best for: Experienced UI/UX professionals looking to master advanced Figma functionalities. Particularly good for those who want a class that goes beyond passive video/ written lessons and that also has synchronous and project components.
This advanced Figma training course is designed to elevate your Figma skills, focusing on creating advanced user interfaces, robust component libraries, and efficient design systems. Through a mix of self-paced lessons and mentor-led peer group sessions, you'll learn to implement advanced Figma features like auto layout, design tokens, and component management. The course aims to enhance your workflow, making you a proficient Figma user capable of tackling complex design challenges in a systematic and efficient manner.
Go Deeper: Read the article: 10 Figma Keyboard Shortcuts
3. Prototyping in Figma (Designlab)
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Duration: 4 weeks
Price: $799
Best for: Experienced UI/UX professionals who want to get in-depth learning on how to create more realistic and robust prototypes in Figma. This course is great for those who want to get hands-on experience working with prototyping as it boasts practical work and live mentor feedback and facilitation.
This advanced course is designed for those who are looking to understand Figma’s complex prototyping capabilities. You’ll work with interaction design and animation, learn various approaches to prototyping, build better prototypes to more effectively communicate ideas, and more. Practical projects allow for a hands-on approach to learning, and peer sessions led by Figma expert mentors provide space for collaboration, problem-solving, and feedback.
This is also a great follow-up course to Designlab’s Advanced Figma, mentioned above.
4. UX for AI: Design Practices for AI Developers (LinkedIn Learning)
Duration: Self-paced
Price: Access via LinkedIn Learning subscription
Best for: AI developers and UX designers interested in integrating AI into user experiences.
This course on LinkedIn Learning explores the convergence of AI and user experience design, specifically tailored for AI developers. It includes comprehensive insights into how AI can enhance UX design, including the use of AI tools for research, ideation, prototyping, and testing. Participants will learn to use AI to improve workflow efficiencies, understand user behavior through advanced analytics, and apply AI tools to real-world projects to enhance design solutions. The course emphasizes the strategic integration of AI to optimize user interaction and engagement, making it ideal for professionals aiming to leverage AI in designing more effective and intuitive user experiences.
5. Design Leadership at Scale - Executive by Rachel Kobetz (Maven)
Duration: 4 days (Intensive 2-week access to course materials)
Price: $2,200 USD
Best for: Senior Design Executives, Design C-Suite, and first-time Senior Design Leaders in rapidly transforming environments.
This high-impact executive course is crafted for design leaders aiming to refine their leadership capabilities at scale. It offers deep dives into establishing strong foundations, balancing vision with execution, and scaling a design organization effectively. Through interactive live sessions, 30 in-depth lessons, and practical projects, participants will learn to amplify their influence and impact within large teams or organizations. The course promises personalized guidance with office hours and a private community for peer interaction, enhancing the learning experience significantly.
6. Figma UI/UX Design Advanced: Become a Figma Pro (Skillshare)
Duration: Approximately 16 hours
Price: Accessible via Skillshare membership
Best for: Designers seeking to master advanced features in Figma who don’t mind learning exclusively via video lessons.
This course, led by Daniel Scott, explores the intricacies of advanced Figma functionalities to elevate your UX/UI design skills. The curriculum covers topics like interactive animations, complex prototyping, and creating dynamic user interfaces. You'll learn to craft over 20 types of detailed micro-interactions and delve into design techniques that enhance usability and engagement.
7. (Bonus) Growth.Design
Duration: Weekly growth design case studies to your inbox
Price: FREE
Best for: Designers and growth practitioners who want thoughtful analyses of how real companies are doing design right (or wrong)
Every week we eagerly await the fun, engaging, comic-book inspired case studies from the guys at growth.design. They aren’t exactly a course per se, but you get a lot more out of them than many paid courses offer. Apparently, the team behind these case studies are also offering a paid course on Growth Psychology sometime soon, so if you like their case studies, that could definitely be something you’ll want to check out if understanding how design can drive growth is something you’re interested in.
Next Steps for Experienced UX Designers:
- Think through the skills and competencies you want to improve upon. For inspiration check out this article on important skills for UX designers.
- Interested in a Designlab course but not sure which one? Set up a call with Designlab’s admissions team to discuss advanced course offerings.
Other articles you might want to check out:
- 10 Best UX Bootcamps for 2024
- 14 Common UX Portfolio Mistakes to Avoid
- 10 UX/UI Portfolio Examples to Inspire You
- Google UX Design Certificate Review & Overview
