Graduate Certificate in User Centered Design
NEXT START DATE:
September 24, 2025
APPLICATION DEADLINES:
Priority deadline: July 1, 2025
Final deadline: August 1, 2025
LOCATION
In-person
DURATION
9 months
TIMES
Evenings
TOTAL COST
$14,250 (estimated)
Program overview
The Graduate Certificate in User Centered Design (UCD) is a five-course, evening program offered in person through the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) at the University of Washington. Designed for working professionals, the program provides graduate-level training in user experience (UX) research and design.
Through hands-on coursework and real-world applications, students explore how usability studies, interaction design, and emerging design practices influence digital products and systems. The curriculum emphasizes keeping user needs at the center of every stage of the design process.
Courses
The five-course, 15-credit certificate includes four required courses and one elective course.
User-Centered Design
HCDE 518 (4 cr)
Autumn Quarter
Explores the user-centered design paradigm from a broad perspective, emphasizing how user research and prototype assessment can be integrated into different phases of the design process. Students learn to think like a user-centered designer and carry out activities that are key to user-centered design.
Usability Studies
HCDE 517 (4 cr)
Winter quarter
Discusses the human-computer interface (HCI) as the communicative aspect of a computer system. Analyzes usability issues in HCI design, explores design-phase methods of predictability, and introduces evaluative methods of usability testing.
UX Speaker Series
HCDE 521 (1 cr)
Winter quarter
Industry experts present on current issues and research in User Experience (UX) research and design. Credit/no credit only. Prerequisite: HCDE graduate student status or permission of instructor.
Emerging Issues in Human Centered Design & Engineering
HCDE 525 (2 cr)
Spring quarter
Topics of current interest in human centered design and engineering
Electives
(4 cr)
In addition to the required courses above, students select one elective from the following:
- Visual Communication (HCDE 508)
- Information Visualization (HCDE 511)
- Accessibility and Inclusive Design (HCDE 515)
- Interaction Design & Prototyping (HCDE 536)
- User-Centered Web Design (HCDE 537)
Application requirements
Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from a four-year, accredited institution and have a minimum of two years of full-time work experience in a related field.
View all application requirements
Tuition & Fees
Graduate credits from the UCD Certificate can be applied to the Master of Science in Human Centered Design & Engineering degree. View current tuition rates »
Certificate stackability
Students can choose to take the certificate independently or combine it with another eligible certificate to create a Master of Engineering in Multidisciplinary Engineering degree.
Certificate instructors
Courses are taught by HCDE faculty and expert instructors from the UX industry, bringing both academic and professional perspectives into the classroom. View profiles of HCDE faculty and Affiliate and Adjunct faculty.
Application deadline
Final Deadline: August 1, 2025. We encourage you to apply by the priority deadline of July 1, 2025. We will review applications received after July 1 on a space available basis. We do not accept applications received after the August 1 deadline.
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Online information sessions
Meet with HCDE advisors to learn more about our academic programs.
Graduate testimonials
"The program truthfully exceeded my expectations and was extremely useful in understanding a user-centered approach to design. I feel as if I am walking away from the certificate program with a full understanding of the methodologies that user experience designers use on a daily basis and can confidently apply all I have learned in real-world projects.”
"I appreciated the client projects that gave me the opportunity to apply my skills across the full user-centered design process—opportunities that can be hard to come by. The professors challenged me to think deeply while also creating a supportive space to learn and ask questions. Through this program, I found my first real mentors. The instructors are truly invested in your growth, and I’m incredibly grateful to have been a part of this experience.”