Capstone Certificate in User Experience Design

User experience design is the process of making information systems more people-friendly. The University of WisconsinMadison User Experience Design Capstone Certificate, or Mad UX,” teaches you what you need to know to develop as a UX professional. Mad UX combines expertise from two highly ranked UWMadison academic departments: the Department of Computer Sciences and its HCI Lab and the UWMadison Information School.

The Mad UX certificate will accommodate both existing computing professionals whose expanding job responsibilities require a deeper understanding of user experience design, and people new to the technology workforce seeking introductory skills in user experience design.

The courses are completely online and taught by experienced and engaged instructors from UWMadisons computer sciences and Information School programs, combining knowledge and networks from both the computing and information fields. Students are part of a cohort of learners who complete project-based activities and learn to work effectively as part of a virtual team. Students must successfully complete each course in succession to earn your certificate. The certificate takes one calendar year (fall, spring, summer) to complete.

Further detail, including tuition and costs, is available on the program's website.

1. Students have knowledge of, and ability to apply, data collection and analysis methodologies for user experience research.
2. Students have knowledge of, and ability to apply, design principles and user behavior theories to digital environments.
3. Students can create, critique and revise design prototypes based on testing data and feedback.
4. Students can effectively plan, manage and communicate a user experience design project.

A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution is required. International applicants must have a degree comparable to a regionally accredited U.S. bachelor’s degree. You must have completed your undergraduate degree, or similar, before starting graduate school.

A minimum undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 on the equivalent of the last 60 semester hours (approximately two years of work) or a master’s degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required. Applicants from an international institution must demonstrate strong academic achievement comparable to a 3.00 for an undergraduate or master’s degree. The Graduate School will use your institution’s grading scale. Do not convert your grades to a 4.00 scale.

Every applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, must provide an English proficiency test score. TOEFL scores must be submitted electronically via ETS. IELTS scores can be submitted electronically or by paper.  Our office address is: UW-Madison Graduate School, Office of Admissions, 232 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706.  Your score will not be accepted if it is more than two years old from the start of your admission term. Country of citizenship does not exempt applicants from this requirement. Language of instruction at the college or university level and how recent the language instruction was taken are the determining factors in meeting this requirement.

Applicants are exempt if: