UI/UX Designer

The UI/UX Designer programme brings a design-centric introduction to user interface and user experience design and offers pragmatic, skill-based instruction centered on visual communication rather than on marketing or programming alone. Within the 33-week course, students summarize and demonstrate all stages of the UI/UX development process, from ideation to defining a client project’s strategy, scope, and information architecture, to developing research, sitemaps and wireframes.

Students learn current best practices and conventions in UI/UX design and apply them to create effective and compelling screen-based experiences for websites or apps, and are introduced to coding basics and frameworks through coding languages and front-end and back-end foundations. The programme is delivered via distance education.

The programme includes 420 hours of lab work. Students outline and demonstrate all UI/UX design stages, conduct user research and define strategy, create sitemaps, wireframes and information architecture, explore basic HTML, CSS, JavaScript and back-end structures, and apply UX best practices to web and app designs, ending with a capstone client project and a portfolio.

Southern Careers Institute was founded in 1960 and received its initial accreditation from the Council on Occupational Education in 1991. It trains students at eight Texas campuses and online, and its campuses are authorized testing sites for the National Healthcareer Association and Certiport. Students earn skill badges as they progress, and SCI Connect, the school’s career services portal, lets students build a profile with their resume, skill badges and videos of them performing job tasks for employers who post jobs there.

Before you start. Prior to the start date, you must visit the school and tour the campus (if you are enrolling in a programme with on-campus classes) and complete an interview with a licensed representative in the Admissions department.

Age and education. You must be at least 16 years of age. An applicant who is under 18 at the time of admission must provide proof of a high school diploma or GED and have written permission from a parent or legal guardian, who co-signs the enrollment agreement. You must provide verifiable official documentation of completion of secondary education within 21 calendar days of starting school: a high school diploma or transcript showing the graduation date, a home school transcript, a recognised high school equivalency certificate, an associate degree from an institution accredited by an agency recognised by the US Department of Education, or a foreign credential evaluated by a NACES member or a TEA-listed evaluation service.

Criminal history. Prospective students must provide criminal history information. Anyone with a convicted or pending felony violent crime, a convicted or pending serious felony drug crime, any sex offense conviction or pending felony sexual case, or who is a registered sex offender is not eligible for enrollment in any programme. SCI reserves the right to conduct criminal background checks.

English. SCI does not provide ESL instruction; classes are taught in English. Students whose primary language is not English must document English proficiency, for example graduation from an English-speaking secondary institution, a TOEFL iBT score of 61, an IELTS level of 6, or a grade of C in an intermediate ESL course.

SCI admits students without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, disability, or any other factor prohibited by law.

Computer requirements. Minimum: a Windows PC or MacBook with 4GB RAM, 256GB storage and a Core i5, ideally less than five years old; a MacBook with 8GB RAM is recommended because some design programmes are only available on Mac. An Adobe Creative Cloud subscription (monthly costs apply) is an additional resource.

Technology requirements. To be admitted to a programme that includes virtual or online learning, you must have regular, daily access to a computer (minimum a Windows 10 or newer PC/laptop or a MacBook with 8GB RAM, 256GB storage and a Core i5 processor) with speakers, a microphone and a webcam; regular, daily broadband or 3G/4G/LTE internet access; the ability to use email, a web browser and the learning management system; and word processing software such as Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.

Format. UI/UX Designer is delivered by distance education. The estimated completion time is 33 weeks for 720 clock hours.

Modules. SCI programmes run in three-week modules scheduled continuously; the externship module is six weeks. Students registered for distance-education courses attend an online orientation and gain access to their courses after passing it; online courses may combine live virtual sessions with asynchronous work, and asynchronous attendance is measured by completing the defined activity benchmark.

Tuition: $15,800.00; mandatory fees: $0.00; total: $15,800.00.

Graduates may find employment as a UI/UX Designer.

UI/UX specialists are needed in nearly every industry that creates digital products or services, including technology companies, healthcare providers, financial institutions, government agencies, marketing firms, and retail businesses, working on websites, apps, enterprise software, and interactive tools in startups, agencies, large corporations, and freelance or remote settings.

Career services. Career Services are available to active students and graduates. Staff strive to meet every student before graduation for an exit interview that includes a customised job-search profile, an entry-level resume and a mock interview; they provide resume and interview help and work with local employers to match their needs with graduates’ skills. SCI does not guarantee employment or a specific starting salary.

Orientation. Before beginning their programmes, all new students attend an orientation session to hear about the campus and the learning experience and to meet the administrative staff, faculty and other students. Campus department directors explain the student support available and clarify students’ responsibilities and expectations. Students registered for distance-education courses also attend an online orientation that introduces the learning platform and the standards for postings, plagiarism, online etiquette and attendance.

Classes. SCI programmes run in three-week modules scheduled continuously (the AAS in Nursing runs in 15-week terms), and the externship module, where a programme has one, is six weeks. Learning new material may require at least five additional outside hours for every 20 hours spent in lecture or laboratory. To graduate you must complete all courses within the maximum time frame and earn a cumulative grade point average of 2.0; graduation ceremonies are typically held twice a year.

Support. Student services include tutoring, attendance advising and academic advising, and SCI gives referrals to community resources for housing, childcare, employment, transportation, mental health services and alcohol and drug counselling. SCI does not provide housing. Students receive skill badges to mark milestones and help market their skills.