The Syllabus

This syllabus is designed to give you a grounding in UX research techniques and interaction design concepts.

Each section has core and optional learning, homework that you can complete alone or in a study group, and project suggestions to help you get practical experience with the topics covered.

Start here, now!

Get ready to learn. Set a timeline, find a study group, think of a project you could undertake, and get access to the LinkedIn Learning library.

Part 1: What is UX?

Are you in the right place? Let’s take a look at the many different roles within the general term “UX” so that you can focus more on the areas that interest you. 

Part 2: Interaction Design principles

The psychological underpinnings and general rules of interaction design. Learn the reasons why designs are built the way they are. This is fundamental information that sets the scene for all of the other design work you’ll do.

Part 3: User Research

If you want to be a well-rounded UX professional you’ll need at least some basic UX research skills. This section covers the primary qualitative technique, usability testing, and the primary quantitative technique, surveys.

Part 4: Interaction Design practice

Get a high-level understanding of the process used to create an interaction. You might be surprised how much of an interaction designer’s job involves organized step-by-step processes rather than inspired sketching.

Part 5: Content creation

Without content most web sites and apps are just an empty shell. This part is missing from most UX courses, so if you want an advantage over other job applicants, learn about content creation. 

Part 6: Neglected skills

There are some basic skills that you’ll need for any UX role that you seldom get taught at school. Some, like a knowledge of basic statistics, are practical. Others, like understanding teamwork, are more philosophical but equally important if you want to have an impact.

Part 7: The UX process

Most user-centered design projects follow a set of steps commonly known as the design thinking process. Design thinking is best undertaken as a project kick-off activity, but the elements of it like user research, prototyping, and testing are used throughout the project lifecycle so it serves as a good framework for learning about the whole UX process.

Part 8: Finding a job in UX

Some handy, practical guides to finding, applying, and interviewing for UX positions. Most likely you’re taking this course because you want to move into a UX career. The courses in this section are taught by people who regularly take part in the hiring process, so you know the information is relevant. 

Certificate

“Online” doesn’t mean “Easy.” It’ll take you some time to complete all the courses, the homework, and the projects for this syllabus. At this point, your portfolio should speak for itself. If you want, you can also choose to get certified through our highly practical interview-based process.