So you live in Minnesota’s Twin Cities and you want to be a User Experience Designer and/or Researcher? There are a variety of bases to cover in preparation for kickstarting your future career, and we’re here to help you get started. We’ll be showing you where to start and what your options are and we hope this list of ideas will improve your outlook on entering this growing industry.
The local chapter of the international Interaction Design Foundation organized by Halftone founder Mike Arney.
This is a quarterly meetup for user experience, design, and content professionals in the greater Twin Cities area.
Check out Minnesota’s chapter of the User Experience Professionals Association with monthly networking, presentations, and educational events happening around the Twin Cities.
Interaction Design Foundation (IDF)
Coming to you from Denmark, the IDF is a relatively inexpensive online resource for UX Design & Research courses.
About $16 per month (paid annually) for unlimited courses and access to additional UX resources.
Formerly Lynda.com, LinkedIn Learning includes a number of UX Design and Research courses.
After a 7-day trial, you can choose a monthly option for $29.99 per month or an annual option for $19.99 per month.
A grand collection of thousands of online creative classes. Approaches learning in a community-based setting. Includes a variety of UX Design and Research classes.
Skillshare gives new users 2 months of unlimited classes free with a yearly fee of about $96 after the first two months.
An online learning platform that offers a UX Design track among its many other tech industry educational curriculum offerings.
Currently, their Basic plan is $25 per month. They also provide a more robust UX Design Techdegree program.
Another resource with thousands of online classes. On this platform, you buy courses individually rather than through a subscription service.
The cost of individual courses varies but can be up to about $200. Look for occasional sales on courses as this will greatly reduce your cost per course.
Metro State University offers an online, 16-credit graduate certificate called the Design of User Experience GCERT. In the College of Liberal Arts, there is also the Design of User Experience Minor which is a 20-credit educational program.
MCAD/Minneapolis College of Art & Design
MCAD has a User Experience Design course in its online M.A. degree program for Graphic and Web Design.
A Continuing Education, Business Professional Skills program that is being created by Normandale in partnership with the Nerdery.
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Check out the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities where there is a growing emphasis on UX Design & Research within the Graphic Design program. They also have a new UX/UI bootcamp program starting in May of 2020.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a one-year, online graduate capstone certificate in User Experience Design. This program involves work with a virtual cohort for one year.
Offered remotely, the General Assembly UX Design Immersive program provides instruction, one-on-one career coaching, and connections with employers. The program has been upgraded for 2020 and starts every one to two months.
The Makery in Minneapolis offers a part-time, 6-week long, project-based bootcamp program. This bootcamp is offered twice a year and is perfect for individuals who want or need to remain working during their educational experience.
Prime provides a robust and intensive 18-week, full-time, immersive bootcamp for User Experience Design. This cohort-based program emphasizes communication, collaboration, and career networking.
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People
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About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design
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By Don Norman
Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited
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The Elements of User Experience
By Jesse James Garrett
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The User Experience Team of One
By Leah Buley
UX for Beginners: A Crash Course in 100 Short Lessons
By Joel Marsh