Which UX Design Bootcamp is Best?

While no single UX design bootcamp is objectively the best choice for everyone, taking the time to assess various factors will help you find your personal best fit based on your objectives, preferred learning style, and other circumstances. UX design bootcamps are available in diverse formats, including part-time and full-time options, offered both in-person and online. Part-time programs allow individuals to manage work or other commitments, while full-time immersive courses offer faster, more intense learning experiences. Meanwhile, some bootcamps focus on career readiness while others emphasize specific UX design skills such as prototyping, user research, and tools like Figma and Adobe XD.

Design and coding school Noble Desktop is renowned for its comprehensive array of UX design bootcamps tailored to various learning needs and goals. Other professional training institutions also offer a variety of options to consider, each with unique strengths and focuses. This article will guide you through essential criteria to consider, helping you determine the best bootcamp for you and your professional aspirations.

What are the Most Important Criteria to Evaluate in UX Design Bootcamps?

When evaluating UX design bootcamps to determine the best selection for themselves, learners will want to review several key criteria closely to ensure they select the program that most aligns with their specific learning needs and career goals. The following are some of the most important factors a UX design learner will want to consider before selecting the right bootcamp for them.

Curriculum

• Learners will want to be certain of the personal learning goals and the scope of the UX design bootcamp that will best help them meet their needs. Do they need a comprehensive career-focused bootcamp or a skill-focused bootcamp?
• Does the curriculum feature training that is relevant to current industry standards? Prototyping tools, user research and usability testing best practices, iterative design processes, and other topics covered should be taught with up-to-date materials and guidance.
• Interactive, hands-on training is a must for learning the complex interplay of human-centered, technical, and design skills of UX design. For the vast majority, the best bootcamp will feature a live instructor able to provide real-time feedback and guidance through students’ hands-on exercises and projects.

Instruction

• UX design learners can research the backgrounds and credentials of bootcamp instructors to ensure they are experienced designers who are as passionate about the success of their students as they are about UX design.
• The highest-quality UX design bootcamps will feature opportunities for instructors to offer students personalized mentorship. Learners will want to look for programs that offer scheduled one-on-one sessions with instructors, offering opportunities for private tutoring on difficult topics, career support, and mentorship tailored to students' personal needs.

Schedule

• Aspiring UX design students will want to honestly assess their current schedules and determine how much time they have to dedicate to learning UX design and where that time falls exactly in their schedules. 
• UX design bootcamps are typically full-time, but part-time options are occasionally available for students who need to work or take care of other obligations while learning.
• When comparing live UX design bootcamps with asynchronous ones, students will find the former offers the structured learning experience of a set schedule and deadlines and the significant perk of a live instructor. However, some students' current calendars may demand the flexibility of an asynchronous bootcamp, but they should be aware of the significant self-drive and motivation needed to complete a program without a live instructor and set schedule.

Location and Format

• Live UX design bootcamps are available both online and in-person, though the latter will be easier to find in larger cities like NYC, Chicago, and LA. Neither live online nor in-person UX design bootcamps are objectively better, but students may have personal preferences for one over the other.
• Live online classes offer a significant benefit of accessibility over in-person classes, allowing students to skip the commute and attend the program of their choice from anywhere in the world. However, some will always prefer the learning experience of meeting with an instructor and classroom of peers in a brick-and-mortar classroom.

Additional Benefits

• Especially when learners are struggling to choose between two or three stand-out UX design programs, they will want to compare the benefits each offers in addition to hands-on training led by expert instructors. These may include free retakes of the program, access to software through the course of the bootcamp, curricula and supplementary materials included at no additional charge, certificates of completion, and other unique perks.
• Those seeking a comprehensive, career-prep UX design bootcamp will want to check out the specific career support offered by each program they consider. For UX design, learners will want to ensure they have ample guidance in building a professional-quality portfolio and mentorship time with instructors to focus on resume building, interview prep, and other aspects of building confidence and hireability.

Pricing and Financing

• Aspiring UX design students will want to ensure the UX design bootcamp they prefer is transparent in their pricing and that they have clarity in the exact amount of tuition they will pay for their education. 
• When evaluating the affordability and cost-effectiveness, comparing the program cost to the hours of live instructor-led classroom training students will receive is an excellent consideration to keep in mind. Learners may also consider the additional perks included in the cost of tuition—and if they are, in fact, perks that will help them reach their goals.
• Finally, UX design learners will want to investigate their favorite UX design bootcamp’s financing options, looking for features that help students afford the significant investment of a bootcamp while waiting for the ROI they will receive in the form of a new job in UX design.

What are the Top UX Design Bootcamps?

Noble Desktop’s UX & UI Design Certificate

NYC-based design and coding school Noble Desktop offers a comprehensive UX & UI Design Certificate that provides in-depth training in both user experience and user interface design. This career-focused program features live expert instructors, hands-on projects, portfolio-building assistance, and one-on-one mentorship sessions students can use as career support. Noble’s certificate program offers unusual flexibility, allowing participants to attend on a full-time or part-time schedule and live online or in-person in Manhattan.

Noble Desktop’s Figma Bootcamp

Noble Desktop also provides skill-based UX design bootcamps, such as their popular Figma Bootcamp. This program includes live instruction, practical exercises, the opportunity to retake the bootcamp for free within a year, and a certificate of completion verifying to employers that students have thoroughly mastered the industry-standard prototyping software by the end of the bootcamp.

NextGen Bootcamp’s UX & UI Design Summer Program

NextGen Bootcamp offers a unique UX & UI Design Summer Program that welcomes both high school and college students to enroll in their in-person bootcamp in Midtown Manhattan. In this full-time summer bootcamp, participants learn the essentials of user-centered web and app design and create their own clickable prototypes for user testing, incorporating all they learn about UX and UI design through the bootcamp.

General Assembly’s User Experience Design Immersive

General Assembly offers a User Experience Design Immersive program for students seeking a comprehensive career-prep bootcamp experience. The live online program’s curriculum includes UI design principles, Agile methodologies, and portfolio development and is available on a part-time or full-time schedule.

Miami Ad School’s UX Design Bootcamp

Miami Ad School offers an immersive full-time UX design bootcamp in-person in Miami, Atlanta, Sydney, and Toronto. In this program, students learn the how-tos of user research, information architecture, interaction design, and other facets of UX design and build a portfolio to showcase their new skills.

LearningFuze’s Part-Time UI/UX Bootcamp

LearningFuze provides an in-person Part-Time UI/UX Bootcamp for students located in the Los Angeles region. Remote attendance may be an option for some students, pending approval. Students have the option to exclusively study UX, UI, or both topics together if desired. The curriculum covers Adobe XD, Invision, and Figma and walks students through building a professional portfolio of projects showcasing their work in the program.

Enrolling in a UX Design Bootcamp Part-Time or Full-Time

The choice of a part-time or full-time UX design bootcamp depends on a learner’s personal circumstances and learning preferences. Full-time bootcamps offer the most immersive and intensive experience, typically running for several weeks with classes five days a week. This format is ideal for those who want to get into UX design, complete their training quickly, and be a competitive job candidate in a few months. The downside to full-time programs is their significant time commitment, which can make them difficult to balance with other responsibilities such as work or family for those who have obligations in these areas that they can’t shelve for the duration of a full-time bootcamp.

On the other hand, part-time bootcamps meet just a few times a week—typically weekday evenings—spreading students’ UX design learning experience over several months. The obvious disadvantage of this approach is that students will take significantly longer to complete their education and be job ready, if that is their goal, in a part-time bootcamp compared to a full-time bootcamp. However, for those who need to maintain a job or attend to other commitments while learning, a part-time UX design bootcamp can be significantly more manageable than a full-time one. An additional advantage of a part-time bootcamp is the extra time they give students to study, practice, and metabolize the concepts and practical skills of UX design, which some learners appreciate. Meanwhile, others will find the immersive experience of a full-time bootcamp better suits their learning style, and, ultimately, whether a part-time or full-time bootcamp is the better choice for a student is highly dependent upon their individual needs and goals.

Enrolling in a UX Design Bootcamp In-Person or Online

Deciding whether to enroll in an in-person or an online UX design bootcamp largely depends on your personal preferences, lifestyle, and learning style. In-person bootcamps offer the tangible benefits of a traditional classroom setting, such as face-to-face interaction with instructors and classmates, which can foster a strong sense of community and collaboration. Moreover, in-person bootcamps often provide access to dedicated workspaces and devices, which may be necessary for some learners who need access to these resources. However, attending in-person classes requires commuting, which can be time-consuming and costly, especially for those living far from the bootcamp’s location. Finally, students’ access to in-person UX design bootcamps is completely dependent upon their geographic location, and those living outside major metropolitan areas may have few or even no in-person bootcamps to choose from.

Meanwhile, live online UX design bootcamps offer significant flexibility, making them an attractive option for individuals with busy schedules or those who cannot relocate to a city where a suitable in-person UX design class is held. Live online bootcamps allow students to learn from the comfort of their own homes, eliminating the need for commuting and offering a wider range of scheduling options than in-person bootcamps can. Additionally, they offer many of the same benefits as in-person classes, allowing students to interact with live expert instructors and fellow students in real-time in a digital classroom. This environment allows participants to build professional relationships, participate in discussions, collaborate on projects, and receive personalized feedback and immediate answers to questions from experienced instructors invested in their students’ success. 

More and more professional training schools are moving their UX design bootcamps exclusively online, so for most, it’s easier to find a virtual class than an in-person one. Noble Desktop is one of the few remaining schools that provide both live online and in-person courses at their Midtown Manhattan campus, dedicated to providing the same high-quality instructor-led learning experience for those who prefer a brick-and-mortar experience as well as students all over the world who prefer to meet from home. While other schools provide on-demand UX design learning options that provide students additional flexibility in scheduling, most find the subject extremely difficult to master without the assistance of a live instructor and other features of live online and in-person classes.

Do You Want to Start a New Career Using Your UX Design Training?

When an aspiring UX design professional is looking for a UX design bootcamp, they need to evaluate how well the program supports their specific career aspirations. Different bootcamps offer varying levels of focus on helping graduates succeed in the job market following graduation. Comprehensive career-focused bootcamps often include extensive career support services, such as assistance in portfolio development and mentorship in resume building and interview preparation. These career-focused UX design bootcamps provide not only the training students need to excel as UX Designers but also the professional tools and confidence to land their first job in the field. 

When comparing career-focused bootcamps, learners will find some offer exceptional in-class opportunities to work on real-world projects that can include in their professional portfolios, arguably the most essential component of a UX design job hunters’ toolkit. Meanwhile, others will provide out-of-class resources, such as one-on-one mentorship sessions, career coaching, networking opportunities, and job boards. UX design learners will want to consider the quality of what each bootcamp they consider offers and what types of resources they feel will be most helpful for them.

Which UX Design Bootcamp is Best For Me?

Choosing the right UX design bootcamp involves evaluating and comparing various factors to find the best fit based on individual objectives, preferred learning styles, and unique circumstances. Bootcamps come in diverse formats, including part-time, full-time, in-person, and online. Part-time programs provide flexibility for those who must work through their education or juggle other commitments, while full-time immersive courses offer faster, more intense learning experiences. In-person and live online UX design classes provide similar benefits, with one allowing human and professional connections with a live instructor and classmates in a brick-and-mortar classroom and the other providing similar opportunities in a teleconferencing space. Bootcamps can also differ in their focus, with some emphasizing comprehensive career readiness and others concentrating on specific UX design skills, such as prototyping, user research, and tools like Figma and Adobe XD.

One crucial factor to consider is the curriculum, which should align with personal learning goals and cover topics relevant to current industry standards. The best bootcamps feature interactive, hands-on training with a live instructor who can provide real-time feedback and guidance. High-quality instruction is essential, and researching the backgrounds and credentials of bootcamp instructors can help learners ensure they choose a bootcamp that connects them with experienced and passionate instructors with a track record of supporting their students toward success. Bootcamps that provide opportunities for one-on-one mentorship sessions with instructors are especially invaluable, as these allow students to receive tailored private tutoring and career support to help them achieve their goals.

Aspiring UX design students must evaluate their current schedules and determine whether a full-time or part-time bootcamp best fits their available time. Full-time bootcamps can help students reach their learning goals faster, while part-time bootcamps give students more time to process and practice their new skills while balancing work or family obligations. Bootcamp location and format are also critical factors to consider, with live UX design bootcamps available both online and in-person in most metropolitan areas. Live online bootcamps offer significant accessibility and flexibility, allowing students to learn from home wherever they live, while in-person bootcamps provide the traditional experience of learning in the same room as their instructor and classmates.

While bootcamps are an excellent option for many who would like to learn UX design, they may not be the most suitable class format for everyone. Some learners may find they only need to know a rough overview of the basics of UX design and will find what they need in free online resources like Noble Desktop’s UX design section of their Learn Hub or their free UX design seminars. Others may need to go a bit deeper with their training, finding what they need in a short course like Noble Desktop’s UX Design Foundations. Still, other aspiring UX design students will find themselves in a position to prefer a university education over a bootcamp, should they be craving a traditional college experience and have access to significant scholarships. However, UX design bootcamps are the top choice for most UX design learners for how well the format fits the scope of the topic and its unique interplay of technical, creative, and human-centered skills.

Learn UX Design with Noble Desktop

Design and coding school Noble Desktop offers a range of live UX design bootcamps and certificate programs packed with features that will help you achieve your learning goals. Noble’s UX & UI Design Certificate program is ideal for beginners looking for a career-focused all-in-one UX design bootcamp, including both introductory and advanced training, along with career support and other benefits tailored to fit the needs of aspiring UX Designers. In addition to 132 hours of training in user testing, prototyping, Figma, and the essential concepts, methodologies, and best practices of UX design, your live expert instructor will walk you every step of the way through building a portfolio that showcases your expertise. Tuition is payable via a 0% financing plan and covers all this, plus eight one-on-one career support mentorship sessions, a free retake option, and a verified digital certificate of completion. Noble Desktop’s UX & UI Design Certificate is one of the few that is available as either a full-time or part-time program, giving students the option to fit their studies into their current schedules and learn at the pace that best suits their lifestyle.

For those specifically interested in a bootcamp focused on Figma, Noble Desktop’s Figma Bootcamp offers a proven curriculum design to help you reach an expert level of proficiency in just 12 hours. The intensive bootcamp features hands-on exercises, interactive discussions, expert-led lectures, and the guidance of an experienced instructor whether you are attending class in-person in Manhattan or live online. Your tuition covers Noble’s proprietary workbook, a free retake option should you wish to experience the bootcamp a second time within one year, and a verified certificate of completion. Whether you need to master Figma from scratch or to fill in gaps in your current knowledge of the industry-standard application, Noble Desktop’s focused approach will ensure you receive the training to achieve your learning goals.

Upon evaluating your UX design learning needs, you may discover that your goals are simply gaining a thorough understanding of the essential concepts, terminology, tools, and methodology of UX design. If this is the case and you don’t need to dive deeply into a professional-level mastery of specific tools or build a portfolio to launch a UX design career, the UX Design Foundations course may be the best class for you. Offered by Noble Desktop, this course is available in-person at their Midtown Manhattan campus or live online. Whether you’re exploring the basics of UX design before committing to a career-focused bootcamp or simply need a rough overview of the topic to increase user satisfaction with a current project, the live expert instructors behind UX Design Foundations will ensure you achieve your goals. Tuition includes the option for a free class retake within one year and a verified digital certificate of completion.