User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) Design

Associate Certificate Part-time School of Business + Media

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Overview

The part-time User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) Design Associate Certificate equips you with the tools and skills needed to research, create, deploy, and test prototypes for web, mobile, and other interactive media products. You will have 4 courses focused on UI and UX design, and a fifth elective course to enhance your skill set.

The User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) Design associate certificate, which is delivered fully online, provides you with core knowledge and skills to develop engaging and intuitive digital media experiences. You’ll explore information architecture, user experience research, interface design, prototyping, and usability testing and inspecting. You’ll acquire tools to help you generate creative, user-friendly digital solutions that support human behaviour within an interactive, computer-based environment. These skills are in high demand for the design, prototyping, and testing of products for the web, mobile, and other interactive media sectors. The program includes the option of completing a portfolio development course to enable you to display your UI and UX design skills to potential employers and clients.

About the program

Complete 4 courses specific to UI and UX design, along with a fifth elective course to round out your skills.
Explore information design and how to improve access and utilization of interactive media.
Learn to design, deploy, and test prototypes for web and mobile products.
Benefit from industry instructors, with real-world experience.
Take advantage of flexible training through part-time studies and attend classes completely online for the entire program.

Learn more about the program goals on the Program Details page.

Who should complete the Associate Certificate in UI and UX Design?

This program might be right for you if:

You’re new to UI and UX design and want to explore the field.
You want to advance your career and position yourself as a UI and UX designer.
You want to add core skills in UI and UX design to your existing background in graphic design, web design/development, marketing communications, IT or computer science.
You’re a creative professional with basic knowledge of UI and UX design and want to build your understanding of the full spectrum of research, methodologies and frameworks used throughout the design and development life cycle.

Begin your training in UI and UX design by visiting the Entrance Requirements page and the Courses page.

What grads can do

With the applied training you receive throughout this BCIT program, you’ll build a solid foundation in UI and UX design to add to your existing professional toolbox or to explore further education and careers in the digital media/design field.

Learn more about career opportunities on the Graduating and Jobs page.

Entrance Requirements

About Flexible Learning

Part-time courses are offered in a variety of scheduling formats, including at night or on weekends, flexible day time delivery, or you can opt for distance or online learning. If you meet the prerequisites and there’s space available, you can register for a course immediately.

Courses are offered in each of three terms:

Fall (September),
Winter (January) and
Spring/Summer (April).

Application processing

This program is open to declarations beginning:

February 1st* for the January intake
May 1st* for the April intake
October 1st* for the September intake

*or next business day

Entrance requirements

Notice to applicants: As part of our ongoing commitment to ensure students are best prepared for their studies, Flexible Learning programs will be adopting English Language Proficiency standards (Categories 1, 2, and 3) as part of their declaration requirements effective April 2025.

Declarations submitted for program intakes beginning April 1, 2025 or later will be evaluated using the English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirement below.

English language proficiency: Category 2 – English Studies 12 (67%) or equivalent

International applicants

Blended delivery

This delivery option is available to international applicants. A valid study permit is required prior to starting the program.

Online delivery

This delivery option is available to international applicants who will complete the program from outside Canada or who currently have a valid status in Canada other than study permit. International students completing the program fully online are not eligible for a study permit.

Program declaration

Declaring your Flexible Learning (Part-time Studies) program ensures that BCIT is aware of your intent to complete a program as it is currently outlined and provides you the opportunity to apply for transfer credit.

To submit your declaration:

Answer all questions completely.
If required, convert transcripts and documents to PDF files.
Have a credit card ready to pay the application fee.

Declare Now

Upon approval, a program plan letter will be sent to you confirming your program of study. Please allow approximately eight weeks for processing.

Learn more about program declaration

Scheduled Intakes

Ongoing Flexible Learning (Part-time Studies) intakes: January, April, and September.

Costs & Supplies

Tuition fees

Flexible Learning (Part-time Studies) tuition is charged on a course-by-course basis. Please see the Flexible Learning Tuition & Fees page for more information.

Books & supplies

Equipment and Supplies	Cost*
Prototyping supplies	$200
Portable data storage	$200
Web Space account and domain name	$300

*Prices subject to change.

We recommend that students in the UI/UX Design program have a MAC notebook or Windows PC. Costs for a computer will vary depending on the configuration chosen. Please see below for specifications.

System Requirements UI/UX Design
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit) version 1809 or later or Apple® macOS® 10.13, 10.14 or later (64-bit Intel-based)
Processor	64-bit Intel® or AMD® multi-core processor with SSE4.2 instruction set
Memory	8 GB minimum, 16 GB or higher recommended (32 GB for 4K media or higher)
Graphics	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 or equivalent; Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 or Quadro T1000 is recommended. or AMD Radeon Pro 555X or higher or Intel UHD Graphics 630 or higher
Storage	250GB SSD or higher
Monitor	1920 x 1080 or better
Internet	Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.

Courses

Important Updates to Flexible Learning

English Requirement: Find out more.

Class hours

Classes may be offered evenings and weekends.

Program matrix

Check current availability of courses for this program.

1. Required Courses:			Credits
	MDIA 2330	UI/UX Prototyping Tools Apply best practices in user interface (UI) design and user experience (UX) to create a design prototype. Learn technical tips and tricks to apply the technical workflow of UI and UX using current design and prototyping tools such as Figma. Working on applied projects to identify key user needs, students work individually and in groups to develop design decisions that inform a web or app user interface prototype development. Students are assessed through a combination of individual assignments and a group project. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
	MDIA 2533	Information Architecture Information architecture is an extensive discipline involving the organization, labeling, navigation, and searching systems for web and interactive products that enable users to find and manage information more successfully. This foundation course addresses issues such as how web usability, user experience, and search engine optimization integrate into an effective information hierarchy. Students will construct mobile and web sitemaps, task diagrams and wireframes. A combination of lectures, in-class discussions, hands-on exercises, group work, student presentations, and tool demonstrations will be used throughout this course. Students will be assessed by a combination of quizzes, term project, group and individual projects. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
	MDIA 2540	UI / UX Strategy 1 The course teaches User Interface Design (UI) and User Experience (UX) as a strategic area of development for new media. This involves assessing the technical needs of an interface and the appropriate delivery platform. By understanding the power and limitations of Interface Design and User Experience tools and how to work with them, students will create prototyping systems that effectively employ colour, layout, and typography to receive user feedback. The students will learn about design methods, design process, testing and inspections of user interfaces as well as prototyping in three levels of fidelity both on paper and digitally. Students will be assessed by a combination of quizzes, group and individual projects. Prerequisite(s): MDIA 2533 course outline	3.0
	MDIA 3540	UI/UX Strategy 2 This course focuses on building UI elements using various design applications. Students will be introduced to the guidelines for building UI elements, utilize their knowledge in several design applications to create UI components and finally export them in the proper formats. Students will be evaluated by a series of assignments and term project. Prerequisite(s): MDIA 2540 course outline	3.0

2. Complete 3.0 credits from the following list of elective:			Credits
	GDES 1190	Web Design Graphic designers require web design skills as well as traditional media skills. In this course, students will be introduced to the foundation of front-end development and code management, and become familiar with the basic tools of web design, including coding concepts to translate web design into code. Focusing on web standards as outlined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), students will learn to hand code HTML 5, CSS3 (Cascading Styles Sheets) to control overall hierarchy, structure, functionality, layout and appearance of websites. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
	MDIA 2025	Digital Portfolio Development Students collect their best work into a targeted interactive portfolio. During the duration of this course, students may start new projects or refine existing ones in specific disciplines to further develop their research, management, design and programming skills in a self-directed format. A personal brand and self-promotional materials will be defined by each student to reflect their qualities, values and professional accomplishments. Students present their portfolios at the end of the course. Students are be assessed by a combination of individual projects and a group peer critique. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0

	GDES 1235	Graphic Design Process Effective graphic design is essential to daily life as it informs, instructs, warns, and entertains us. Discover that design is a complex process involving research and analysis, concept development, critical evaluation, refinement, and execution. Students will focus on brainstorming and the creative process stage of design process and its relationship to visual problem solving. Hone critical thinking strategies for effective graphic design by practicing what is learned in relation to print- and web-based communications. Execute simple, thumbnail sketches to create and record concepts—a skill paramount for advancing into creating digital content. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
or
	MDIA 1040	Graphics This course will show you how effective graphic design is essential to daily life as it informs, instructs, warns, and entertains us. You will also discover that design is a complex process involving research and analysis, concept development, critical evaluation, refinement, and execution. Hone your critical thinking strategies for effective graphic design by practicing what you learn in relation to print- and web-based communications. This is accomplished by creating a compelling concept for an ad, assessing a brand, building a visual identity around the persona, and producing a memorable promotional piece for an event campaign. You will draw and sketch concepts by hand as this skill development is paramount for advancing into creating digital content. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0

	GDES 1270	Vector Graphics: Adobe Illustrator Vector Graphics are widely used to create logos and business charts or graphs, greeting cards, posters, web or app. interface elements, graphics for brochures or manuals, patterns, clothing, and in fine art. Producing high quality vector graphics is a must-have skillset for any graphic designer. Students will be introduced to the foundations of vector graphics, including understanding anchor point types, creating paths and geometrical shapes, object's properties such as Fill and Stroke, working with gradients, and how to organize objects in groups and layers. Students will also learn advanced techniques such as working with Brushes, Symbols, Type objects, Masking, Graphic Styles, Artboards, and exporting the results for variant purposes. Students will apply this knowledge in individual and team projects. Using the professional design process, students are tasked with researching each project topic, producing design sketches, executing a final polished design, and then critiquing each other. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
or
	MDIA 1160	Adobe Illustrator 1 In this hands-on course, you will create and design scalable computer graphics with Adobe Illustrator that require creativity and imagination. You will use multiple art boards, layers, and sub-layers to organize your artwork. As well, you will use drawing tools, drop down menus, and floating panels to create a series of projects. You will use the pen tool to draw precise, offset paths, and different path widths. We will emphasize both linear and radial gradients, gradient meshes and blends for visual effects, and the effective use of colour. You will use both horizontal and vertical alignment tools and distribute your artwork evenly. You will create canisters using 3D revolve, symbols, and mapping tools. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	1.5
and
	MDIA 2260	Adobe Illustrator 2 This hands-on course expands on the skills and knowledge that gained in Adobe Illustrator 1 by using different tools, drop-down menus, and panels to create a more complex series of projects. To complete the projects, you will use a perspective grid for creating 3D artwork that fades to a vanishing point. You will create a clipping mask, rotate objects around a fixed point, create patterns, use different drawing modes, use the scissors tool to cut and join paths, use pathfinder tools to divide graphics, and transform and move objects precisely on both a horizontal and vertical axis point. You will work with live corners, use key objects for aligning graphics, create colour groups, and use brushes to paint and spray graphics for visual effects. Prerequisite(s): 50% in MDIA 1160 course outline	1.5

	GDES 1275	Raster Graphics: Adobe Photoshop Photoshop mastery is essential to managing and producing a highly professional product. Students will create stunning images and composites for visual communication projects by exploring the Photoshop interface and an array of photo-editing techniques. The course focuses on fine image editing, retouching, and developing high-quality online and print image compositions. Students will learn how to create complex graphics that can be built in multiple layers for organization and independent manipulation. Students will come to understand the purpose of the application tools, work with layers, channels, paths, make selections, image manipulation/alteration, understand image size, canvas size and resolution, create masks, work with filters and layer styles, the pen, colourize, and create interesting type. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
or
	MDIA 1180	Adobe Photoshop 1 This course introduces students to the creative world of photo editing using Adobe Photoshop. The course starts with an overview of raster based applications, including image resolution and the co-relation between pixel dimensions, color depth, and image quality. Students will customize the Photoshop workspace, use the quick selection tool, use the quick mask selection tool, manipulate selections, save selections to channels, and perform tonal corrections with the spot healing brush tool and the content-aware fill. Students will create point type, create a clipping mask from type, create vector paths, use layers and adjustment layers, and paint with the mixer brush tool. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	1.5
and
	MDIA 2180	Adobe Photoshop 2 This course covers advanced compositing techniques, including painting with the mixer brush, adding a background, matching colour schemes across images, and blending multiple pictures to create a panorama. Students will select different brush settings and create a custom brush preset. The course also covers applying layer styles, adding adjustment layers, using layer effects and blending modes. Students will manipulate an image with Puppet Warp, create type on a path, warp point type, design with paragraphs of type and work with type styles. Other topics covered in the course include straightening and cropping images, using the spot healing and brush tools, repairing areas of an image using the clone stamp tool, applying gradients to layers, and working with masks and channels. Students will also prepare files for the web by creating slices and export HTML and images. Prerequisite(s): 50% in MDIA 1180 course outline	1.5
Please note MDIA 1160, MDIA 2260, MDIA 1180, and MDIA 2180 will no longer be available after January 2023. Note: The following changes to elective courses effective January 2023: COMP 1850 Introduction to Web Development changing to GDES 1190 Web Design MDIA 1040 Graphics changing to GDES 1235 Graphic Design Process MDIA 1160 and MDIA 2260 Adobe Illustrator 1 and 2 changing to GDES 1270 Vector Graphics: Adobe Illustrator MDIA 1180 and MDIA 2180 Adobe Photoshop 1 and 2 changing to GDES 1275 Raster Graphics: Adobe Photoshop If declared, all completed MDIA courses listed above will be honoured.

Total Credits:			15.0

Check current availability of courses for this program.

Transfer credit

Do you have credits from another BC/Yukon post-secondary school? Do you want to know if they transfer to courses here at BCIT? Check out BCIT's Transfer Equivalency Database to find out.

Program Details

This program prepares students for positions in UI/UX design or to add UI/UX design skills to their professional toolbox. Positions where these skills are used include: Graphic Designer, Web Designer, Information Architect, Content Manager, Interface Designer, Interaction Designer, User Experience Designer, Customer Experience Strategist, User Experience Copywriter, and User Experience Analyst, among others.

Graduates of the UI/UX Design associate certificate will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the history of human-computer interaction, the interactive design process, and current trends in the fields of digital interfaces and user experience.
Research, document, and deploy interface improvements integrated into multi-level prototypes using industry tools and methodologies.
Generate creative solutions to design problems that support human factors within the digital and new media design environments, specifically for web and app related products.
Apply creative, critical, analytical, and strategic thinking skills in all phases of the user interface design process.
Participate in multi-disciplinary projects and demonstrate the attitudes, qualities, and values of professional accountability within the context of digital design.

Program delivery

This program is offered in the following delivery modes:

Blended: The program is delivered partly on campus and partly online.
Online: The entire program is delivered fully online.

This program is offered on a course-by-course basis, allowing students the flexibility of completing courses in any order, provided that the prerequisites are completed. Students register for each course individually and may undertake studies in any term. Courses will be held in a computer lab. All required courses are delivered online; students may choose to complete their elective credits either in person or online.

Program location

Courses may be offered at the following locations:

Burnaby Campus
3700 Willingdon Avenue
Burnaby, BC

Distance and online learning

Graduating & Jobs

UI and UX design skills are in high demand and used across a variety of fields and job categories. Job opportunities will depend on your professional background and previous education.

UI/UX designers belong to the job occupation category of ‘computer programmers and interactive media developers’. They are employed in graphic design/digital media/web development agencies, digital entertainment companies, IT businesses, and a variety of other organizations that develop digital products and services for the private and public sectors or, more broadly, within any business that hires designers to develop web/mobile/digital applications.

UI/UX designers work closely with, or as part of the role of, Content Managers, Information Architects, and Project/Product managers, gathering user requirements, creating wireframes and sitemaps, designing graphic elements and iconography, creating layouts, choosing typography, and building visual navigation systems.

Apply for graduation

Upon successful completion of all program requirements, complete an Application for BCIT Credential [PDF] and submit it to Student Information and Enrolment Services.

Allow approximately six to eight weeks for processing.

All financial obligations to the Institute must be met prior to issuance of any credential.

Faculty, Advisors & Staff

Our instructors are well-connected, digital media and design professionals. All instructors bring current, relevant experience and first-hand knowledge to the classroom.

Advisory committee

The program advisory committee (PAC), is made up of some of BC’s top new media professionals representing a diverse range of companies and sectors.

Contact Us

Linda Huang
Flexible Learning Program Assistant – Digital Arts, Media and Design
Tel: 604-453-8284
Email: linda_huang@bcit.ca

Aimee Chung
Flexible Learning Coordinator – Digital Arts, Media and Design
Tel: 604-453-8380
Email: aimee_chung@bcit.ca

Contact a Flexible Learning Program Advisor with the BCIT program name in the subject line if you have a question about:

Course selection and program planning
Declaring your program
Making changes to your approved program plan
Applying for transfer credit and advanced placement
Laddering options
Job placement and graduate outcomes
Student life

Questions or comments?

Programs and courses are subject to change without notice.