What the User Experience Design degree offers
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities, through its College of Design, just took a major step for anyone looking to build a solid career in tech. The institution launched the first Bachelor of Science in User Experience (UX) Design in the state of Minnesota — a full four-year degree entirely focused on creating digital products that actually work for people. The program kicks off this fall semester and arrives at a time when the demand for UX skills has never been higher, with the job market practically begging for qualified professionals in this field.
McLean Donnelly, a UX design professor and the program coordinator, believes this is only the second undergraduate degree of its kind among the 18 universities in the Big Ten conference. And what makes the program even more special is its location. According to Donnelly, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities sits in a state with an extremely vibrant design ecosystem and the highest number of Fortune 500 companies per capita in the United States. That means students have unmatched opportunities to tackle real-world challenges and connect with leaders at major corporations.
User Experience Design focuses on how people interact with digital products — whether websites, apps, or smart technologies. It combines psychology, research, technology, and design to create human-centered, user-friendly, and accessible experiences. This multidisciplinary approach is exactly what sets this degree apart from other programs that only scratch the surface of the subject. Companies of all sizes are investing heavily in professionals who know how to turn confusing interfaces into simple, intuitive experiences, and the result is straightforward: more tech jobs opening up for those who master this field 🚀
Why UX skills are booming in the job market
Donnelly points out that companies in the tech, healthcare, retail, and finance sectors are investing heavily in skilled designers to improve their digital interactions. UX roles are among the fastest-growing and highest-paying positions in the design and technology space. The logic is simple and direct, as Donnelly himself explains: behind every website, every app, every thing you use, there is someone designing it. And more and more companies are investing in that because it directly impacts the bottom line.
The reasoning makes total sense when you stop to think about it. If you visit a website on your phone and it does not work right, does not look good — how long are you going to stick around? Probably not long at all. And those are real dollars being lost. This realization has turned UX skills into one of the most valued skill sets in the tech industry, and the trend is for that demand to keep growing at an accelerated pace over the coming years.
The interesting thing is that User Experience Design is not just about making screens look pretty. It involves deeply understanding how people think, make decisions, and interact with digital systems. Professionals in this field need to master qualitative and quantitative research techniques, know how to conduct usability tests, create efficient navigation flows, and work collaboratively with developers and product managers. It is a discipline that requires both empathy and analytical thinking, and that exact combination is what makes these professionals so hard to find and so valuable when they are found.
Part of the motivation for creating the full degree came from the success of the UX minor that the College of Design was already offering. But according to Donnelly, the move also reflects clear hiring trends. Students who went through the UX minor are already working as full-time employees at U.S. Bank, Best Buy, Target, and Medtronic. Those concrete results made it clear that there was both room and need for a more robust and comprehensive program.
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Formalizing a path with high demand
Before the degree was created, students interested in UX had to piece together their skills on their own, combining the UX minor with independent studies. Now, with Minnesota’s first Bachelor of Science in UX Design, students have a full four years to learn and go deep into the discipline. That represents, in Donnelly’s words, a real advantage on their resumes.
Around 50 students have already enrolled in the program, which shows the demand was pent up and just waiting for this opportunity. The quick response from the academic market confirms that the university nailed the timing with this launch.
Eliana Smelansky’s story illustrates perfectly why this degree makes such a difference. A 2022 graduate of the University of Minnesota, Smelansky earned her marketing degree from the Carlson School of Management with a minor in interdisciplinary design. After an internship that led to a job at Target in a merchandising role, she realized she wanted something more creative. Her solution was a six-month UX/UI bootcamp at the University of Minnesota itself.
Today, Smelansky works as an Experience Designer at Best Buy. When she saw the announcement for the new UX degree, she was genuinely excited. She even posted about it on LinkedIn, saying that if this program had existed when she was a student, she would have signed up without thinking twice. A big part of her current work involves collaboration, brainstorming concepts, and presenting to stakeholders and leaders. Having a degree that wraps all of that into one package — teaching how to work with stakeholders, how to collaborate, solve problems, and create compelling designs — is extremely appealing for anyone looking to pursue this career.
Landing the dream job
Nick Horst’s journey is another powerful example of how UX skills can open unexpected doors. A 2025 graduate of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Horst earned his computer science degree from the College of Science and Engineering but added the UX minor to his resume. According to him, those skills were crucial in landing his dream job.
Horst says that a class with McLean Donnelly opened his world to the intersection of technology and design, which is exactly where his current work sits. After graduating last spring, he moved to Los Angeles to work at Respawn Entertainment, a studio under Electronic Arts, one of the biggest gaming companies in the world.
Horst’s passion for games was always there. He always knew he wanted to work in video games, and he understood that if you are making games, apps, or any software that needs a user interface, UX is an extremely useful skill. Today, his team works on Apex Legends, a title with worldwide reach. Horst started playing the game back in high school, so the current situation is a true full-circle moment in his life.
As a technical experience designer at Respawn, Horst explains that every time a new feature or any update is released, essentially everything that shows up on screen is something his team programs into the game. About the degree, Horst is straightforward: if he were a freshman today, he would 100 percent have chosen UX Design as his sole major or strongly considered it as part of a double major.
How the degree prepares students for the real market
One of the strongest aspects of this degree from the University of Minnesota is the direct connection to the job market. The program was not designed within an isolated academic bubble — it reflects the real needs of the tech market. The proximity to so many Fortune 500 companies in the state of Minnesota gives students access to internships, mentorships, and networking opportunities that make a tangible difference when it comes time to land that first job.
The coursework covers everything from user research methods to advanced prototyping, including digital accessibility and professional project presentations. Everything is designed so students come out prepared to face real challenges in the day-to-day of a tech company. Students also work through hands-on projects throughout the entire program, simulating situations they will encounter as soon as they enter the workforce.
Another important differentiator is the emphasis on interdisciplinary projects that have students working alongside peers from other fields like computer science, psychology, and business. This dynamic replicates the collaborative environment that exists inside tech companies, where user experience designers rarely work alone. They need to communicate with engineers, understand the technical limitations of a system, negotiate priorities with product managers, and translate research data into design decisions. The degree brings that experience from day one, giving students a huge advantage when they hit the job market.
Shaping well-rounded students for a lasting career
Donnelly describes the ideal UX student as someone who has a bit of creativity and a sharp visual eye, along with an interest in computer science. The degree opens students up to a wide range of career options, far beyond what you might imagine when you think only about interface design.
According to Donnelly, this program teaches how to look at problems, find solutions, validate ideas, create prototypes, present work professionally, and receive constructive feedback. At its core, the program teaches how to think. And even as technology changes — and we know it changes all the time — that foundation of thinking will continue to scale and allow students to grow alongside market transformations.
Donnelly’s take on the program sums up the vision nicely: it is truly a degree for life. In a world where tools and platforms change every few years, having an education that focuses on fundamental principles of problem-solving and human-centered thinking is a differentiator that does not lose value over time.
The impact of this program on the tech landscape
The University of Minnesota’s decision to create this degree sends a clear message to the market: User Experience Design is no longer a niche specialization — it has become a fundamental discipline within technology. When a major university invests in a full four-year program dedicated to this field, it validates the importance of UX skills in a way that short courses and bootcamps simply cannot. Not that those alternative formats lack value — Smelansky herself benefited from a bootcamp — but an academic program at this level offers a depth of theory and practice that makes a real difference when solving complex design problems.
For the tech jobs ecosystem, this initiative also represents an interesting shift. With more qualified professionals entering the market, the overall quality standard for digital products is likely to rise across the board. Smaller companies that previously could not compete for UX talent with Silicon Valley giants will now have access to a new generation of well-trained professionals. This could democratize the quality of digital experiences and directly benefit end users, who will get to interact with products that are more accessible, more intuitive, and more aligned with their real needs.
On top of that, the integration of artificial intelligence into the design process is a topic that will certainly gain traction as the program evolves. AI-powered tools are already transforming how designers conduct research, generate prototypes, and analyze user behavior data. Professionals who graduate from this degree with knowledge in both classic UX fundamentals and modern AI applications will have an extremely competitive profile. The University of Minnesota is positioning itself to train exactly that kind of professional, and the tech market has every reason to respond enthusiastically to this initiative 💡
With around 50 students already enrolled and success stories like Smelansky’s and Horst’s serving as inspiration, the new UX Design program at the University of Minnesota seems to have found the right balance between academic foundations and practical application. For anyone thinking about pursuing a career in this field, this is yet another sign that user experience is solidifying its place as one of the most promising and relevant areas in the tech world.
