Questions about UX Academy?
We've got answers!
Ready for a career switch?
Start your UX Academy journey!
New to design?
Take your first step today!
Our policies on what's expected from
our students, refunds, and moreThe below policies apply to UX Academy cohorts launched May 2023 onward. Students whose cohort launched prior to this date must adhere to the requirements stated in the Student Agreement signed at the start of their course.
Designlab offers two tracks for students to choose from.
UX Academy is a rigorous academic program. You must meet the following requirements by the completion date of your course as established in your Student Agreement. The following are the expectations for students participating in UX Academy.
Please note that students eligible for the Tuition Reimbursement Policy should refer to the Tuition Reimbursement Checklist section of the student agreement to keep track of eligibility. It is the sole responsibility of the student to keep track of requirements for UX Academy, Career Services, and Tuition Reimbursement Policy. The Designlab team will not conduct an audit for the Tuition Reimbursement Policy until a student has concluded their time in Career Services.
You must complete 100% of the assigned readings & projects with mentor approval according to the course schedule, and submit iterations for projects based on mentor feedback.
You may not fall more than 40 hours behind the course schedule.
Doing so renders you ineligible for the Tuition Reimbursement Policy, but we have a support system designed to help you complete the program on a revised timeline:
Behind by 80 hours
Behind by 160 hours
Behind by 400 hours
Students who are unable to meet the custom timeline provided by Deisgnlab will have access to Career Services curriculum and community support but will not have a dedicated mentor assigned.
Student “inactivity” occurs when no action has been taken in the Designlab platform for 2 or more weeks, such as scheduling a mentor session or submitting coursework. Our data shows students who become inactive even once are far less likely to achieve a successful outcome.
Inactivity is considered an unexcused absence from the course. If your enrollment is flagged due to inactivity, you are no longer eligible for the Tuition Reimbursement Policy. If your enrollment is flagged for inactivity for 2 or more weeks during your enrollment, consecutively or non-consecutively, Designlab reserves the right to revoke access to mentorship or cancel your course where applicable.
Inactive for 1 week
Inactive for 2 weeks
Inactive for 4 or more weeks
In addition to 2 weeks of standard pause time and parental leave (see below), Designlab will grant up to 8 additional weeks in the course for all other pause reasons, course extensions, or accommodation requests. No combination of pause time and course extension will be granted in excess of 10 total weeks after the scheduled completion date as outlined in your Student Agreement (with the exception of Parental Leave and Accommodations).
Pausing
We allow you up to two pauses, each one week long, to use at your discretion throughout the course. During a pause, you will have access to your coursework, but you won’t be able to schedule mentor sessions.
Students facing exceptional circumstances may apply for a pause by submitting a request from their student dashboard or by contacting us at hello@designlab.com. Pause requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are granted at the sole discretion of the Designlab team.
Accommodations
Designlab has deliberately designed our UX Academy course to allow a large degree of flexibility and inclusivity for our students. Specifically, students are able to access course content remotely, create a work environment that meets their specific needs, work at the time of day or work that best suits their needs, and request course extensions.
We will review requests for reasonable accommodations on a case-by-case basis. Students or their mentors may contact us at hello@designlab.com. Requests for accommodation need to be made in writing as soon as the student or mentor is aware that accommodation is required.
Reasons for accommodation may include but are not limited to chronic health conditions, cognitive disabilities, physical disabilities, and psychological disabilities.
Attend Mentor Sessions
You must attend all of your 1-on-1 mentor sessions (14 sessions in Phase 1, 16 sessions in Phase 2): meeting with your mentor regularly according to the program schedule (refer to Program Overview above).
Out of respect for your mentor’s time, if you need to cancel or reschedule a session, you must give your mentor at least 24 hours' notice. Failure to do so will result in the session being forfeited and counted towards your session limit with that mentor (for this graduation requirement, a forfeited session counts as an attended session). You may forfeit no more than two sessions during the program. Forfeiting 3 mentor sessions will immediately forfeit your access to mentorship for the duration of the course, including Career Services.
Additionally, we require a two-week, two-session minimum grace period with any assigned mentor before requesting a mentor switch. In our years of experience, the best mentor/student relationships take time to develop, which requires students to be communicative regarding their expectations and needs. If after two sessions you find things are not working, you will be able to request a mentor switch.
Mentor Switches
Students may not request a mentor switch within the first two weeks after their course start date unless there is:
A scheduling conflict, in which case the student’s proposed availability will be verified prior to granting the switch. If we determine there is sufficient overlap in schedule such that a student is able to meet the requirements of their selected course track (full-time or part-time), we reserve the right to deny the switch request.
A violation of the Designlab Code of Conduct by either party.
Mentor switches two or more weeks after the course start date:
We understand the important role mentorship plays as a part of your student journey. We’re committed to ensuring you have a robust learning experience, which is why we heavily vet all of our mentors.
We also expect students to work with mentors to develop professional relationships and communicate openly and transparently.
A request to switch mentors must be submitted in writing to hello@designlab.com.
As a first step, we will guide students to work through an issue with their mentor first before granting a switch. All mentor switch requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Granting a mentor switch request is at the discretion of the Designlab team.
Mentor Switches
In an effort to equitably serve our global community of learners, students may not reach out to mentors directly to request a mentor match. Mentor availability and willingness to make the match are only single considerations in the overall mentor-matching process. All mentor switch requests must be facilitated by contacting Designlab.
Students who wish to work with a specific mentor may make the request in writing by contacting hello@designlab.com. We will do our best to accommodate mentor pairing to the best of our ability on a first come first serve basis. Requested mentor pairings are not guaranteed.
Students may not pause or delay their course in an effort to work with a specific mentor.
Unresponsiveness:
We reserve the right to unpair a student from their mentor if the student becomes unresponsive to their mentor. We anticipate students will reply to mentor communications within 2 business days.
Extra Mentor Sessions:
If additional mentor sessions are needed during either Phase 1 or 2 of UX Academy students may request them in writing by contacting hello@designlab.com.
Additional sessions are $65 each.
The payment process for these additional sessions is a charge to the credit card on file.
The additional sessions will be automatically added to your enrollment once payment has been collected.
You must attend the minimum number of Group Crits specified in the Program Overview above.
Some of your Group Crit session requirements may be excused by Designlab, for example in the case of certain holidays. In the case that Group Crits are specified as optional for a certain time period, you would not be required to make up those sessions.
Students must adhere to the Designlab Code of Conduct. Any breach is grounds for immediate withdrawal. You can find the Designlab Code of Conduct at https://designlab.com/code-of-conduct/
We reserve the right to withdraw you from UX Academy at any point throughout the program. Reasons for withdrawal include but are not limited to, failing to meet any of the requirements outlined above.
Grounds for Course Withdrawal
UX Academy is a rigorous course that requires a full commitment from you as a student in order to ensure your success. We also understand that life happens and will do our best to support you through the course. However, in certain cases, we reserve the right to withdraw you from the course. If you are eligible for a prorated refund, this will be processed upon withdrawal. Here is a list of the criteria which would mark you as a candidate for withdrawal:
You can find the Designlab Code of Conduct at https://designlab.com/code-of-conduct/
Career Services is an optional, additional program that Designlab provides free of charge for students who have successfully earned their course certificate by their scheduled completion date. It is designed to support students in landing their first UX/UI job.
All students must meet minimum activity requirements to stay enrolled in Career Services. If you do not meet these minimum requirements, your enrollment status will be flagged as Inactive and you may be removed from the program.
As long as you have sessions remaining and have been meeting all other requirements (including activity requirements), you can meet with your Coach throughout Career Services during your job search (26 weeks post-graduation). Unused sessions expire at the end of Career Services or on your formal acceptance of a job offer.
Students are eligible to take 1 week of pause during Career Services. This pause time will not affect Tuition Reimbursement Policy eligibility or impact the duration of your enrollment in Career Services.
Additional Time Away
We allow for a total of 60 days away from the course for various exceptional circumstances. This time away is separate from the 1-week pause provided and will not extend your enrollment time in Career Services. In all cases, stepping away from Career Services for more than one week will forfeit your eligibility for Tuition Reimbursement.
For time away lasting longer than 30 days, students may need to be matched to a new Coach upon their return.
If you wish to take more than 60 days of time away from your job search during Career Services, you may do so but you will immediately forfeit further mentorship.
You can request a track switch once during your time in UX Academy. We will calculate your adjusted weeks to complete the course and inform you of the adjusted Group Crit requirement for the duration of the course.
For a switch to full-time, you are required to be at least on time with your week-over-week progress.
For a switch to part-time, we will adjust your enrollment to on time if you are up to 40 hours behind in the full-time track. If you’re further behind than that, you will need to additionally speak to the CX team to receive a “Special Approval” and accompanying catch-up plan with its terms.
If you accept an offer for a UX/UI Design job at any point during UX Academy or Career Services, you must let us know in a timely manner by completing the "I'm Hired" form in your student dashboard. Students who are hired prior to completion of UX Academy may discuss options with the CX team via hello@designlab.com. Students who have signed a full-time offer prior to the completion of their enrollment will have access to up to 2 more Career Services sessions with a Career Coach.
This policy is designed to support your entry into the design field with rigorous requirements that have led to candidate success. You may be eligible for a tuition reimbursement if you are unable to receive a qualifying job offer within 6 months of completing UX Academy, provided you satisfy all requirements below. No exceptions to this policy are granted for any purpose.
If you receive an offer of any type, paid or unpaid, you must let us know by completing the “I’m Hired” form which you will find on your student dashboard. Any paid design role with >20 hours/week for 4 or more weeks of work will count as a qualifying offer, rendering the reimbursement null and void. Failure to report a qualifying offer is a breach of the Career Services Code of Conduct.
You must submit your tuition reimbursement request in writing to hello@designlab.com not more than 9 months after starting Career Services. You must provide evidence that you fulfill all the eligibility requirements listed by completing and attaching a copy of the tuition reimbursement checklist below.
Please note, to remain eligible for tuition reimbursement you must meet all graduation and Career Services requirements, which are included again for convenience in the comprehensive checklist below. All of the below requirements must be completed before requesting the reimbursement; any proof/evidence submitted after the fact is inadmissible.
You must complete 100% of required weekly readings and have projects completed and mentor approved
You cannot take more than 2 pauses and each pause may not exceed 1 week
You must attend all mentor sessions in Phase 1 and Phase 2
You must submit your final portfolio for panel review no later than 4 weeks after the Scheduled Completion Date listed at the top of your UX Academy Student Agreement.
You must pass portfolio review within 4 weeks of your first submission
Career Services is an optional, additional program that Designlab provides free of charge for students who have successfully earned their course certificate by their scheduled completion date. It is designed to support students in landing their first UX/UI job.
All students must meet minimum activity requirements to stay enrolled in Career Services. If you do not meet these minimum requirements, your enrollment status will be flagged as Inactive and you may be removed from the program.
As long as you have sessions remaining and have been meeting all other requirements (including activity requirements), you can meet with your Coach throughout Career Services during your job search (26 weeks post-graduation). Unused sessions expire at the end of Career Services or on your formal acceptance of a job offer.
You must maintain an active status in Career Services by doing the following:
You must adequately track your job search:
You must develop your skills during the job search:
The Tuition Reimbursement Policy does not apply to students who have been convicted of a felony in the last seven years.
By participating in the UX Academy program, you are agreeing to share your outcome data with us when we request it. Personal information will be kept confidential but may be used in outcome reporting.
Last Updated: June 1st, 2023