UX research is a double-edged sword.
When done correctly, it can help you add immense value to real-world projects.
However, if you focus on the wrong things, you will overcomplicate the process and waste more time than expected.
According to the 2023 UX Researcher Salary Report, there’s a clear trend: UX research salaries in the US are rising, with an average growth rate of 15.1% tied to experience.
Imagine the possibilities when you combine your existing UX/UI design skills with practical UX research expertise. This powerful combination can amplify your market value.
Let’s take Michael Wong’s (better known as Mizko) personal experience as an example. While running his own UX agency, he charged clients between $24,000 and $32,000 for a two-week UX Research Sprint.
This included:
- Conducting primary and secondary research
- Interviewing five participants
- Running a competitor analysis
- Synthesizing insights
- Delivering a foundational report and UX strategy to stakeholders.
Here are the top UX research courses in 2024 to help you better understand UX research.
Selecting the best UX research courses
Before we dive into the specific courses, let’s explore what makes a UX research course truly stand out:
- Real-world application first: The best courses prioritize practical skills over theory, ensuring you can immediately apply what you learn in real-world scenarios.
- Seasoned instructors with field experience: Learning from instructors with thriving UX design careers means gaining insights from their direct industry experience.
- Learn on your terms: Flexibility is key. Opt for courses offering pre-recorded content, allowing you to learn at a pace that suits your lifestyle.
- Emphasis on practical skills: Courses should focus heavily on hands-on learning, teaching you the methodologies you’ll use in your UX career.
- Expert guidance: The most impactful courses have experts with hands-on project guidance who complete the project with you.
- Endorsed by the best: Look for courses with a track record of success, evidenced by endorsements from professionals at top companies.
- Quick and comprehensive learning: UX research courses that pack essential knowledge concisely will accelerate your learning journey more efficiently.
Best UX Research courses in 2024
1. Practical UX Research & Strategy Course by Mizko
This UX research course emerges as a frontrunner, offering a comprehensive, hands-on approach that addresses UX designers’ common challenges in UX research.
Tackle one end-to-end project that sharpens your problem-solving prowess from the ground up. Unlike most courses that offer a mix of exercises with no clear thread — you’ll pinpoint a problem, determine a path, and learn to prioritize features that will solve the problem here.
Rated 4.9 stars by hundreds, it’s been taken by Senior UX pros from Amazon to Booking.com, proving its real-world worth.
Amazon UX designer Zohdi Rizvi's thoughts on his transformative course experience:
“The most impactful element has been the direct application of the learnings in my recent projects at Amazon. Integrating the insights gained from the course into two significant projects yielded outstanding results, significantly influencing both my career and personal growth. This hands-on experience not only enhanced my proficiency in implementing UX strategies but also bolstered my confidence in guiding, coaching, mentoring, and leading design teams.”
It’s common for UX designers to struggle with feeling defeated and making design decisions solely based on gut feeling. This course helps you break free from pixel obsession in Figma and become a strategic well-rounded UX designer with a strong business mindset.
Learn straight from Mizko, a seasoned UX expert who founded a UX agency billing $6M of projects. He’s not just teaching theory – he’s giving you a roadmap to success based on experience.
In this course, you don’t just sit back after a lecture. You dive into an end-to-end, real-world project with Mizko explaining how to solve them. Access resources (the actual ones that Mizko personally uses) to complete real-world projects, including workflows and templates he uses to work with stakeholders.
By the end of the course, you’ll be able to solve the right problems, make data-backed decisions, and drive impactful results.
Whether you’re just starting, a senior designer looking to refine a bullet-proof process to build authority in the workplace or venture out to freelance, a product manager seeking design insights, or someone switching careers – this course equips you with the know-how and best practices to stand out in the UX design industry.
Finish the whole course in just over 10 hours. It fits your busy life, letting you learn when and how you want.
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Here’s what you’ll learn:
- Strategic problem-solving skills: Identify root problems and develop data-backed, real-world solutions to win stakeholder trust and support.
- Master user interviews: Get hands-on user research training — crafting the right questions to select the best participants. This course covers everything. You’ll also have access to pre-recorded and real user interviews and learn how to extract actionable insights.
- Data-driven decision-making: Master advanced techniques like affinity mapping, competitor analysis, and data analysis. With this, you’ll turn research into compelling, actionable strategies. By the end of the course, you’ll learn how to prioritize tasks for maximum impact.
- Effective stakeholder communication: Learn how to create foundational reports and convincing presentations that articulate your ideas clearly for quicker stakeholder buy-in.
- Efficient project management: Manage projects efficiently, from formulating questions to conducting insightful interviews.
- Prioritize features and design decisions: Learn to systematically process large data sets and user insights with frameworks and automation tools to drive actionable decisions.
And what better way to determine a course’s impact than hearing from those who’ve tried it? Here’s some feedback from our verified alums:
“The process in this course connects the dots, and it’s easy to lead the clients through this process.... Life is now way easier to be honest because I have clear path to show to the clients even before we start the project because I can build expectations from the start.” - Milosh Jakjimovski, UX Designer
“Having taken various online and offline courses, I can confidently say that the knowledge you've shared is unmatched and simply exceptional 🎉 I wholeheartedly recommend this course to anyone looking to excel in UI/UX design.” - Yash C., UX/UI Designer
If you're interested in an in-depth story, explore the journey of one of our students, Alyssa Durante, as she switched career paths from a front-end developer to a UX/UI designer.
When asked about the Figma course's most impactful aspect on her career or personal growth, she said:
“I'm 100% more confident when talking to stakeholders about User Research & Strategy and the importance of why it needs to be included in the process. I also have gained such a beautiful new understanding of my users that greatly influences my designs. All of the "guesswork" that I was doing is now real, meaningful work that has stats and research behind it.”
Price: $650. Discounts are available for teams over 5.
2. UX Design Bootcamp by Springboard
The UX Design Bootcamp by Springboard is an online curriculum over six months. Its curriculum covers various topics through projects, including nine mini-projects, a design sprint, and a capstone project.
While the course’s length and breadth provide a thorough overview, it’s important to note that its wide focus could limit the depth of specialization, so you don’t get to focus on excelling in UX research.
What you’ll learn: User research, problem identification, wireframing, and prototype development. You'll also be introduced to User-Centered Design principles and usability testing methods.
Price: $7,900.
3. User Research - Methods and Best Practices by Interaction Design Foundation
This course by Interaction Design Foundation focuses on qualitative user research and its integral role in design. It covers approximately 32 hours and 16 minutes of learning material across seven weeks.
While the Interaction Design Foundation is a reputable institution, it’s worth noting that its curriculum emphasizes theory rather heavily, lacking practical exercises or real-world application.
What you’ll learn: Practical applications of user research. This includes usability tests, user interviews, contextual inquiries, and observations. Qualitative analysis techniques and how to communicate research findings to stakeholders are also covered.
Price: $8 per month for an individual and $215 for a design league.
4. User Experience Research and Design Specialization (University of Michigan) by Coursera
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This beginner-level Coursera course explores the foundation of UX research and design. It is spread over two months at 10 hours per week. In their capstone project, students are tasked with incorporating UX research and design principles to transform an initial concept into an interactive prototype.
What you’ll learn: The basics of UX research and design. It provides a solid foundation in UX principles and processes. The course focuses on UX principles and processes, which is good for very early-stage beginners.
Price: $49 per month.
5. UX & User Research Course by Design Lab
This 4-week introductory course by Design Lab is designed for individuals who need prior design or software experience. It's recommended to allocate 10-15 hours per week to the course, so it may not be the best choice for those with busy schedules.
What you’ll learn: The basics of user-centered design, including creating research deliverables. However, it does not focus on identifying and solving root problems using data-backed methods.
Price: $399.
6. Analytics and User Experience Course by NN Group
This NN Group’s lecture-format course uses analytics data to study users’ real-life behaviors and make data-informed design decisions. It’s ideal if you want to focus on quantitative research.
What you’ll learn: How to utilize analytics data, what insights analytics can provide, and how to integrate them into your design process. Case studies from industries, including finance and e-commerce, will also be shared.
Price: Starts at $1094.
7. UX Research Analysis by Pluralsight
This intermediate Pluralsight course is conducted by Justin Buehler, a strategic communications and learning consultant and founder of Buehler Strategies. The expected duration of completing this course is one hour and 20 minutes.
What you’ll learn: UX research methods and data analysis techniques. Learn how to use tools that help measure micro-interactions and how they can predict customer satisfaction.
This introductory course primarily offers demonstrations of analysis techniques and tools. Those seeking more advanced data analysis and real-world applications, such as stakeholder communication and project management, may need more.
Price: $19 per month.
8. UX Research Bootcamp by Memorisely
Memorisely offers an 8-week live UX Research Bootcamp with two scheduled live classes every week. Enrollees are advised to allocate 5 hours per week to complete tasks that may not be suitable for time-constrained individuals.
What you’ll learn: The course covers various topics, including prep work, stakeholder interviews, usability testing, and data synthesis with AI support. A predetermined teacher is assigned to each UX research class.
Price: $875.
9. UX Research Course by Uxcel
This Uxcel course has 23 self-paced lessons divided into five levels. Within each lesson, you'll read the theories related to the topic and test your knowledge through a timed multiple-choice quiz.
What you’ll learn: How to set clear objectives, select appropriate research methods, and utilize data. You’ll also learn to identify user needs, create personas, and develop user journeys.
It uses gamification for theoretical UX research but lacks practical examples. The usual process includes reading, quizzes, and moving forward.
Price: Starts at $96 per year.
The impact of UX research on the industry
A well-crafted UX research approach is pivotal in addressing business challenges and customer needs, whether for new, existing, or evolving products.
For example, companies like Netflix and LinkedIn use something called usability testing. This means they regularly test their products with real users to enhance customer experience and maximize product value.
According to the study Continuous Research Report 2023 by Maze, which includes interviews with industry experts and over 600 product professionals, found that more and more companies use customer feedback to make better decisions and grow their business.
The report highlights a significant finding: 74% of surveyed individuals believe user research aids organizational decision-making. This reflects the growing recognition of UX research’s role in shaping strategic decisions.
The essential role of UX research today
Nowadays, UX research isn’t just important. It’s essential.
As companies increasingly focus on truly understanding and connecting with their customers, the need for strategic UX designers is evident.
With this dual proficiency, you’re not just a designer you become a sought-after professional with the insights and abilities to drive user experience to new heights.
If you want to be at the heart of shaping products people love and rely on, knowing the ins and outs of UX research is your key.
Future-proof your career with UX research mastery
The industry trends lead to data-driven is the backbone of modern UX success.
So, if you want to scale up your earnings and land your dream job, now is the time to embrace the synergy of UX/UI design and UX research.
The Practical UX Research & Strategy Course by Mizko is your key to transforming these challenges into opportunities. This course empowers you to shift your perspective, see the bigger picture, and tackle strategic thinking challenges head-on.
Unlike courses that demand months or extensive hours each week, our 10-hour course covers everything you need to have the crucial business mindset in today’s market.
Translate your learnings into tangible skills that make you stand out in the competitive UX landscape.
Transform your data dread into decision-making power in UX here.
