UC Berkeley Extension announced this week that it’s launching its own UX/UI Boot Camp.

Why is this important?

Because this intensive 6-month program signals a shift in the way people think about UX/UI. That they are thinking about it.

A few years ago you’d be hard pressed to find a person who actually knew what UX/UI was. Even today only people within the industry really have a comprehensive understanding of why User Experience and User Interface design is important. Now a world-renown university like UC Berkley, even if only for its extension program, is dedicating energy to the development of this space. The program, starting in November, is being spearheaded by Trilogy Education Services.

The press release from UC Berkeley says the program “responds to the needs and demands of working professionals who are answering the call for more UX/UI designers in the workforce.”

Designed to teach students the three central components of UX/UI—interface design, experience research and front-end programming—this boot camp teaches students both the hard and soft skills in how to build low- and high-fidelity prototypes; communicate creatively; and bring project goals to life using the Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch App, Invision App, HTML, CSS and JavaScript programming.

“In the past decade, the average salary for UX/UI designers has increased more than 30 percent,” says Dan Sommer, Founder and CEO of Trilogy Education Services. “Despite this, with both hard and soft skills required, highly qualified candidates remain in extremely short supply. The UX/UI program at UC Berkeley Extension will empower students with the skills to help them thrive.”

“We are looking forward to again partnering with Trilogy in offering skills-based training programs to our students,” says Diana Wu, Dean of UC Berkeley Extension. “The boot camp will give them a leg up in the competitive technology landscape. By program’s end, students will be prepared to successfully land jobs ranging from UX/UI Designer and Developer to Interaction Designer and Project Manager.”

The Berkeley UX/UI Boot Camp will resemble a digital design studio in which students continually work on real-world problems that have tight deadlines and require continuous collaboration. Students will learn to build evocative, engaging and user-centric designs, while the project-based curriculum includes in-depth training on design principles and exposure to the tool sets of the modern-day UX/UI Designer.

All this means?

UX/UI design is here to stay and in demand.