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Certificate Program in Website Design and Development

Learn the coding, web tools and design principles you need to build dynamic, responsive websites with UMass Lowell's online web design certificate.

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Next Start Date: May 15

Online Web Design Certificate

Master the latest web technologies and skills with UMass Lowell's Website Design and Development certificate. The online web design certificate will prepare you to design and implement effective, dynamic websites. This certificate program enables you to pursue either a Web Design or Web Development track.

Earn your certificate entirely online or as a combination of online and on-campus courses. The courses in this program can be applied toward UMass Lowell's Associate's Degree in Information Technology or Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology.

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Complete in 9 Months

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One of the Most Affordable Tuitions in the Nation

Career Outlook

750,508
Jobs (2020)
+4.4%
% Change (2020-2021)
$87.4K/yr
Median Earnings
110,198
Annual Openings
Source: Lightcast, 2022

One Success Leads to Another

Apply credits from lower credentials to higher ones. Our programs are designed to build upon themselves:

Web Design Track Curriculum

- Required Courses: 4
- Electives: 2

Required Courses (4 / 12cr)

*Not currently offered online.

Note: The GRFX courses listed here were previously listed as 70. courses. GRFX.212 Website Design used to be 70.220 Website Design; GRFX.312 Advanced Website Design used to be 70.320 Advanced Website Design and Development; and GRFX.203 Photographic Imaging used to be 70.262 Digital Imaging and Photography: Photoshop®. The content of these courses has not changed.

Web Development Track Curriculum

- Required Courses: 4
- Electives: 2

Required Courses (4 / 12cr)

*Not currently offered online.

Note: Other INFO.xxx may be substituted as electives for the Web Development Track with prior approval from the certificate program coordinator.

Course Descriptions

Covers the fundamentals of image enhancement, image manipulation, scanning, digital capture and using industry-standard photo imaging software. Image preparation for a variety of media will also be explored. Formerly 70.262. 3 credits/3 contact hours. 3 credits.
Prerequisites:

Basic Computer Prof. (CSCE)

This course will focus on the creation of visual content for the web and will explore what constitutes a visually exciting and engaging site. Other topics that will be covered are: file formats, compression, web color strategies, and platforms standards. Formerly 70.379 3 credits/3 contact hours. 3 credits.
Prerequisites:

HTML & Photoshop (CSCE)

This advanced-level course is designed for students who have completed Website Design. The course will cover topics such as advanced css layout techniques, user-centered design, dynamic pages and testing. Students will have the opportunity to further develop their design and conceptualization skills. Formerly 70.384. 3 credits/3 contact hours. 3 credits.
Prerequisites:

GRFX 2120 (CSCE) Pre-req

This course is designed for technical writers, project managers, web developers and designers or anyone interested in creating, developing, and managing Help systems. Students will learn to use RoboHelp to create professional Help systems and documentation for desktop and web-based applications, including CD-ROMs, .NET and Rich Internet Applications. Students will learn to create Table of Contents, Index, Glossary, context-sensitive Help, and how to generate Help systems in any popular online Help format, plus press-ready printed documentation. Students will also explore the use of RoboDemo as a potential add-in to make help systems more interactive by incorporating Flash movies and video. Prerequisite: Familiarity with technical writing and/or web/multimedia development. 3 credits. Prerequisites: Familiarity with technical writing and/or web/multimedia development 3 credits.
Prerequisites:

Familiarity with technical writing and/or web/multimedia development

Provides participants with an overview of multimedia and its professional applications in training, education, marketing, and entertainment. Scanning images, digitizing video and audio, and exploring the design and production of interactive multimedia are the focus of this class. Includes technical/hardware considerations and production procedures pertinent to interactive multimedia. 3 credits.
The focus of this class is on the basic components of shape, color, texture, typography, and images as they are applied to multimedia and web interface design. Other topics covered include scanning, image editing, resolution and color palettes. Students will work on projects that integrate elements such as buttons, navigation bars, and background images to communicate creative visual information. Photoshop will be used. 3 credits. Formerly Graphics for Multimedia
Prerequisites:

INFO.2300

This course focuses on the design, development, and implementation of websites using available visual development tools. Each participant will design, build, and maintain their own websites. Topics covered include: basic navigational structure; page layout incorporating tables and frames; graphical design and placement; image maps; streaming audio and video; and basic website administration. 3 credits. Requires Adobe Dreamweaver software.
Prerequisites:

INFO.2910

This course provides participants with an overview of the features that make up a web server as well as the information needed to implement and support a web server. The course covers the most popular industry web server products. Topics include: planning, installation, and configuration, configuring and managing resource access, integration and interoperability, running applications, monitoring and optimization, troubleshooting, HyperText Transfer Protocol, platform selection and tradeoffs. 3 credits.
Prerequisites:

INFO.2380.

With more data online, the web interface is becoming the primary tool for serving up databases in the enterprise and on the Internet. Topics covered include: what is ASP.NET; server-side scripting; Web Forms; validation, file I/O; database access components; basic SQL commands; and debugging techniques. 3 credits.
This course qualifies for free MSDNA software!
Prerequisites:

HTML and previous programming experience required.

It is almost impossible to think about creating any sort of modern web site or application without the use of databases and at least a cursory knowledge of how they work. Almost everything online uses a database at some level whether it is an ultra-complex system such as Facebook or Amazon.com, a prepackaged tool such as Drupal or Wordpress, or a relatively simple site which requires a log on to gain access to some content. This course is designed to provide a straightforward but comprehensive overview of what these systems are, how they work, and how they can be incorporated into your projects. 3 credits.
Today, e-commerce has become the platform for media and new, unique services and capabilities driven by Internet technology, including developments in security and payment systems, marketing strategies and advertising, financial applications, media distribution, business-to-business trade, and retail e-commerce. This course provides an in-depth overview of the challenges and realities behind the planning, creation and maintenance of online businesses. While this curriculum doesn't include creating an online business directly, each student will learn what options are available to entrepreneurs looking to start a business online and what challenges and pitfalls may await. Students will learn about the mobile digital platform, the emergence of cloud computing, new open source software tools. 3 credits.
This course is designed to teach you how to code cutting-edge web pages using the new HTML5 tags; We will introduce you to HTML5 web forms, and explain how to use them; We'll discover how to add multimedia content and how to use the Canvas element to draw shapes complete with fills, color strokes, gradients, and more; You'll learn how to combine the powerful styling and animation capabilities of CCS3 to enhance your web pages, and work with the technologies of HTML5 to make building web applications easier than ever. 3 credits.
A continuation of the introductory course, this course focuses on properties of Cascading Style Sheets and using them with JavaScript to create Dynamic HTML. The student is required to know basic HTML before enrolling in this class. The Document Object Model (DOM) for IE is covered in depth. 3 credits.
Prerequisites:

INFO.2910.

This course introduces students to object oriented programming with Java(TM). Basic concepts are introduced early, with a strong focus on classes. Additional topics include event driven (Windows) programming and object-oriented design. Note that this is not an introductory course to programming - Students are expected to have a working knowledge of a least one high-level programming and/or scripting language (or equivalent experience) and basic familiarity with programming (using a text editor, etc). However, it will teach some basic programming concepts during the first few weeks. Previous programming experience required. Requires the Sun Java(TM) Development Kit. 3 credits.
Prerequisites:

Previous programming experience required; requires J2SE Development Kit (JDK) 6.0 or higher

The JAVA (TM) programming language is now being used to write distributed Internet applications. Unlike traditional languages, the JAVA (TM) language was designed to be used on a network. Thus, it contains features needed to build efficient distributed applications that employ Internet resources. Those who intend to design World Wide Web information systems that fully utilize the Internet must have a working knowledge of this vital technology. This course allows students to explore features that set JAVA (TM) apart from traditional programming languages; obtain an overview of object-oriented design as it applies to JAVA (TM); learn about the fundamental constructs of the JAVA (TM) programming language; and write, compile, and include simple JAVA (TM) Applets within the content of HTML documents. 3 credits.
Prerequisites:

INFO.2970 or INFO.2680; requires Sun Java Dev. Kit

An introductory course designed for the student who has mastered HTML and would like to add interactivity to his or her web sites. Topics covered include basic JavaScript programming, creating interactive forms, using frames and cookies, working with graphics and multimedia. Students will incorporate various JavaScript programs to their existing website. 3 credits.
Prerequisites:

INFO.2910 or knowledge of HTML

The goal of this course is to provide an in-depth introduction to the Python programming language followed by an introduction to both the Perl and PHP. All of these languages share common functionality and are tools commonly used to solve similar problems, but each embodies a different philosophy and approach to solving those problems. After a thorough grounding in the language's basics, we'll explore their similarities, and, more importantly, their differences. By the end of the course, its' hoped, you'll have a good idea which of these tools is right for you and the kind of applications you wish to develop with them. 3 credits.
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) picks up where HTML leaves off. If you've studied HTML, you've learned the Web's formatting language. To structure content on the Web, you will need to learn XML. In this introductory course, you will learn basics of XML and the DTD (Document Type Definition), XSL (the style sheet for XML), and CDF (Channel Definition Format) commonly used in push technology. 3 credits.
Prerequisites:

INFO.2910

Developing Dynamic Websites with ColdFusion is a course that provides web designers and developers with the knowledge and hands on training they need to begin developing interactive websites using Adobe's powerful web application platform ColdFusion using the Dreamweaver website authoring tool. Students will learn how to build secure, interactive, database-driven web applications that maintain session state across pages. 3 credits.
Prerequisites:

INFO.2910 or solid knowledge of HTML required.

Undergraduate Certificate Requirements

Students enrolled in UMass Lowell certificate programs must complete all courses and maintain a grade point average of 2.0 or better to earn the certificate. All certificate courses must be completed within a five-year period.

Certificate Completion

Students who successfully complete the certificate program should submit a Certificate Petition Form to have their certificate mailed to them.

Tuition & Fees

Tuition at UMass Lowell is typically half the cost of private colleges, and our online tuition is among the lowest in the nation. Tuition for online programs offered through the Division of Graduate, Online & Professional Studies is the same whether you live in-state, out-of-state or outside of the U.S.

Summer 2023 Tuition

Cost Per Credit Cost Per 3-Credit Course*

Undergraduate

Online $380 $1,140
Online Business** $385 $1,155
On Campus Lowell $340 $1,020
On Campus Haverhill $300 $900
*If the number of contact hours exceeds the number of credits, tuition is calculated by multiplying by the total number of contact hours.
†Rate will increase slightly in Fall 2023

Additional Costs

Term Registration Fee $30
Late Fee $50

Please note: Tuition and fees are subject to change.

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Applying into an Undergraduate Certificate Program

Apply to an undergraduate certificate program using the Online Application Form or by printing and completing the Undergraduate Certificate Application Form in .pdf file format. Applicants will be required to have either their official high school transcript, HiSET®, GED® or their most recent college transcript if applicable, sent to Graduate, Online & Professional Studies at the address below. Applications, transcripts, and other correspondence should be sent to:

University of Massachusetts Lowell
Division of Graduate, Online & Professional Studies
Undergraduate Admissions
839 Merrimack Street, 2nd Floor
Lowell, MA 01854

Undergraduate certificate applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and there is no fee to apply. You will be notified upon acceptance.

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Questions Regarding Your Undergraduate Application?

Email OCE_Admissions@uml.edu or call 978-934-2474.

For General Assistance:

Call the Advising Center at 978-934-2474 or 800-480-3190. Our academic advisors are here to help!

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