Choose Your UAD Adventure: Find the Design Program That Fits You -

You’ve probably spent more time than you’d like to admit clicking through program pages, reading course descriptions, and still not feeling sure which direction to take. That’s one of the most common things I hear from designers who are considering UAD. So we built something to help. We call it Choose Your UAD Adventure, and it’s live now at uad.education/pages/adventure.

It starts with one simple question and walks you all the way through to the program that actually fits your life. No hunting through a catalog. No academic jargon. Just a clear path from “I’m interested” to “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

UAD University of Arts & Design Certificate and degree programs Choose Your UAD Adventure

Here’s How Choose Your UAD Adventure Works

You start with a short welcome video, then pick the path that matches where you are right now.

If you have a high school diploma, the adventure takes you into our undergraduate certificate programs. There are four of them:

Design Mastery — core principles, creative direction, the foundations of a professional design practice
Surface Pattern Design — pattern creation for licensing, product, and textile industries
Digital Production — production-level digital design skills for modern creative workflows
Art & Design Business — pricing, licensing, income strategy, and running a creative practice

If you have a bachelor’s degree or higher, Choose Your UAD Adventure routes you toward our graduate programs: the Master of Arts in Design Business and the Master of Fine Arts in Digital Design. Both are delivered fully online and built for designers who are ready to go deeper, build a more intentional career, and develop the strategic and entrepreneurial foundation that traditional design school never covered.

From there, the experience walks you through curriculum, what makes UAD different, what it costs, and when you can start.

Why We Built Choose Your UAD Adventure

Most university websites are organized around the institution. Departments. Offices. Academic calendars. That structure makes sense on the inside, but it doesn’t serve the person sitting at their laptop at 11pm trying to figure out if this is the right next step for them.

UAD was built around the student from the beginning. That’s true of our curriculum, and it’s true of this experience too.

“We built this because prospective students don’t always know which program is the right fit,” said Dr. Carina Gardner, Founder and President of the University of Arts & Design. “Choose Your UAD Adventure meets them where they are and walks them through everything they need to know. The goal is for every person to leave feeling clear, confident, and excited about what’s next.”

A lot of creative professionals hold back from applying because they aren’t sure it’s the right fit. They’re worried about time, about cost, about whether a program will actually change anything for them. Choose Your UAD Adventure exists to answer those questions before doubt has a chance to win.

Two Pathways Inside the UAD Adventure

Both paths share the same core belief: designers deserve an education built around the real world, not around institutional convenience.

The certificate programs are focused, practical, and built for working creatives who want professional-level training in specific skill areas. You can complete one certificate or stack multiple programs as your career grows.

The graduate programs go further. The MA and MFA in Design are for designers who want to build a more strategic, sustainable creative career. Both programs integrate design, technology, and business in a way that traditional design school almost never does. You’re not just developing creative work. You’re learning to run a business around it.

UAD is currently authorized to enroll students in nineteen states, and both certificate and graduate programs are available fully online.

Ready to Choose Your UAD Adventure?

Head to uad.education/pages/adventure or scroll down to start it here in this blogpost. It takes just a few minutes, and by the end you’ll know exactly where you belong at UAD.

Tell us a little about yourself, watch the welcome video, pick your path, and let the adventure do the rest.

Frequently Asked Questions About Choose Your UAD Adventure

What is Choose Your UAD Adventure?

Choose Your UAD Adventure is an interactive experience on the UAD website that guides prospective students to the right program based on their educational background. You watch a short welcome video, select your path, and the experience walks you through everything you need to know about the programs that fit where you are.

Who is Choose Your UAD Adventure designed for?

Anyone who is considering UAD and isn’t sure which program to explore first. Whether you have a high school diploma or a bachelor’s degree, the adventure starts with where you are and takes you from there.

What design certificate programs does UAD offer?

UAD offers four undergraduate certificate programs: Design Mastery, Surface Pattern Design, Digital Production, and Art & Design Business. Each one is built for working creatives who want focused, professional-level training without a four-year degree.

What graduate design programs does UAD offer?

UAD offers a Master of Arts in Design and a Master of Fine Arts in Design. Both are delivered fully online and integrate design, technology, and business strategy. They’re built for designers who want to build sustainable, business-forward creative careers.

How do I know which UAD program is right for me?

That’s exactly what Choose Your UAD Adventure is built to answer. Start at uad.education/pages/adventure and the experience will guide you.

✦ Your adventure begins ✦