Attention Programmers: UC San Diego Offers New Certificate Program in App Development

LA JOLLA, Calif., March 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Surprising statistic: Today's four billion global mobile phone users outnumber both Internet users and land-line owners. And now, yes, there is an app development certificate for that.

To help meet the need for app developers for cell phones and other wireless devices, UC San Diego Extension is now offering a Mobile Applications Certificate Program. Led by the Digital Arts Center, the one-year, two-night-a-week certificate is an advanced training program for smartphone application enthusiasts and industry professionals seeking opportunities to expand their design, programming and software development skills.

The mobile applications development certificate program is designed to give students comprehensive training encompassing programming, interface design and interaction design. During the final two quarters, students produce a complete mobile application for devices including iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android-based smartphones.

Mobile applications have infiltrated virtually every area of our lives both personally and professionally. Mobile applications range from giving access to a specific database to complete web access. Mobile applications help users streamline and organize their lives with a touch of a screen. Apps can provide a wide range of services from educational to informational, and social to recreational, helping users navigate their lives as well as their surroundings.

"Mobile applications are produced by thousands of mobile application companies across the world," says Susan Varnum, director of the Digital Arts Center at UCSD Extension. "Our mobile apps program is a great complement to our already successful casual gaming program and both curriculums address the booming mobile media industry. Through our comprehensive training in game and app development, we offer individuals the skills needed to engage with and succeed in this rapidly evolving billion dollar industry."

Continuing education students work directly with instructors who are practicing mobile application developers. Together they conceive individual and group concepts for mobile applications and execute the prototypes in a team-based or individual setting. Mobile software is designed to run on handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), enterprise digital assistants (EDAs), smartphones, such as iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile and some conventional cell phones.

Students in the one-year professional certificate are required to take eight courses with a tuition of $1,400 per course (equipment fees and course materials are extra).

The Digital Arts Center, a branch of UC San Diego Extension, offers professional training in various digital media art fields such as game design, graphic design, mobile apps development, video production and web design. For additional information and registration visit: http://dac.ucsd.edu/index.cfm?vAction=mobile-applications or call 858-534-6705.

About UC San Diego Extension (extension.ucsd.edu)

As the continuing education and public programs arm of the university, UC San Diego Extension educates approximately 56,000 enrollees a year, which translates to over 26,000 students in more than 4,900 courses. UC San Diego Extension is recognized nationally and internationally for linking the public to expert professionals and the knowledge resources of the University of California. Through UCSD-TV, 1 million San Diego homes enjoy daily access to an abundance of useful ideas, creative minds and provocative thinkers. Although a part of the university since 1966, Extension receives no state support and relies on the funding generated from fees, contracts, grants, sponsors and donors for its annual budget of approximately $35 million.

Media contact:

Henry DeVries at [email protected]  
858-534-9955 or 619-540-3031 (after hours)

SOURCE University of California San Diego Extension