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Web Development
The nexus of web and app development
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Specialization Description
"The challenge for both new and experienced web developers is keeping up with the trends in scripting languages, frameworks, and workflows. We have created and will continue updating the web development specialization with the right courses to stay current in this constantly evolving market."
— Teresa Hardy, MA, Program Chair and Instructor
Develop web systems and applications for business
Web development and application programming courses are combined in a rich curriculum to help you learn to develop web systems and applications for business and, for the experienced frontend developer, to stay current with the most current computer languages and technologies.
In this focused specialization, we train you to work on e-commerce, enterprise applications, interactive websites, and cloud applications. You will study the most popular web programming languages, SPA or dynamic web technologies, and cloud services, and program on all major platforms and frameworks.
Web Development specialization objectives
- Design and develop robust, reliable, web systems, and applications to support business needs
- Program with JavaScript, PHP, and Python dynamic web application languages
- Apply best practices to frontend web development
- Develop a test plan to code and test cases for web applications
Core Courses
- Designing, Building, and Integrating RESTful API
Use data in projects, learn methods of data exchange, and how data interacts with business applications. - Introduction to Web Programming JavaScript and PHP
Introduces the basic concepts and programming skills you need to create dynamic web pages, taking you beyond HTML and CSS into the world of JavaScript and PHP.
For students with more programming experience
- JavaScript and AJAX, Comprehensive
Learn how to integrate JavaScript with HTML/CSS and write functions to handle user-initiated events such as mouse rollovers, clicking on a link, or submitting a form.
Program Overview
Estimated Cost: $2,860–$3,345 (You pay only for courses you enroll in.)
Program Requirements: 4 courses (9 units). Take 2 core courses (4 units) and sufficient electives to earn a minimum of 5 units. End with Specialization completion review.
Minimum Hours of Instruction:
Estimated Duration: A full-time student can complete the certificate in 6–9 months.
Courses
1. Required Courses:
2. Electives:
3. Completion Review:
Meet Our Instructors
Specialization Inquiry Form
Recommended Course Sequence
How to be a frontend developer today
The frontend foundation: HTML and CSS
Basic knowledge of HTML/CSS is required for all classes in the Web Development specialization. Upgrade with HTML5 Advanced and Javascript APIs and Designing with Cascading Style Sheets: Advanced.
New to this subject? See HTML5 Fundamentals and Designing with Designing with Cascading Style Sheets: Fundamentals.
Learn JavaScript from the ground up
Start with the standards, variables, data types, expressions, functions, events, objects, with Introduction to Web Programming: JavaScript and PHP.
Learn frameworks like React, Redux, and Typescript by building projects in a classroom environment with JavaScript and AJAX, Comprehensive, and Web Application Development Using React, Redux and TypeScript.
Learn web deployment techniques
Learn how to test web applications with Web Applications Testing, Comprehensive. And learn deployment techniques with Programming for Cloud Computing: Amazon Web Services.
Other valuable web developer skills
Website creation is a combination of code, visual design, and content. UCSC Silicon Valley offers other programs that complement frontend developer skills. See Designing a UX or Visual Design Portfolio and other courses in User Experience and Web Design.
Program Chair
TERESA HARDY, B.S., M.A., is the founder of New Media-Designs, an online marketing agency specializing in solutions for technology companies. She has over 25 years of experience in engineering and marketing in high tech companies and has worked as a web developer and multimedia artist since 2005. Hardy has taught web design, branding, usability, gaming, and web development at several universities in the San Francisco Bay area. She has served as chair of the Web Development specialization since 2020.
Establish Candidacy
Establish candidacy in a certificate or specialization
Once you create your student account, you can establish candidacy in a certificate or specialization program any time during your studies.
The benefits of enrolling early
- Lock in your certificate requirements.This means that even if program requirements change, the requirements to complete your certificate will remain the same for you
- Receive program updates
- Set your intention
- It’s free
To complete a program, you must enroll in the certificate program before enrolling in the Certificate Completion Review.
You have five years to complete all necessary courses in a certificate program or three years to finish up a specialization program.
All the necessary units in a certificate must be completed within this window.* The clock begins on the first day of your first course in the certificate program. For example, if you started a course on Sept. 5, 2017, you would have to complete all of the required units in this certificate by Sept. 4, 2022.
Note:
Enrolling in a certificate program does not trigger the beginning of the five-year window. It begins the first day of the first course that applies to a certificate program. The Certificate Completion Review process does not have to occur within the five-year timeframe.
For more information: How do I get my certificate or specialization?
* Students participating in a special program, such as workforce, international, Personal Financial Planning, or curriculum partner programs (such as GreenFig or CLS by Barbri) may have a shorter completion requirement.