UCLA Extension courses

This course explores motion graphics in After Effects with AI integration. Students learn animation fundamentals, AI-generated imagery, text-to-video, and conversational AI. Topics include AI history, effortless development, and prompts for design. Hands-on…

This course provides an introduction to the concepts, practices and processes of user experience. Topics include observational research and insight generation, developing user personas and scenarios, information architecture, user interface design,…

This course combines theoretical cybersecurity fundamentals with state-of-the-art use cases for a comprehensive introduction to the field. It is designed to benefit a cross-section of students, including those considering a career in cybersecurity; system…

The Supervised Field Work Practicum, extending over two quarters, is designed for students who have completed the prerequisite courses in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling Certificate. Students are assigned a minimum of 255 hours of on-site agency…

This course provides a brief overview of the theoretical and practical methods of assessing and implementing the basic counseling skills for treating substance use disorders in family systems. Information is presented through lectures and interactive…

An introduction to surface materials for interior designers, this course covers the selection and use of textiles, wall coverings, hard and soft surfaces, floor coverings, rugs, ceramic and vinyl tile, woods and plastics. Instruction includes illustrated…

is designed for college seniors and provides them the foundation to understand their role as military officers and how they are directly tied to our National Security. It is an overview of the complex social and political issues facing the military profession…

utilizes student’s field training experience to take a more in-depth look at leadership. Special emphasis is placed on enhancing communication skills, and why that is important as a leader. Students have an opportunity to try out these leadership and…

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to programming using Java , a powerful and well‑designed object‑oriented language widely used to build large‑scale Internet and intranet applications. Known for its simplicity and readability, Java is also an…

Python is a high-level, dynamically typed, and portable programming language that excels when the cost of software development outweighs performance considerations—which is quite often in practice. Python covers similar territory as Perl and is similarly an…

Anyone who does web work needs to understand HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Together, they provide the foundation on which web pages are built. HTML labels types of information, and CSS specifies how that information will…

Java Programming II builds on foundational Java skills and focuses on the advanced concepts required to develop robust, scalable, and maintainable applications. Students will deepen their understanding of object‑oriented programming, explore the use of…

Structured Query Language (SQL) is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard computer language for accessing and manipulating database systems. SQL works with database programs such as Microsoft Access and SQL Server, DB2, Informix, Oracle and…

The course provides an introduction to computer programming (coding) and software app development. It benefits individuals pursuing programming and software development as a career, as well as anyone in the IT field who works with programmers and systems…

Alumni, current students and program instructors are on hand at this free information session to answer any questions you may have regarding the program. If you are interested in becoming a landscape designer or a landscape architect, sign up today! Program…

Study of world literature, with emphasis on Western civilization as it grapples with its past and with other civilizations. Examination of works such as Dante's "Divine Comedy," Cervantes' "Don Quixote," Shakespeare's "King Lear," and Sor Juana's Mexican…

Engr 213 Data and Business Analytics (Instructor: Huang, B.) Lecture, four hours; outside study, eight hours. Coverage of wide variety of spreadsheet models that can be used to solve business and engineering problems, with emphasis on mastery of Excel…

Culture is the living architecture of the human experience. It is the values, rituals, memory, grief, joy, and expression that humans carry collectively across generations. In this session, Monty Marsh examines how the medium of photography documents culture…

This course, presented by the Alzheimer’s Association®, provides research-backed guidance on the importance of protecting cognitive function at every age. We gain practical strategies for integrating sustainable habits into their daily lives, grounded in the…

Elevating Aerospace: Design Thinking for Safety Critical AI is a hands-on, applied course for aerospace professionals seeking practical, responsible, and deployment-oriented AI capabilities in regulated and mission-critical environments. Rather than focusing…

This course moves students from AI awareness and problem framing into structured execution. Building on the problem statements and AI foundations developed in Course 1, students learn how to translate aerospace challenges into practical AI-enabled workflows…

This capstone course brings together the full learning journey: problem identification, AI foundations, workflow design, secure architecture, governance, and deployment planning. Students apply what they have learned to design a practical AI solution for a…

This course develops the practical execution capability needed to design and secure AI-enabled systems in aerospace and other regulated environments. Students become “dangerous with tools” in a controlled and responsible way: capable of experimenting with…

Death is one of the greatest taboos and understandably difficult subjects to discuss in our modern world. Like birth, death is a prerequisite for life and yet our culture of death denial prevents us from communally providing the care, compassion and holistic…

This course examines the craft of storytelling across contemporary media platforms, including feature film, broadcast and streaming television series, documentary, audio storytelling (podcast and scripted audio), vertical short-form digital content, and…

Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your photography to the next level, understanding the business side of the lens is essential. In this free one-hour session, photographer and UCLA Extension instructor Dr. Craig Havens breaks down the…

Alfred Hitchcock’s pulse-pounding films set a high bar for suspense, yet several other classic Hollywood thrillers rival the master’s lofty achievements. A few gifted filmmakers took the stylistic elements Hitchcock pioneered and built upon them—or charted…

Female musicians matched and often surpassed the accomplishments of their male peers, fundamentally transforming popular entertainment while struggling against discrimination, ridicule and exploitation. This course celebrates the creativity of brilliant…

At 63, Jill Siegal Chalsty boarded a ship alone, grieving her husband’s death, facing breast and lung cancer, and unsure what the next chapter of her life would hold. What began as a 107-day voyage around the world became a journey of healing, rediscovery,…

This hands-on introductory course helps beginning and hobbyist photographers move beyond automatic camera settings to gain confidence and creative control. Students learn essential camera functions, exposure fundamentals, and core composition techniques while…

Democracy ideally secures popular sovereignty by placing state power in the hands of its citizens. However, this course highlights the troubling global reality of democratic backsliding. We examine various models of democracy—including formal, substantive,…

This course explores the sports documentary and docu-series space through both a creative and commercial lens. Students will examine how powerful sports storytelling is developed, financed, produced, and distributed, while also understanding the real business…

Social Media Video Strategy is an 11-week course focused on creating structured short-form vertical video for platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Students examine how media has evolved from print and broadcast to algorithm-driven…

This introductory course provides an overview of evidence-based counseling skills referencing guidelines set forth by the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (ICRC) and The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA).…

AI is reshaping every stage of UX work, from how we plan and conduct research, to how we synthesize findings, generate design concepts, build prototypes, and evaluate usability. This course gives students hands-on fluency with the AI tools and workflows…

This intensive, studio-based course integrates technical mastery with creative development and visual storytelling in contemporary digital photography. Students gain full control of camera systems and photographic variables while developing a personal visual…

From Tibetan Thangka painting to rock album covers, gouache and ink have a vibrant history together. In this two-day workshop, students create a colorful piece of gouache artwork that is finished with black ink. Guided by individual instructor attention,…

Experience the beauty of botanical art through hands-on, precision drawing sessions. In this workshop, we focus on the purity of line and the delicate structural details of your birth flower, or the birth flower of someone you love. The class is designed to…

This course provides exposure to the fundamentals of cross-cultural counseling of substance-abusing and dependent individuals. The cultural impact of race, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, and socio-economic status on the development…

In this course we cover a series of case studies with a focus on Avionics, Space and Defense. For each case study we look at the procedures, ConOps, requirements, architecture development, design, integration, test and deployment. Students can analyze the…

This immersive, hands-on studio course introduces students to the fundamentals of designing and producing athletic footwear. Students will produce key deliverables of the footwear design process, beginning with trend research, target end users, benchmarking…

This course provides students with a basic level of understanding of the etiology of addiction and clinical implications derived from the application of psychology to chemically dependent behavior. To understand its complicated nature as a disease, the course…

This course prepares students to design, build, and deploy advanced agentic AI systems by combining core theory with hands-on implementation. Students will work with three leading frameworks: CrewAI, Google ADK, and n8n, while learning the principles that…

As creatives, how do we adapt to living through this revolution of design and creative expression? How do we navigate and find the “new best practices” to leverage this rapid disruption of artificial intelligence? Join Roosevelt Brown, renowned product and…

Curious about making a career change into User Experience (UX) design but not sure where to begin? In this engaging one-hour workshop, discover how a former elementary school teacher successfully transitioned into the UX field, and learn the strategies that…

Lecture, four hours; laboratory, two hours; outside study, six hours. Prerequisite: course 180. Introduction to fundamental problem-solving and knowledge representation paradigms of artificial intelligence. Introduction to Lisp with regular programming…

How do you create photographs that look striking and professionally produced? It’s the light. In this one-hour workshop focused on portraits, award-winning photographer Amanda Rowan shares how the right lighting can enhance and elevate your images, even if…

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to generative AI, combining theoretical foundations with hands-on practice. Students will explore the historical evolution of generative models, beginning with early statistical methods and advancing through…

This hands-on course introduces students to the design and development of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, powerful architectures that combine large language models (LLMs) with external knowledge sources to improve accuracy, reduce…

This course provides students with a basic level of understanding of addiction from a historical, cultural, psychological and neurobiological perspective. This course examines alcohol and other drug dependencies through a multidisciplinary approach with…