New year, new goals — and a fresh chance to boost your career. Why not kick off the year by learning something that could open new doors?
Check out UW Professional & Continuing Education’s lineup of new courses and specializations starting this winter in areas such as entrepreneurship, generative AI for instructional design, Lean Six Sigma: Green Belt and UX research. Whether you’re looking to lead, innovate or explore something new, there’s a program waiting for you.
Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA)
Type: Course
Duration: 10 weeks
Where: Online Asynchronous
Starts: February 2026
Want to own a business? Rather than starting from scratch, consider acquiring an existing business — this can be a faster and more predictable path to business ownership.
In this new course, anyone can learn to buy and grow a small business through a process known as entrepreneurship through acquisition, or ETA. You’ll start by understanding how to evaluate risks, challenges and opportunities; then you’ll explore financing strategies and how to close a deal. You’ll learn how to pitch investors — and how to prepare for your first 100 days as CEO.
Award-winning entrepreneurship expert Christy Johnson, who teaches at the UW Foster School of Business, will lead the course. She emphasizes that ETA is accessible to a broad range of aspiring entrepreneurs, not just those with elite degrees or personal wealth.
“You don’t need an MBA — you don’t even need a college degree. What you need is the desire to create value for customers and for employees. In addition, you need the ability to grow a business and lead a team,” Johnson says.
The idea of entrepreneurship through acquisition is catching on, and for good reason.
“Many people who are rethinking their careers are choosing to step into ownership by acquiring a small- or family-run business and then scaling it,” Johnson says. “It’s a different kind of entrepreneurship, rooted in stewardship, cash flow, building leaders and community impact.”
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Generative AI for Instructional Design
Type: Course
Duration: 8 weeks
Where: Online Asynchronous
Starts: January 2026
Hey educators and instructional designers! Are you looking for ways to use AI to enhance — and accelerate — your instructional design process?
This new course is your launchpad for integrating AI into your learning design practice. Gain practical experience building AI-enhanced learning pathways and learn how to use leading AI tools to create multimedia content, adaptive assessments and personalized learning experiences. The course also covers organizational change management for successful AI adoption, including stakeholder engagement and scalable implementation in organizations.
“Whether you’re building new learning experiences, enhancing existing materials or leading new AI-adoption programs, this course equips you with the skills to use AI effectively and responsibly,” says Stacey Fontes, program management director at UWPCE and manager of the new course.
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Lean Six Sigma: Green Belt
Type: Course
Duration: 12 weeks
Where: Online Synchronous
Starts: January 2026
If process improvement is your calling, Lean Six Sigma may be just what your career needs.
Lean Six Sigma is a methodology that helps organizations continuously improve performance, streamline operations and reduce costs — an approach that keeps them competitive in an always-changing market.
“Lean Six Sigma helps businesses stay on their toes by zeroing in on problems and opportunities and driving continuous improvement,” says Anindita Banarjee, senior program manager at UWPCE and the manager of the new Lean Six Sigma: Green Belt course.
Like martial arts, Lean Six Sigma has a belt system that indicates increasing levels of experience and expertise. In this course, you’ll focus on the Green Belt, or third level. You'll learn how to use the DMAIC framework — Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control — to drive process improvements and get practice in Lean Six Sigma techniques like process mapping, root cause analysis and the Japanese workplace organizational method 5S. In the end, you’ll apply Lean Six Sigma concepts and tools to a team-based process improvement project.
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UX Research
Type: Specialization
Duration: 9 weeks
Where: Online Synchronous
Starts: January 2026
User experience (UX) research — the process of gathering information about the needs, behaviors and pain points of customers to inform product design and development — is a crucial aspect of business strategy in many industries today. With high-quality UX research, companies can create products and experiences that better match customer expectations and generate higher sales and engagement.
This specialization will teach you how to use industry-standard tools and techniques to produce valuable, actionable UX insights. You’ll investigate a variety of user research methods, including usability tests, interviewing, surveys, sampling techniques and more. We’ll explore the factors that influence user preferences, needs, frustrations and other phenomena of human behavior. You’ll also develop a UX research portfolio to demonstrate your skills and knowledge.
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KEEP LEARNING
Check out all our upcoming certificates, specializations and courses and find a program that’s perfect for you.