UX Intern - Student Experience

If youre passionate about building a better future for individuals communities and our countryand youre committed to working hard to play your part in building that futureconsider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online competency-based degree programs WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century one that has received praise from academic industry government and media leaders. Whatever your role working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade: Services 204

Pay Range: $18.79 - $27.25

Job Description

About the Role

WGU is looking for a curious and collaborative UX Intern to join our student experience team and lead a focused initiative around the use of Pendo Guides in the WGU student portal. This internship offers a unique opportunity to apply UX research analysis and strategic thinking to a real-world digital toolset. Youll be empowered to explore how Pendos in-app messaging and onboarding capabilities can be leveraged to better serve and support students through their academic journey.

The goal: Evaluate recommend and prototype improved and intentional use of Pendo Guides within the WGU student portal to increase usability reduce friction and promote key actions at the right moments.

Primary Responsibilities

Discovery & Research

• Conduct a landscape audit of all existing Pendo Guide implementations across the student portal.
• Interview stakeholders (product managers designers student support teams) to understand current use cases and intent.
• Gather student feedback (direct and indirect) regarding in-app guidance friction points and tool visibility.

Analysis & Opportunity Framing

• Identify usability gaps and opportunities for meaningful Pendo Guide interventions.
• Benchmark Pendo use against best practices from higher ed and similar student-facing platforms.
• Define target use cases for guide improvements (onboarding key workflows nudges etc.).

Strategic Proposal

• Develop a framework for how and when WGU should use Pendo Guides (use types frequency tone placement).
• Recommend governance guidelines for future Pendo Guide creation and management.

Prototype & Validation

• Collaborate with designers to wireframe or prototype new/optimized Pendo Guides.
• Test concepts with users or through heuristic review and stakeholder validation.
• Present final findings and proposals to UX product and operational stakeholders.

What Youll Gain

• Hands-on experience with UX strategy and product design in a high-impact student-centered organization.
• Exposure to tools like Pendo Figma Miro and WGUs design system.
• A portfolio-ready case study showing how research design and strategic thinking come together.
• Mentorship and professional development within a cross-functional digital team.

Minimum Requirements

• Currently enrolled in (or recently graduated from) a degree program in UX design HCI digital product design or a related field.
• Familiarity with user-centered design methods usability heuristics and basic UX research techniques.
• Interest in learning about product analytics and digital guidance tools (experience with Pendo is a plus but not required).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills especially in articulating research insights and design rationale.
• Ability to work independently take initiative and seek clarity when needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with higher education online learning platforms or student-facing tools.
• Experience using Figma Miro or similar design and collaboration tools.
• Prior exposure to A/B testing behavioral analytics or content strategy.

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical dental vision telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual 11 paid holidays and other paid leaves including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. Its not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.