Bringing Figma to even more classrooms

Starting today, we’re expanding the Figma for Education program to include online courses, bootcamps, school-sponsored hackathons, and more!

Educators across institutions, grade levels, and subjects have had to overhaul the way they teach as a result of COVID-19. Over the last few months, we’ve heard from many of them about the challenges of building and running a remote classroom, and we’re humbled to be part of that conversation. 

Our commitment to education is in our DNA. Figma has always been free to get started and, over the years, we’ve quietly offered discounts to students and educators at accredited institutions; more than 100,000 people around the world already use Figma in their classrooms. 

As educators and students have been focused on getting into the new rhythm of teaching and learning remotely, we’ve been making it even easier for classrooms to get up and running on Figma. We teamed up with passionate educators like Miguel Cardona from RIT to publish teaching materials and Students Who Design to share a guide on how they set up Figma for their online course. When it comes to inspiring and preparing the next generation of designers— especially now—we knew there was more we could do. 

So, starting today, we’re expanding the Figma for Education program beyond degree programs at accredited institutions to also include online courses, bootcamps, school-sponsored hackathons, and other flavors of IRL and virtual classrooms.

By applying to our program, students and educators will get access to:

• A free Education plan with all the features available on our Professional plan, including unlimited editors, files, and projects
• Dedicated resources (like practical classroom templates) focused on teaching and learning
• A community of fellow students and educators and special invites to virtual events and meetups

Embracing a wider range of classrooms brings our Education program more in-line with Figma’s mission of making design accessible to everyone. Whether students are pursuing an advanced degree, leveling up skills, trying to switch careers, or hoping to build a better understanding of design; whether they’re set on becoming professional designers or just taking the first step; whether we’re facing a global pandemic or not, we want to meet students where they are.

Eric Paulos, professor of Human Computer Interaction at UC Berkeley, describes the value of Figma in his classroom: “Students today are used to collaborating together online in nearly everything they do—Figma beautifully brings that rich collaborative experience to visual design.” 

We're excited to see more students, educators, and classrooms using Figma. We even hired a human (that’s me, hi!) to bring this dedicated program to life. Learn more or apply for an Education plan at figma.com/education.

And, if you have more ideas on how Figma can be even better for classrooms, I’d love to hear from you at education@figma.com.