PCB Design Fundamentals: A new microcredential from Siemens and Arizona State University

Every circuit board that powers a phone, a satellite or a surgical device started as a schematic drawn by someone who understood exactly how to turn an idea into a manufacturable product.

However, PCB design isn’t exactly a skill that most engineers learn as part of a degree program.

Most engineering graduates leave school knowing circuit theory, electronics fundamentals, math, programming and engineering analysis. What they haven’t necessarily touched is schematic capture software, design libraries, component management, PCB layout, manufacturing constraints, DFM or the day-to-day collaboration across engineering disciplines a real product demands.

Introducing PCB Design Fundamentals: From Discovery to Production

Engineering education becomes more powerful when students can connect theory to the tools, workflows, standards and manufacturing realities of professional practice.

That’s why Arizona State University and Siemens Digital Industries Software collaborated to create the new microcredential PCB Design Fundamentals: From Discovery to Production. Over four self-paced online courses, this microcredential breaks down the PCB development lifecycle, from component selection and schematic capture to layout, routing and manufacturing verification, using Xpedition software by Siemens, the same EDA platform used by professional engineering teams.

With the industrial expertise of practical PCB design workflows offered by Siemens, this course is built to help students develop some of the most important skills needed for careers in PCB design.

When you finish, you walk away with an ASU Professional Certificate and a Siemens microcredential, both built to be shared on LinkedIn, a resume or in a job interview.

It’s a direct, applied path to gaining practical PCB design skills.

Learn valuable PCB design skills

A credential is only as valuable as what it teaches, and this one is built around the specific skills PCB design teams look for:

• Schematic capture. The starting point of every PCB, translating a circuit concept into a functional, structured design.
• PCB layout and routing. Planning component placement and wiring pathways so a board works reliably and can actually be built at scale.
• IPC standards. The industry rulebook for PCB quality and manufacturability. Fluency here signals you understand how professional design teams operate.
• Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA). Catching costly errors before a board ever reaches a factory floor, one of the most in-demand skills in hardware engineering right now.
• ECAD library and component management. Keeping design data organized and consistent across a product’s full lifecycle, a skill that matters just as much on large engineering teams as it does on small ones.

Each of these maps directly to a real step in the PCB development process, which is why the certificate is structured around four courses that follow that same order, from design basics through schematic development, layout and final manufacturing verification.

Of course, no credential alone is enough to prepare you for a career in PCB design. However, this credential can play a key role in building upon the foundational knowledge you earn with an engineering degree. For individuals interested in preparing a resume for entry-level PCB designer roles, another great step would be building a portfolio or completing some personal projects to demonstrate hands-on experience designing and building PCBs.

Why employers are betting on verified skills

Here’s the part most people don’t think about: a credential isn’t just something nice to add to a resume. It’s increasingly what gets that resume noticed in the first place.

According to Coursera’s Micro-Credentials Impact Report 2026, employers are actively changing how they hire, and verified, industry-aligned credentials are at the center of it.

94 percent of employers say they’re willing to offer higher starting salaries to graduates with micro-credentials, while 73 percent of employers say employees with micro-credentials are more likely to be promoted or given expanded responsibility.

The report also found that credentials built with industry partners, like this one with Siemens, are valued significantly more by employers than credentials built by academic institutions alone.

By earning a credential, you’re signaling to employers that you not only know your fundamentals but also have a strong willingness to learn, exposure to relevant tools and workflows and an understanding of how engineering decisions affect downstream processes.

Your future in PCB design is waiting

Electronics aren’t getting simpler, and neither is the demand for engineers who can design them well. Employers aren’t expecting entry-level hires to arrive fully formed. What they want is strong fundamentals, a willingness to learn, exposure to the tools and workflows the job actually requires and an understanding of how early design decisions affect manufacturing down the line. That combination makes someone productive faster, and it’s exactly what this certificate is built to provide.

PCB design skills also open more doors than people expect. The discipline shows up anywhere electronic products are built: aerospace, automotive, medical devices, telecommunications, industrial equipment, robotics, computing, consumer electronics and energy. A PCB designer today can grow into high-speed digital, RF, signal integrity, power integrity, technical leadership, applications engineering, standards development or electronic design automation tomorrow.

This certificate won’t make you an expert overnight. What it offers is evidence of focused learning and demonstrated competency in the skills PCB design teams look for first. Whether you’re a student trying to stand out for an internship, a recent grad looking to translate your degree into a job, or an experienced engineer ready to move into PCB design, this credential offers a tangible way to develop and verify your skills in the field.

The only question left is when you’ll take the next step.