Certificate in Communications And Media Fundamentals

at Centennial College - Story Arts Centre Campus Canada

Centennial College's Advertising and Marketing Communications Management program is all about tapping into your creative talent and strategic thinking and using business savvy to generate new and exciting ideas. If you prefer to watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, this program is for you.
Taking place over three years, the courses in this advertising program will begin by building a foundation in all aspects of the industry, which will prepare you for the final year of study when you'll choose to specialize in account management, digital creative, or media buying and planning. Additionally, this program is the only Greater Toronto Area college advertising program to include a full-semester 14-week field placement.

In the Advertising and Marketing Communications Management program, you'll:

• Learn the entire advertising process, including creative development, research, developing strategies, campaign planning, production, and media planning and buying;
• Learn to produce content within the range of advertising genres;
• Gain the ability to tell clients' stories with persuasive advertising;
• Plan and develop campaigns on multiple platforms;
• Develop your instincts and strategic abilities while meeting deadlines in a professional and creative environment;
• Be led by a team of seasoned advertising instructors who possess vast industry expertise;
• Complete your training with an industry field placement, during which you'll acquire experience in the day-to-day activities of the advertising world.

Program Highlights

• The Advertising and Marketing Communications Management program will mirror working world standards, including firm deadlines, multitasking, working under pressure and delivering professional presentations.
• Hands-on practice with onsite professional software and media planning systems will be an essential program element. 
• You'll gain insight and experience in the core areas of agency operations: digital creative, media planning/buying and account management.
• The Interactive Advertising Bureau recognizes the program as offering the largest breadth of digital/mobile curriculum.

Arts Education and Community Engagement is a two-semester Graduate Certificate program designed to ladder students into careers in arts education and community arts.

Students will learn how to design arts educational programming that is pedagogically sound and that meets the needs of diverse communities.  Students will apply best practices of community arts work and will be trained to facilitate arts-based social justice initiatives. Students will also learn about a variety of careers in arts education and community development through research, mentorship, and field placements.  Graduates of this program will be equipped to manage a professional career in arts and learning, and to incorporate community-engaged arts work into their existing creative practice. 

By modelling innovative pedagogy, this program teaches students to innovate for themselves. By partnering with leading arts organizations, this program facilitates connections and opportunities within the sector. By emphasizing global citizenship, social justice, and cultural competency, this program helps students locate these concerns at the heart of their creative and educational practice.

Program Highlights:-

• Learn to plan and implement arts education and community programming that responds to the needs of a group of learners, in multiple settings, and in collaboration with other artists or organizations.
• Participate in a seven-week field placement where you will directly support the programming of a partnering organization or artist in a supervised community environment.
• Attend classes close to downtown near the creative, cultural heart of Toronto at our Story Arts Centre campus and in the Performing Arts Commons at Daniels Spectrum.
• Opportunities to collaborate with the other students in photography, film and television, music, art, theatre and dance programs at the Story Arts Centre
• Unique opportunity to network, learn and work with industry professionals

Centennial College's Arts Management program prepares you for a career in the evolving arts and cultural industry. The Arts Management courses in this two-semester Graduate Certificate program focus on developing the knowledge and skills needed to work in the performing arts sector (theatres, dance companies, music organizations and presenting facilities), the exhibiting arts sector (galleries, museum) and many other cultural and arts-related areas such as arts and film festivals.

The program explores the current issues and practices that allow cultural organizations to build audiences and flourish today — and in the years to come. Facilitated at the Story Arts Centre, Centennial College's School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design, the program combines business management, marketing and planning with the tools required to connect art, artists and audiences through fundraising, education and volunteerism.

The extensive experiential learning opportunities in the program connect principles with practice, actively engaging you with the arts management profession throughout your studies. You also have the opportunity to apply your learning in the industry as part of an eight-week field placement.

As an Arts Management program graduate, you will have a thorough understanding of the political, economic, social, ethical, technological and managerial issues facing this sector.

Please note: This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware and software requirements.

Program Highlights

• The Arts Management program emphasizes professional-quality work to ensure you graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to manage and lead in the industry.
• Through mentorships and partnerships with the arts sector, a number of career options can be explored.
• A well-designed and well-implemented fieldwork component that can be undertaken in any location in your final semester provides you with an opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience in the industry.

The Public Relations – Corporate Communications program takes just two semesters to complete and is one of the most highly regarded Public Relations (PR) programs in Toronto.
The courses in this Public Relations Graduate Certificate program, which is based at the Story Arts Centre campus, reflect the thinking that no two days in PR are alike. The industry experts who teach the courses ensure you:

• Learn to research, write, plan, edit, design and implement everything from strategic communications plans and employee newsletters to gala dinners for hundreds of people.
• Gain an understanding of how communications strategies influence employee attitudes, shift stakeholders' opinions and tell an organization's story to the media.
• Connect with the PR industry.

You may want to consider this School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design program if you have previously completed post-secondary education, possess strong writing skills and have the ability to manage various projects at the same time.

Please note: This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device (i.e. laptop, tablet) that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware requirements.

Program Highlights:-

• This Public Relations program's curriculum highlights learning by doing while emphasizing employability skills and landing a job.
• The offering leads the way in social media and PR content.
• Because the program is facilitated from Centennial College's Story Arts Centre in Toronto, you are close to the heart of Toronto's PR industry.
• You complete a full-time, eight-week field placement in the industry.
• Student membership in one of the following associations is included in your tuition and fees: The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) or the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

Contemporary Journalism is a three-semester graduate certificate program that will explore new tools, trends and directions in journalism while maintaining an emphasis on sourced, credible and verifiable storytelling. You'll learn in an interactive environment with courses covering news reporting, writing, editing and visual storytelling while also exploring social media, mobile and emerging technologies (virtual reality), and delving into multimedia storytelling and data journalism. 

In a digital world, the smartphone is increasingly the newsroom for journalists and the living room for the audience. The Contemporary Journalism program will emphasize the use of mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, to source, produce and share credible multimedia journalism.
The program will culminate with entrepreneurial and professional practice elements, including a seven-week field placement, during which you'll demonstrate and refine your skills in today’s rapidly evolving media environment. 

Program Highlights

• Develop new multiplatform, digital and social media skills for the evolving world of reporting and sharing;
• Learn to write, produce and share stories in an energetic, dynamic and hands-on environment, led by a faculty of seasoned professionals and educators drawn from all sectors of the industry;
• Gain entrepreneurial skills along with personal branding abilities to help you stand out in the industry;
• Collaborate with the other students enrolled in programs such as photography, public relations, film and television, music, art, theatre and interactive media management;
• Participate in client-focused projects.

In Centennial College's three-year Journalism program, you gain the skills you need to navigate and succeed in a changing industry. By going from the classroom to the newsroom, you come to understand the multifaceted and fast-paced journalism industry, which focuses on interesting people, places and things.

In this advanced diploma program you:

• Cover a variety of topics while developing the critical foundation skills you need for the industry.
• Apply your newsroom skills to an award-winning community newspaper, a news website and radio-television news, all of which makes you versatile and industry-ready as soon as you graduate.
• Develop new multiplatform skills for the evolving world of news reporting.
• From covering breaking news to exploring human interest stories, as a journalist you will be responsible for reporting events, interviewing newsmakers and examining the issues of our times.

Please note: This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware and software requirements. 

Program Highlights

• You experience one-on-one interaction with faculty members in an ultra-modern, professional newsroom.
• The Story Arts Centre campus, where the Journalism program is facilitated, offers you access to publishing, broadcast and Internet facilities.
• Hands-on, real-world experience is available through award-winning community media, including the East York Observer newspaper, Freshly Pressed magazine, the Toronto Observer news website, radio and television newscasts available online.
• With a stellar faculty, whose combined credits include NBC News, CBC News, CTV News, OMNI, The Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, National Post, Globe and Mail and more, your journalism training is relevant, demanding and highly effective.
• You connect with excellent faculty, mentors and guest speakers and get to partake in exclusive field trips.
• Through the field trips and your field placement, you have the opportunity to make exclusive news media connections.

The Professional Writing – Communications program will prepare you to work as a versatile communications professional. This graduate certificate program will combine assessing audience needs and delivering thoughtful and relevant content with effective project management techniques as you develop the skills to write and produce copy for a variety of professional settings and styles.

The innovative courses in this program will encompass a wide range of communications disciplines and vocational skills, including:

• Web copywriting
• Technical writing
• Proposal writing
• Writing for social media
• Content marketing
• Presentations and speech writing
• Content management
• Information design and data visualization
• Digital storytelling

As a Professional Writing – Communications student, you'll have the advantage of creating a diverse and professional portfolio that will include training modules, complex visual aids (such as infographics) and compelling layouts for various print and virtual platforms (brochures, newsletters, websites and more). With your well-rounded training, you'll be able to launch a writing career that will go the distance, taking on a range of roles in both the profit and non-profit sectors.

Game Development & Design is a three-year advanced diploma program that aims to develop expert game designers who are able to create and develop their own titles. The program prepares students to become both technically literate and able to advance the conceptual and cultural potential of games.

The program concentrates on the practical applications of the game production process from the artistic, managerial, and technical sides. Students will be introduced to 2D and 3D design processes, foundations of computer programming, as well as how to communicate effectively with teams of artists and programmers to design, prototype and iterate their own fully playable 2D and 3D games. Students will also learn the professional and personal skills needed for success in the industry.

Centennial College's Sports Journalism program is a unique graduate certificate offering that will prepare you for a career in the ever-changing world of sports media. During your time in this Toronto sports journalism program, you'll learn the best practices for the field in a diverse and gender-inclusive environment with peers just as dedicated to and as passionate about sports.

From covering local athletes and professionals to telling the stories behind the games, players and fans, you'll develop specialized talents in:

• Sports writing (print, TV, radio, online, social media)
• Broadcast (producing, on-air performance, chase and field producing, radio hosting, updates)
• Digital (using editorial publishing tools, blogging, video, audio, Storify, etc.)
• Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.)
• News journalism that meets the changing needs of sports coverage (courts, police, etc.)
• Advanced interviewing techniques
• Sports beat journalism
• Print and online imaging
• Hosting in-studio and in the field
• Newspaper and online layout

You'll also have the opportunity to participate in the program's annual trip to baseball spring training, where you'll be able to apply skills and build confidence. Meanwhile, an industry field placement in a sports media organization in Canada or around the world will complement your training.

Centennial College's Graphic Design program prepares you for a multidisciplinary design career, and has a graduate employment rate that exceeds 80 per cent. Facilitated at the Story Arts Centre, the courses in this advanced diploma program take a hands-on approach in an intimate studio environment, rather than having you sit passively in large lecture halls. With small class sizes, you have lots of opportunities to work one-on-one with your professors.

In this college graphic design program, you:

•  Master industry-standard Adobe software including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
•  Learn creative problem solving and design thinking
•  Design for print, including advertisements, magazines, books and packaging
•  Design responsive websites, mobile apps and create exciting motion graphics
•  Explore drawing, photography, illustration and type design
•  Learn professional practice skills to land a great job or start your own design business
•  Contribute something unique and innovative to the design community in a thesis course
•  Learn on the job and get course credits through an industry field placement in your final semester
•  Interact with industry professionals
•  Become a student member of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario (RDG Ontario)
•  Learn from professors who are current and professionally active in the design industry

Please note:This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware and software requirements. 

Program Highlights

• The Centennial College Graphic Design program is formally recognized by RGD Ontario, which represents more than 3,000 graphic designers, managers, educators and students across Ontario.
• A combination of multidisciplinary design skills and practical experience sets you apart from the competition.
• You will be more flexible in your design solutions and more desirable in the marketplace.

The Graphic Design program will develop your abilities to:

• Think creatively and design effectively for print, motion, and interactive media.
• Execute your ideas professionally in any medium.
• Communicate effectively with employers and clients.
• Start your career in any facet of the design industry.
• Market yourself as a freelancer or start your own business.
• Affect social change through your design problem-solving skills.
• Understand all aspects of industry standard workflow, from initial creative, through to print production or interactive prototyping.