Diploma in Comedy Writing and Performance

at Humber College - Lakeshore Campus Canada

By combining the latest recording technologies and entrepreneurial business strategies with performance, production, songwriting and composition in jazz, pop, R&B, Latin and world music, you will be well equipped with the knowledge and skills needed for success in today’s music world.

Founded in 1972, the program has consistently produced many of the most successful commercial and jazz musicians in Canada and the world. With more than 350 students and a faculty of 18 full-time and 80 part-time teachers, our program is one of the largest, most diverse and highly regarded programs of its kind in the country. Long known for the strength of its professors, Humber offers you the opportunity to study privately, in classroom situations, and in several of the more than 50 ensembles directed by a who’s who of Canadian music. As Toronto is the centre of Canada’s entertainment industry, Humber attracts the top professionals in jazz, musical theatre, television, film, commercials and pop.

After two years of core music courses, you will continue with lessons on your major instrument, as well as take classes in music production and music business while also choosing from electives in arranging, composition, advanced improvisation, film scoring, music production techniques, songwriting, ethnomusicology or pedagogy.

You’ll develop musicianship and artistry by presenting your own recital, arranging and composing original material, and recording and marketing your own music.
In addition, you will take courses in music history, theory, aural training and improvisation, and have the opportunity to participate in a variety of ensembles.

All students complete a major recording project/portfolio in their fourth year. The assembled portfolio, which includes a complete press kit and professional-quality recording, as well as other promotional materials, functions as your calling card for entrance into the music industry upon graduation.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Perform, compose, produce music at a professional level for entry to the competitive, global music industry.
• Demonstrate a knowledge of diverse musical styles and contextualize themselves within contemporary music history: specifically defined as the idioms of African American musical genres, mainstream pop music, country/folk music, Latin music, music for musicals and film, art music and jazz.
• Demonstrate, through performance and composition, a technical and musical mastery of harmonic, melodic and rhythmic structures.
• Demonstrate, through performance, an extensive knowledge of contemporary musical repertoire and apply appropriate performance skills in diverse music contexts.
• Compose and arrange in a broad range of contemporary music styles.
• Prepare and present a portfolio of recorded material reflecting a broad range of styles.
• Record, edit and produce a broad range of contemporary music.
• Apply computer applications/music technology skills in composition, arranging and production.
• Critically analyze and evaluate sound recordings and describe their production characteristics.
• Demonstrate, through production and performance, organizational, project management, and implementation skills.
• Demonstrate leadership, teamwork, communication, critical thinking, research and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of contract law, copyright law, intellectual property rights, royalties, and rules of public domain.
• Make use of entrepreneurial music business skills to engage in the competitive contemporary music industry.
• Demonstrate professional “freelance” etiquette relating to job seeking and keeping skills.
• Demonstrate an ability to research and present findings from primary and secondary sources.
• Formulate, articulate and present their own ideas about music, art and society through discussion and writings.
• Demonstrate an artistic awareness and understanding of musical aesthetics.
• Assess personal strengths, musical and business skills, knowledge, artistic vision, interests, and abilities.

Work Placement

• You will participate in a work placement designed to mirror the professional music world, which is largely characterized by contract, freelance and part-time employment. You are responsible for accumulating the equivalent of 420 hours of experience which will allow you to establish contacts and relationships with key companies and industry professionals.

Humber’s Introduction to Commercial Jazz Music certificate is a performance-based program designed to help you assess and strengthen your skills. It solidifies your knowledge of the fundamentals of western music and develops your current performance skills through the jazz-specific areas of improvisation, repertoire development and small group ensemble performance. You will emerge from the program with a clearer understanding of the field and your own career potential within it, and as a stronger candidate for entry into postsecondary music degree and diploma programs. All courses have a particular focus on the commercial jazz field.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
  • Recognize & identify common styles of music.
  • Describe the commercial/jazz field in terms of tradition, artists, & styles.
  • Explain the contribution of various artists to the development of particular styles & idioms.
  • Analyze the components & performance differences of recorded selections.
  • Play a repertoire of memorized materials that are considered standards in the commercial/jazz field & reflect the various styles inherent in this music.
  • Write diatonic melodies in various styles demonstrating knowledge of relevant harmonic & melodic concepts & structures of form.
  • Perform in an ensemble demonstrating basic ensemble skills such as intonation, tuning, time, feel, balance & dynamics.
  • Identify their own musical strengths & weaknesses in terms of a performance career in the commercial/jazz field.
  • Implement strategies & plans for on-going personal & professional growth & development.
  • Establish a practice of critical self-assessment & professional goal setting.

Humber’s Addictions and Mental Health graduate certificate program will empower you with the knowledge and skills you need for a rewarding career. Learn to deliver responsive, culturally relevant, client-centered assessment and support services to diverse individuals and groups. Practise ways to effectively collaborate and transform lives as a valuable part of a professional support team.

You will acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities required by front-line workers in order to deliver effective addictions and mental health services while promoting empowerment, self-determination and optimum quality of life to individuals with addictions and mental health issues.

Recovery principles, empowerment practice, and the impact of early and ongoing trauma in the lives of individuals across the lifespan are examined in the curriculum.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Analyze and apply current knowledge and services in the addictions and mental health fields using a bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework.
• Provide and evaluate holistic, client-centred, gender-based, and culturally relevant assessments and interventions to individuals, groups and families within social and cultural contexts across the lifespan.
• Integrate skills and knowledge from a range of frameworks and contexts in addictions, mental health and concurrent disorders to provide non-biased services to women and those from diverse and varied populations.
• Educate individuals, families, groups and the community regarding issues and approaches through knowledge translation, knowledge exchange and the dissemination of relevant and current research and practice via formal and informal education.
• Access, utilize and advocate for culturally sensitive community supports and services for individuals, families and the community.
• Actively participate in and contribute to, relevant networks, groups and organizations promoting development, improvement and advancement in the fields of addictions and mental health.
• Work collaboratively within interprofessional teams providing ethical, effective, timely, and coordinated holistic services.
• Practice ethical and responsible behaviour in all aspects of work.
• Research and integrate the contribution and the participation of the client, family, and community as partners in designing and implementing care and services.

Work Placement
Use and sharpen new skills while gaining crucial on-the-job work experience during a mandatory field placement that takes place in Semester 3. The field placement, which is typically unpaid, is arranged with the assistance of a field placement co-ordinator.

You will have an opportunity to provide evidence-informed, client-based and educational services to diverse individuals and groups experiencing addictions and mental health related challenges.

Humber’s Child and Youth Care – Accelerated advanced diploma program prepares you to promote the optimal development of children, youth and their families. You will develop skills in assessing needs, designing and implementing programs and planned environments, and using daily life events to support and facilitate positive change. The program provides foundational knowledge in infant, child and adolescent development; child and youth care relational practice principles; psychology of the family; evidence- based or evidence-informed intervention strategies; group dynamics; and therapeutic activities.

Our accelerated program makes it possible for students with previous postsecondary education to fast-track through our program in 16 consecutive months without compromising the required work placement. Studies begin in September, with graduation projected for December of the following academic year.

Work Placement
Field placements are a critical component of this program. There is an exciting variety of innovative and traditional field placements available in and around the Greater Toronto Area. Field placements can also be arranged in your own community and all are unpaid. Humber has established partnerships with agencies, schools, etc., that provide field placements. For the first placement, opportunities tend to be school-based and assigned. The second and third field placements are chosen by students from a list of opportunities then matched by the school. First and third field placements are three days a week and the second field placement is four days a week through the summer. This provides students with more than 1,000 hours of practical CYC experience.

If you define yourself as creative but can’t draw, Advertising Copywriting may be the right program for you. Not only that, you love to pursue creative writing and conceptual thinking, enjoy working in a high-intensity environment and are energized by collaborating with other creative minds.

Humber’s Advertising Copywriting graduate certificate program teaches the specialized skills necessary to create powerful and effective copy for all forms of printed advertising, radio and television commercials, web, mobile, and social media. Over two intense semesters, you will develop a wide variety of strategic, conceptual and practical skills. You will learn fundamental production, design and presentation skills, how to generate ideas in pictures and in words and how to focus your creativity using industry-standard techniques. You’ll also learn how to strategically engage with target audiences. 

You will create portfolio samples with industry-standard software such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. Acquired skills will be demonstrated in a comprehensive portfolio of work which will be exhibited at a portfolio show at the end of the second semester. 

You will hone your already excellent editing and proofreading skills and apply them not only to your own copywriting but eventually to that of your corporate clients. 

Work Placement
Students will gain practical, hands-on experience in the industry by completing a mandatory work placement following their final semester of study

Humber’s Bachelor of Commerce – Management Studies degree program prepares you to take on a variety of managerial roles in many different types of business. The program is based on the seven traditional management functions (planning, organizing, staffing, directing, co-ordinating, reporting and budgeting) and gives you the necessary skills and knowledge to:

• Develop business strategies
• Analyze issues from various perspectives
• Apply classroom work to industry-connected projects
• Integrate transferable skills such as interpersonal interaction, communication and organization to all classroom and project work.

Our program starts with a foundation of business studies in areas such as organizational behaviour, law, economics, finance and accounting, marketing, and operations management. Specialization courses cover all seven management functions along with business research methods and strategic management. You’ll also get hands-on learning that provides both the education and the experience employers look for once you graduate. You’ll be taught by professors who are widely known for their real-world connections and background. Our industry-designed, project-based curriculum gives you the opportunity to take your ideas from concept to execution. In your final year, you will complete a senior-level project, giving you the opportunity to work on a team, problem solve, evaluate strengths and limitations, gather and synthesize data, and make appropriate decisions.

The program requires that you complete 14 weeks/420 hours of paid work in the summer between your sixth and seventh semesters. This gives you the hands-on, real-world experience that employers value. Your work placement will give you the opportunity to explore the field you’d like to work in when you graduate. We will work with employers and our industry partners to help you identify opportunities to pursue.

In every industry and every sector, there is a demand for qualified, effective managers – and that demand is growing. As a graduate of our program, your excellent managerial skills and strong understanding of the domestic business environment will make you a highly marketable employee. When you complete the program, you’ll have the knowledge, skills and hands-on experience necessary to take on an entry-level position in many fields including finance, human resources, marketing/sales and operations/logistics. Your degree will help accelerate your career advancement. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you’ll be well-positioned to start your own business. And if you want to explore further studies, you’ll be able to pursue graduate studies or industry designations.

By combining the latest recording technologies and entrepreneurial business strategies with performance, production, songwriting and composition in jazz, pop, R&B, Latin and world music, you will be well equipped with the knowledge and skills needed for success in today’s music world.

Founded in 1972, the program has consistently produced many of the most successful commercial and jazz musicians in Canada and the world. With more than 350 students and a faculty of 18 full-time and 80 part-time teachers, our program is one of the largest, most diverse and highly regarded programs of its kind in the country. Long known for the strength of its professors, Humber offers you the opportunity to study privately, in classroom situations, and in several of the more than 50 ensembles directed by a who’s who of Canadian music. As Toronto is the centre of Canada’s entertainment industry, Humber attracts the top professionals in jazz, musical theatre, television, film, commercials and pop.

After two years of core music courses, you will continue with lessons on your major instrument, as well as take classes in music production and music business while also choosing from electives in arranging, composition, advanced improvisation, film scoring, music production techniques, songwriting, ethnomusicology or pedagogy.

You’ll develop musicianship and artistry by presenting your own recital, arranging and composing original material, and recording and marketing your own music.
In addition, you will take courses in music history, theory, aural training and improvisation, and have the opportunity to participate in a variety of ensembles.

All students complete a major recording project/portfolio in their fourth year. The assembled portfolio, which includes a complete press kit and professional-quality recording, as well as other promotional materials, functions as your calling card for entrance into the music industry upon graduation.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Perform, compose, produce music at a professional level for entry to the competitive, global music industry.
• Demonstrate a knowledge of diverse musical styles and contextualize themselves within contemporary music history: specifically defined as the idioms of African American musical genres, mainstream pop music, country/folk music, Latin music, music for musicals and film, art music and jazz.
• Demonstrate, through performance and composition, a technical and musical mastery of harmonic, melodic and rhythmic structures.
• Demonstrate, through performance, an extensive knowledge of contemporary musical repertoire and apply appropriate performance skills in diverse music contexts.
• Compose and arrange in a broad range of contemporary music styles.
• Prepare and present a portfolio of recorded material reflecting a broad range of styles.
• Record, edit and produce a broad range of contemporary music.
• Apply computer applications/music technology skills in composition, arranging and production.
• Critically analyze and evaluate sound recordings and describe their production characteristics.
• Demonstrate, through production and performance, organizational, project management, and implementation skills.
• Demonstrate leadership, teamwork, communication, critical thinking, research and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of contract law, copyright law, intellectual property rights, royalties, and rules of public domain.
• Make use of entrepreneurial music business skills to engage in the competitive contemporary music industry.
• Demonstrate professional “freelance” etiquette relating to job seeking and keeping skills.
• Demonstrate an ability to research and present findings from primary and secondary sources.
• Formulate, articulate and present their own ideas about music, art and society through discussion and writings.
• Demonstrate an artistic awareness and understanding of musical aesthetics.
• Assess personal strengths, musical and business skills, knowledge, artistic vision, interests, and abilities.

Work Placement

• You will participate in a work placement designed to mirror the professional music world, which is largely characterized by contract, freelance and part-time employment. You are responsible for accumulating the equivalent of 420 hours of experience which will allow you to establish contacts and relationships with key companies and industry professionals.

Humber’s Bachelor of Public Relations degree program will prepare you for all aspects of public relations in a variety of sectors including agency, corporate, consumer, government and nonprofit. You will learn how to plan, manage, and implement a full spectrum of public relations initiatives including social and digital media management, marketing communications, media relations, investor and government relations, international PR, and corporate philanthropy.

Anchored in theoretical and real-life examples, this program features skill-based courses in topics such as planning, consulting, research, measurement, writing, social and digital media, presentation skills and public speaking, project management, and proposal development. All of our professors are experienced PR professionals who bring their day-to-day experiences and projects into the classroom, offering students a glimpse into communications trends and issues. Industry guest speakers provide further insight into various PR settings and issues. Additionally, students will have access to networking, mentoring, and career and professional development from the Canadian Public Relations Society and the International Association of Business Communicators.

Learning  Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Describe the history and the development of the public relations profession and its practice.
• Examine current trends, emerging issues and global best practices in public relations.
• Gather, review, evaluate and interpret information using appropriate research methodologies consistent with the RACE formula.
• Design, implement, monitor and measure comprehensive, multi-year communication plans that support strategic objectives in line with organizational vision and mission according to specific timelines and budgets applying professional, ethical and legal standards.
• Analyze issue and trends, synthesize information to create effective communication strategies to solve a variety of complex organization problems.
• Develop a portfolio that demonstrates expertise in a variety of public relations disciplines, including internal communication, media relations, crisis management, social media, public affairs, event management and investor relations.
• Write clear, targeted materials that are appropriate for the intended audience and medium.
• Produce visually effective print, graphic and digital communications materials.
• Present communication strategies utilizing effective verbal and presentation skills.
• Analyze the impact of economic, environmental, ethical, legal, political, societal/ demographic and technological factors upon organizations and their communication strategies.
• Evaluate organizational challenges to interpret the role of communications.
• Collaborate with team members to achieve desired goals and objectives in resolving issues and finding effective means to deal with differing points of view.
• Adhere to standards of academic integrity, social responsibility and the ethical guidelines of the public relations profession.

Work Placement

• You will participate in one mandatory work placement of 14 weeks where you will gain a broad range of public relations skills. There are a variety of roles in corporate, nonprofit, government or agency settings that range from large multinationals to small proprietorships. It is up to you to apply for and secure the position. We will provide support, working with our contacts and industry partners to help identify employment opportunities.

Humber’s Music Business graduate certificate program starts in May and is a condensed summer program with two semesters rolled into one (May - August), followed by a third semester work placement in the fall. This program prepares you to work in any number of areas in the music industry. It offers a unique combination of theoretical and practical knowledge of the music industry, as well as entrepreneurial, business and project management skills. You will study the structure of the Canadian music industry, artist and venue management, manufacturing, contracts, licensing and copyright, national and international distribution, marketing, promotion, and sales. You will develop foundational music business expertise including communication and interpersonal skills in order to respond to industry demands for professionals who can interact with diverse teams and audiences. Opportunities for applied work and industry connections are important components of the program.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
  • Situate music business decisions within key historical and current contexts of the music industry.
  • Articulate the unique responsibilities of key personnel in the music industry.
  • Analyze the marketplace and trends in the music industry and use the analysis for decision making in the music business environment.
  • Develop and implement a viable and realistic business plan for a professional musician or musical company.
  • Develop and implement a music marketing plan that includes sonic branding.
  • Collaborate with a team to market an artist or new music.
  • Adhere to legal principles, government legislation and regulations, copyright and contract requirements, and professional and industry codes of conduct.
  • Assess existing and emerging market entry options for music products or services and implement the optimal market entry strategy.
  • Apply negotiation, effective interpersonal communication, and human resource management skills to establish and maintain effective working relations.
  • Prepare and interpret financial statements to inform music business decisions and/or practices.
  • Identify and access public and private sources of capital to support music business plans.

Work Placement

• Students are required to complete an industry work placement totalling 300 hours. Humber staff will assist in placing the student - however, the ultimate responsibility for finding the placement is the student's.

Humber’s Advertising and Graphic Design diploma program is designed to meet industry demand for advertising art directors and graphic designers with solid strategic, visual, conceptual, typographical and technical skills. Classes focus on the study of advertising while emphasizing the development of important skills like creative thinking, problem solving, teamwork and presentation skills.

This program will guide you through the many facets of visual communication including colour theory, conceptual process, typography, design, marketing strategies, interactive media, and digital technology through the use of industry standard tools. You will also have the unique opportunity to apply these skills on briefs for real clients through BuildingF, our in-house creative agency. As you learn fundamental advertising and marketing concepts, linkage projects will connect you with students in the Advertising Copywriting, and Advertising - Account Management programs. These projects will help you hone collaborative and teamwork skills, preparing you for the workplace. Your first semester is shared with the Public Relations advanced diploma, Journalism advanced diploma, Advertising and Marketing Communications diploma, and Media Communications diploma programs, giving you the freedom to change your area of study in the second semester.

Our advisory committee is made up of experienced art directors and designers who regularly review and provide input into our curriculum, ensuring it is always on the leading edge of industry developments. Many of our faculty are part-time instructors and creative advertising masters highly active in the industry, giving you the opportunity to benefit from their experiences, connections and insights.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Develop and implement solutions to problems encountered in the production phase of the graphic design process.
• Produce effective visual communications through the application of design theories and principles according to specifications.
• Use a variety of technologies to capture and manipulate design elements in producing a final product.
• Apply typographic skills and knowledge to produce effective visual communications.
• Communicate effectively with coworkers, supervisors, clients, and others; work in a professional manner; and maintain professional relationships.