Graduate Certificate in Research Analyst

at Humber College - Lakeshore Campus Canada

Humber’s Business Management – Entrepreneurial Enterprise graduate certificate program provides the practical skills and knowledge you’ll need to take on a wide variety of leadership roles in innovative entrepreneurial enterprises.

This program covers every area of entrepreneurship from the fundamentals of developing and refining ideas to launching, growing and managing the enterprise. You will be prepared to take on key management roles in entrepreneurial enterprises including operations, marketing and sales, finance, human resources and strategic planning. Plus, you will learn all you need to start and manage your own new enterprise.

Students in this program can participate in Humber’s Business funding competitions for a chance to obtain seed funding for their new enterprise and other contests and progams sponsored by Humber's Centre for Entrepreneurship. Students in this program automatically become members of Humber’s Centre for Entrepreneurship which gives them access to mentorship, coaching, networking events, seminars, workshops, and entrepreneurial facilities and workspaces.

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

• Develop and implement a comprehensive business plan for a new business enterprise.
• Present an executive summary of a comprehensive business plan to potential financial backers.
• Set up and operate a basic bookkeeping and accounting system for a new enterprise that will enable effective financial management.
• Construct, interpret and analyze key financial statements.
• Devise marketing plans encompassing development, implementation, performance monitoring and adjustment using appropriate tools, techniques and applications.
• Execute leadership strategies by modelling ethical practices and corporate social responsibility to enhance a firm’s competitive position and sustainability.
• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements, tax and other financial requirements, and non-financial compliance requirements and controls systems.
• Apply various selling structures, methods and techniques to generate revenue and effectively manage client relationships.
• Develop and implement an effective human resource management plan to support new ventures and ongoing business operations.
• Build and manage relationships using communication, networking, teamwork and leadership skills.
• Use evidence-based analysis and decision-making in all functional business areas.
• Analyze and realign business strategies to contribute to the operational sustainability of new or ongoing small or medium size enterprise.

Humber’s Advertising Media Management graduate certificate program gives you the knowledge and skills to effectively research and analyze both the marketplace and a target audience, and subsequently develop the best and most creative media solutions that meet the client or the company’s advertising goals.

Throughout the program, you will learn how to translate marketing objectives into focused media campaigns, assess the strength and weaknesses of different media types, analyze media data, and determine how best to sell advertising time/space for both traditional (TV, radio, outdoor media, print) and emerging (all things digital) platforms.

Upon graduation, you will have learned how to speak knowledgeably and persuasively in a media environment, and how to negotiate as buyers and sellers of media time and space. Through the enhancement of your client and customer communications skills, you will gain the ability to focus on the needs of an organization, build lasting relationships across the industry and add tremendous value to the companies you work with.  Finally, you will build your technology skillset through the use of industry specific research databases and softwares throughout your studies.

With this comprehensive understanding of both the traditional and digital media landscape, you will hit the ground running in your new career at a boutique or world leading advertising agency or any number of small to large companies across the media management landscape. 

Work Placement
Gain hands-on industry experience with a 160-hour (minimum) work placement. Here you will have the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned in the classroom to a real-world business environment. With our support, you’ll find your placement at any number of local, national or international advertising/media-related companies or brands. Placements can be completed on a part-time basis throughout the academic year or full-time once your classes are complete. 

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 Film and Multiplatform Storytelling graduate certificate program is designed to address the growing demand for trained professionals capable of producing film and media content tailored for multiplatform delivery. Delivered in a hybrid format (combining online and in-class training), this program will train you to create compelling short films documentaries, interactive videos, virtual/augmented reality experiences and innovative transmedia projects.

The program will cultivate your ability to adapt to a constantly changing multiplatform media industry through engagement with a range of traditional and emerging media forms. You will also develop strong entrepreneurial and collaboration skills and initiative through team-based and individual projects. Professional communication skills are fostered including interpersonal, intercultural, networking and presentation skills.

You will learn how to access traditional and innovative funding opportunities while building personal brands as creative, cross-disciplinary, global storytellers. The program uses leading-edge curriculum design and online delivery that surpasses conventional perceptions about online education.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
  • Evaluate the potential business opportunities of a story, including funding, audience targets and marketing.
  • Pitch and present multiplatform film projects in writing, orally and using a variety of multimedia and web-based methods.
  • Access public and private sector funding for film and/or multi-platform media projects
  • Write original stories that are at once personal and universal, thoughtful and compelling, honed through a rigorous writing revision process.
  • Adapt stories for production across various media and/or film.
  • Select optimal technologies and platforms for telling a given story.
  • Create time-based and interactive media projects from ideation to production phases.
  • Adhere with applicable legal, ethical and professional standards of the media industry.
  • Display professionalism and openness when receiving constructive critique and story suggestions.
  • Develop and apply strategies for personal and career development through activities such as research, experimentation, mentorship and networking.

Work Placement
This program includes a work placement component to give students an opportunity to gain valuable practical experience or mentorship in their area of interest in the creative industries. The 160-hour placement is done in the summer semester after two semesters of study and practice.

Today’s businesses know that it is critical to stay on top of what’s next in their industry: the next trend, the next tool, the next technology. They are developing capacity within their organizations to use big data to derive insights for a more profitable future. Businesses have a growing need for professionals who can use data, analytics and business acumen to improve ROI, streamline and expedite processes, drive down costs, create smart products, and build better customer experiences.
Humber’s Business Insights and Analytics graduate certificate program provides you with practical, in-demand skills in business; database management and programming; data analysis and interpretation; and decision-making and communications. It consists of a common platform of 21 core courses in business, database management, programming for machine learning and data analytics, plus three specialization stream courses in either Marketing or Operations.

Graduates of this program will:

develop effective business strategies, tactics and processes based on data-driven analytics
support business decision making with advanced statistical and quantitative analysis; and advanced data visualization and communications tools and techniques
generate business insights by developing and using databases, big data and machine learning
Note: For students starting in September or January, there is a scheduled one semester break between second and third semester.

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

• Design, develop and manage databases and big data using current IT technologies and tools to query, program, process and analyze open source structured and unstructured data.
• Apply project management techniques, skills and software to scope, track and manage resources of business analytics projects.
• Use established and current frameworks for business, economic and financial analyses to inform business decision-making and recommend appropriate business strategies and tactics.
• Implement personal and professional development strategies to improve job performance and promote professional growth.
• Collect, store, process, model, analyze, interpret and communicate data using advanced statistical and qualitative techniques and current information technology tools.
• Provide insights to solve strategic business management challenges derived from a range of business intelligence metrics.
• Prepare and communicate complex materials, verbally, in writing and digitally for a variety of audiences and purposes, clearly and effectively using, where appropriate, current technology.
• Formulate and implement plans for the collection, storage, processing, modelling, analysis, interpretation and communication of data that meet the needs of the client.
• Develop and implement machine learning algorithms and applications in order to capitalize on previously unrealized business opportunities.
• Formulate and implement plans for managing the full data life cycle adhering to all theoretical, practical, ethical, legal, security, professional, and privacy guidelines, requirements and standards.
• Present a persuasive and cogent argument and recommendations for actionable insights derived from sophisticated analysis of data from a wide variety of sources.
• Ensure that all analysis of numerical and text data, and all data processing is conducted with a high degree of accuracy, and is consistent with the appropriate principles of data integrity and stability.

Work Placement
Get the hands-on experience that industry demands with a 320-hour (minimum) work placement that will give you the opportunity to apply what you have learned in the classroom to the real world. Students initiate the placement with the aid of faculty, targeting companies in the Greater Toronto Area. Placements may be completed on a part-time basis throughout the academic year, or full time during the term immediately following the program.

Humber’s Fashion Management graduate certificate program prepares you to work in the dynamic fashion industry and focuses on the management, marketing, sales of fashion apparel and accessories. Courses cover new product development and branding, fashion buying and retailing, multi-channel sales, international marketing and product management. Visual merchandising skills combined with colour theory skills and trend forecasting give this program a dynamic, hands-on approach to the business side of fashion.

Students in the program can choose the promotions or sustainability profile. The promotions profile covers the rapidly growing promotional side of fashion including courses in integrated marketing communication and social media brand management. Students will learn how to leverage and promote a brand through social media, personal blogs, Instagram, Twitter, online selling and personal website development.

Sustainable fashion profile provides students with opportunities to learn about the important aspects of fashion sustainability such as ethics and supply chain, creative innovations in the fashion industry and how to make a case for sustainability from a financial and managerial perspective. There is a growing demand for industry professionals with knowledge of sustainable solutions and innovation. Students graduate from the program prepared with tools to lead the industry to a lasting sustainable fashion change.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
  • Review political, economic, social, environmental and regulatory factors affecting fashion industry and global sourcing decisions to achieve cost-effective, sustainable, quality product procurement and operations.
  • Apply accounting, finance and supply chain operation methods to make sustainable business decisions that build competitive advantage for fashion products.
  • Recommend merchandising, store-level operations, promotions and product offering improvements for retailers based on detailed competitive analysis.
  • Develop entrepreneurship strategies that inform start-up business plans to achieve profitability and sustainability goals.
  • Develop a merchandising plan and replenishment process using industry specific tools in accordance with an allocated budget to achieve desired profitability and performance metrics.
  • Justify a promotional marketing and visual merchandising plan based on analysis of the business’s current position in the market to appeal to target audience and support strategic business objectives. 
  • Formulate evidence-based and innovative business plans that serve to solve identified fashion business problems related to production, profitability and market position.
  • Defend a mutually beneficial wholesale fashion line proposal to a retailer based on analysis of the buyer’s performance and profitability, target market and current fashion trends.
  • Employ language of the fashion industry to communicate effectively with direct and indirect stakeholders in line with businesses’ strategic objectives to establish and maintain working relationships.
  • Develop textual and visual online and in-store content to engage target clients through variety of media platforms to strengthen market position and business profitability.
  • Analyze historical and current development in the fashion industry together with predicted future trends to create competitive and sustainable business solutions.

Work Placement
Gain first-hand experience in the industry with a four-week (160-hour) work placement which takes place either part time during the program or full time at the end of the program. Placements provide the valuable work experience employers seek.

Humber’s Bachelor of International Development degree program is an interdisciplinary program that provides you with a solid theoretical foundation in sustainable international development studies and its related disciplines, as well as professional and technical skills in development management. The program is designed specifically to bridge the gap between theory and practice by building hands-on project management skills and capabilities. The program fosters a comparative understanding of developed and developing countries - countries of the global North and South - through directed study, analytical research and opportunities to travel that provide cross-cultural learning experiences.

Your core courses, in which you’ll develop professional competencies, include four streams: international development studies, supplementary disciplines, management skills and research skills.

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

• Describe and critically evaluate the values, key theoretical approaches and concepts in international development.
• Demonstrate critical thinking in relation to international development policy and practice.
• Analyze international development through a variety of disciplinary lenses.
• Examine the roles and responsibilities of various actors within the field of international development.
• Design, plan, implement and evaluate international development projects using a variety of methodologies.
• Examine and apply various qualitative and quantitative research methods and assess the appropriateness of their use.
• Implement effective management of key financial, information and other resources associated with international development projects.
• Exercise initiative, personal responsibility and accountability in personal, professional and group contexts related to international development.
• Analyze cross-cutting themes of gender and environmental sustainability and their effects on international development projects.
• Communicate and work effectively in diverse environments.
• Critically analyze the practical and ethical implications of doing international development work across borders and cultures.
• Critically examine political, social and economic behaviours of various societies and their impact on sustainable international development.

Work Placement

• The 14-week/420-hour work placement is from May to August following Semester 6. A placement advisor will support your efforts to find a position that fits your academic and career goals. Your placement will give you the opportunity to explore the field of international development, as well as gain the hands-on, real-world experience that employers value.  We will work with employers and our partners to help you identify the best opportunities to pursue.

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.

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 Financial Planning graduate certificate program provides a clear pathway to careers in the lucrative financial services industry including banks, investment firms, insurance companies, financial planning firms among others. Our program provides you with a broad range of financial services, business and soft skills plus the opportunity to earn the licences and designations that financial services institutions are looking for in the professionals they hire. 
Faculty are chosen for their expertise and experience in the financial services sector, and many continue to work in the industry.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
  • Adhere to the certified financial planner ethical code of conduct, standards of practice, regulatory, legal and taxation requirements.
  • Establish and manage the client-planner relationship.
  • Analyze and evaluate client financial data including investment goals, life and health insurance, retirement planning and estate planning, considering economic information.
  • Develop and present financial recommendations and/or alternatives regarding investments, retirement planning, estate planning, life and health insurance.
  • Implement financial recommendations and monitor clients’ accounts.
  • Market and promote financial products, services, solutions and strategies that meet client needs.
  • Provide investment advisory services, using current software and entrepreneurial skills.
  • Qualify to challenge the Certified Financial Planner (CFP™), the Life Insurance Licence (LLQP) examination and the Canadian Securities Course.

Work Placement

• Gain first-hand experience in the financial services industry with a four-week work placement taking place either part time during the program or full time at the end of the program. Placements provide the valuable work experience employers seek.