Graduate Certificate in User Experience Design

at St. Lawrence College - Kingston Campus Canada

The Business Fundamentals program provides students with a broad and exploratory business education. The program will cover business basics such as accounting, marketing, human resources, business mathematics, and business communications. This program can supplement previous post-secondary education to allow students to enter a wide variety of entry level business positions. Additionally this program can allow student to explore further business education and can apply for advanced standing into the second year of the Business, Marketing, and Human Resources programs at the College.

The internet continues to evolve at a rapid pace and the data of organizations have never been more vulnerable than now. Cyber attacks are costing organizations hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars per occurrence, and happen so often they are often featured in the news. There is a worldwide shortage of cybersecurity professionals as every organization seeks ways to make their data more secure.

Once you graduate from this eight-month, full-time graduate certificate program, you will be equipped with skills to protect your organization’s computers, servers, networks, and applications from breaches and unauthorized access. The courses in the program will give you an edge in detecting breaches, computer forensics, threat hunting, and penetration testing.

In addition, this program is highly interdisciplinary and includes aspects of law, policy, human factors, ethics and risk management. Focused on cyber-defense training, the program ensures you are able to “think like the intruder” when deploying security techniques. Upon graduation, students acquire skills relevant to leadership roles in cybersecurity across a variety of industries and businesses.

Program Highlights
The program provides you with skills in:

• Problem-solving, critical thinking and troubleshooting
• Dealing with network vulnerabilities and security issues
• Designing secure enterprise operating system infrastructures
• Creating plans and policies for wireless mobile device security
• Implementing a cloud computing environment while addressing security risks
• Performing security audits
• Proactively researching and reporting on the current threat landscape
• Utilizing ethical hacking practices to bolster the organization’s security measures
• Integrating sustainability into cybersecurity practices to reduce environmental footprints of businesses

For over forty years, our acclaimed program has trained highly-skilled, creative individuals for the growing profession of Graphic Design. This three-year advanced diploma program prepares graduates for direct entry into dynamic and rewarding work environments including design studios, ad agencies, interactive web and game design studios, publishing houses, marketing firms, and film & television production studios, to name a few.
 
Our program of study develops the creative potential of each student in three specific ways:

• The creation of a personal portfolio that demonstrates an understanding of design fundamentals using advanced software skills.
• The process and application of design thinking to solve complex communication problems.
• Direct, hands-on experience with professional clients representing a broad range of industries.

We train our students in the foundations of composition and layout, typography, colour, interactive and accessible design principles, and the use of industry-standard software. Our project-based learning approach ensures that students are directly involved in shaping their learning experiences, and that principles and best practices are applied in portfolio-driven work across different media. With dedicated studio, lecture, and computer lab spaces, our students have the opportunity to collaborate on projects as well as develop social networks in a supportive learning environment.

Child and Youth Care practitioners are specialists in facilitating change in children, youth and young adults who are experiencing a range of social, emotional and/or behavioural challenges. Children and youth respond to the impact of change, stress, loss, poverty, violence, abuse and neglect with a range of emotions and behaviours including confusion, anger, withdrawal, aggression, hopelessness, violence, and suicide. Many of the children or youth experience numerous challenges and may have a variety of diagnoses.

Additionally, increasing numbers of these youth are in conflict with the law and/or are receiving therapeutic intervention. Understanding the individual and the unique nature of his/her response is therefore an important first task. Child and Youth Care (CYC) practitioners are a valuable resource to children, youth and their families in this process. They commit themselves to understanding and interacting in therapeutic relationships with these children, youth, and their families to promote and facilitate positive change.

This program will prepare the student to fill the role of technical support in the dynamic and expanding field of client/server comput­ing, cloud computing, O/S virtualization, enterprise networks, administration and Internet management. Students complete a work placement component which provides on-the-job training with a local company in their final semester.

Our courses are constantly evolving to incorporate a blend of leading edge and traditional technologies to meet the needs of local employers. This program is well suited to people who are interested in computers, but not math, physics or electronics. Many of the courses in the CN&TS program train the students towards obtaining Microsoft, A+, LPIC-1, and Network + certifications.

Students receive hands-on training in:

• Computer hardware
• Applied Internet technology
• Software installation
• Scripting procedures
• Diagnostics
• Network installation
• Operating systems
• Maintenance
• User support
• Website administration
• Operating system virtualization

Learning takes place in both classrooms and computer labs. Faculty bring a wealth of real-world experiences to the classroom. A num­ber of courses in the curriculum are delivered in dedicated a lab using exclusively assigned computers, virtual servers and diverse equipment.

This one-year certificate program in Media Arts Fundamentals provides students with an opportunity to explore the exciting variety of disciplines and careers in media, design, and the arts.

Courses in professional communications, digital media applications, and academic preparation provide a foundation for the program, while a variety of media-arts electives allow students to earn credits toward specialized two- and three-year diploma programs in Graphic Design, Visual & Creative Arts - Fine Arts, Music & Digital Media, Advertising & Marketing Communications, and General Arts & Science.

Courses in the final semester focus on professionalism, career exploration and the preparation of a media-arts portfolio that students can tailor to academic or career pathways that interest them most. Interesting community partnerships with Kingston's rich and vibrant arts community, as well as guest speakers and mentors with careers in the media arts will help students decide their next steps into this vibrant sector of the economy.

The Health Care Administration International Stream program is a business program that will provide health care practitioners with business and leadership fundamentals. The program is geared toward international students who have previous education and work experience in health care who wish to develop their managerial and leadership skills. 

Program Highlights
The international program is a four-semester graduate certificate which has been designed to transition students to learning in Canada, becoming familiar with the Canadian Health Care system, and making international students career ready. The curriculum is geared toward providing a wide base of business skills in a health care context such as financial, communication, human resources, leadership, operations, and critical thinking. Graduates of the program would be suited for careers in entry or middle management positions in a wide variety of health care settings such as clinics, hospitals, and private facilities. The program is delivered over four 14-week semesters.

Graduates from our Energy Systems Engineering Technician and Technology (ESET) programs work in exciting new careers as Renewable Energy System Designers and Clean Energy System Project Managers and Installers.  In addition, our graduates have expertise in building energy management and building energy systems, where they find rewarding employment as Energy Managers and Energy Auditors.

Our many successful graduates illustrate how every year, businesses, governments and consumers are becoming more concerned with the financial and environmental costs of energy usage. Our ESET graduates are filling the growing needs of this marketplace for capable people with the knowledge and skills to design and implement renewable energy systems as well as to audit energy use in commercial and residential buildings and make recommendations to reduce energy demand and cost.

If you have a three-year diploma or a degree, this program will prepare you for the exciting career of user experience (UX) designer. UX designers consult with target audiences (users) to collect and interpret data that can be used to make technology, products and services that meet their needs, are functional and pleasurable to use, and meet the strategic objectives of businesses and organizations.

With this graduate certificate you will be prepared to work with clients in a number of different industry sectors to achieve these vital business objectives. The program will help you develop skills in research, facilitation, presentation, business analysis, project management, information architecture, usability assessment as well as visualization. You’ll learn how to implement design-thinking processes and strategies, conduct user research, employ usability and accessibility best practices, and produce UX documentation to help companies and organizations generate innovative products and services that meet the needs of their customers and audiences.

This one-year (three semesters) program prepares students with specialized training to work within the recreation, health, education, and/or social service delivery systems serving individuals a variety of abilities. Graduates will acquire the skills to complete standardized client assessments, develop and evaluate group and individualized programs and use a variety of facilitative techniques to assist individuals to participate in meaningful recreation activities that will enhance health, improve functional ability and increase quality of life. The program is built on the core belief of the inherent benefits of play, recreation and leisure to all people. Students will learn to adapt recreation activities so people with a variety of abilities can participate and to use recreation as a therapeutic tool to improve, maintain, and/or restore health and wellness.

Our program includes face-to-face classes primarily and some online classes to provide maximum flexibility for students who may be working in the field and wanting to upgrade their credentials.

Recognizing the increasing opportunities for private practice, a unique feature of our program is a course in Small Business Development to provide students with the skills in the areas of financial literacy, priva