online Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication

The Department of Communication offers an online graduate certificate in Strategic Communication that provides graduates with the knowledge and skill set to effectively pursue their desired career within the fields of Public Relations, Digital Media, Social Media, and other Strategic Communication areas.

This certificate focuses on:

• basic principles a strategic communication professional faces
• the theoretical background necessary to understand how to create effective public relations, social media, and strategic communication campaigns
• the methodological skills required to test and understand the effectiveness of currently implemented campaigns.
  

The online Certificate in Strategic Communication requires satisfactory completion of four (4) graduate level courses (12 credits) as detailed below. Students are required to take three core courses (9 credits) and make select a fourth course (3 credits) from a menu of choices. Each certificate course must be completed with a grade no lower than a B-; the overall GPA of the Certificate in Strategic Communication courses must be no lower than 3.0. Credits earned for completing the online graduate certificate could go towards earning an online MA in Strategic Communication.​​​

Required core courses:

• ​COMM702 Principles of Strategic Communication
• COMM703 Strategic Communication – Research
• COMM706 Strategic Communication – Theory

One additional course must be taken from the list below:

• COMM707 Strategic Communication Ethics
• COMM719 Reputation Management
• COMM721 Public Relations Campaigns
• COMM722 Crisis Communication
• COMM724 Public Relations Writing
• COMM733 Writing for Digital Media
• COMM734 Digital Media Content Strategy
• COMM754 Communication and Leadership​

1. ​Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 system. Undergraduate transcripts must be provided with the application.
   
   
2. Two letters of recommendation indicating the capability, interest, scholastic, and professional potential of the candidate for graduate study.
   
   

3. An applicatio​​​n essay addressing the reasons behind the applicant's interest in this certificate program. 

4. International applicants must demonstrate a satisfactory level of proficiency in the English language if English is not their first language. The University requires an official TOEFL score of at least 550 on paper-based or ​​79 on Internet-based tests. TOEFL scores more than two years old cannot be considered official. Alternately, IELTS can be accepted in place of the TOEFL. The minimum IELTS score is 6.5 overall with no individual sub-score below 6.0.

For questions about the online graduate certificate, please contact: Professor Tara L. Smith (taralynn@udel.edu), Program Director.​