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Online Strategic Communication Certificate Program

CREATE EFFECTIVE MESSAGES FOR NICHE AUDIENCES.

Your Strategic Communication Certificate program allows you to create effective messages using various digital and media platforms for specific audiences.

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  • Duration 3 semesters
  • Cost per Credit $942
  • Credit Hours 15

Program Benefits

  • Stackable certificate options
  • Experience hands-on applied learning
  • No application fee
  • 100% online instruction

Understand the Complexity of Communication Processes, Events and Interactions

The certificate in Strategic Communication provides you with the knowledge, skills and critical thinking needed to explore a variety of communication issues.

In the Strategic Communication Certificate program, you will study principles of public relations, organizational identity and branding plus strategic digital design. You will hone your ability to access credible information, analyze and evaluate messages and texts, create content, reflect upon social and ethical considerations and engage in effective communication across many platforms to accomplish the goals of individuals, organizations and diverse audiences.

Stackable Certificate Options Available

Credits earned from the Strategic Communication Certificate program are stackable and can be applied to the 30-credit MA in Communication degree.

Career Outlook: The Need for Applied Communication

Queens’ Strategic Communication Certificate program applies to a range of careers; however, applied communication is a booming field with more than 27,600 new jobs becoming available in media and communication occupations through 2028.1

By acquiring both theoretical and applied communication knowledge that is informed by digital technologies, you will be equipped to be a well-rounded communication professional.

Multimedia Designer

$52,110/YEAR

As a multimedia designer, you will create various deliverables for a company or brand. You might create presentations, videos, audio files, written advertisements, company correspondence or webpages. This position requires exemplary technological, writing and communication skills.2

Online Marketing Content Writer

$48,743/YEAR

As an online marketing content writer, you will write various communications directed toward specific audiences and stakeholders. You will need knowledge of advertising, social media, web development and search engine optimization.3

Other titles you may qualify for:

  • Community Relations Specialist
  • Public Relations Specialist
  • Social Media Content Writer
  • Brand Specialist
  • Strategic Communication
  • Community Relations Specialist
  • Public Relations Specialist
  • Social Media Specialist
  • Event Planner
  • Communication Director
  • Health Communication Specialist
  • Account Executive
  • Content Strategist
  • Public Affairs Specialist
  • Brand Specialist
  • Copywriter
  • Multimedia Designer

Curriculum: Creating Authentic, Strategic Messages

In the certificate in strategic communication program, you will gain advanced knowledge of public relations, personal and organizational branding and the design of digital communications. Ultimately, you will create effective communication messages using various digital and media platforms to accomplish the goals of individuals, organizations and diverse audiences.

Through hands-on applied learning, you will discover how to create communicative interventions for specific communities. You will also complete a culminating project, using what you have learned in a live, real-world application.

Strategic Communication Certificate (15 credit hours)

Required Courses

  • COM 601 Communication Theory (3)
  • COM 605 Communication Research Methods (3)
  • COM 613 Principles of Public Relations (3)
  • COM 664 Organizational Identity and Branding (3)
  • COM 678 Strategic Digital Design (3)

Course Spotlight: COM 664 Organizational Identity and Branding

This course explores the ways organizations today craft and communicate an authentic brand identity. As the marketplace has changed, organizations have had to find ways to differentiate and gain a competitive edge. Connecting with stakeholders through a clear and consistent identity that aligns with organizational values and mission can increase profits as well as customer and employee loyalty. This course highlights the most effective ways to craft brand identity through authentic, strategic messages and visual presentation disseminated through both traditional and mediated platforms. The course also investigates how social networks have changed and challenged efforts to craft organizational identity and brand, as well as the ways employees’ identities are ultimately interdependent with organizational identity. Prerequisite: COM 601.

Course Spotlight: COM 678 Strategic Digital Design

This course explores location-based and digital interventions and the role of digital technology in local, group and community participation. With an emphasis on social and participatory media, the course examines the ways digital communities form and organize in digital, geographic, physical and hybrid environments. Students in this seminar will design a digital intervention for a community of their choice as their culminating project. Prerequisite: COM 601.

Admission Requirements

To apply for the Strategic Communication Certificate from Queens, you will need:

Tuition Details

The Strategic Communication Certificate program includes 15 credit hours and costs $942 per credit hour. We are driven to offer you affordable rates and transparency on what you can expect to pay so you can more easily accelerate your career. Speak with an enrollment counselor to learn more.

Frequently Asked Questions

As you explore Queens University of Charlotte’s Strategic Communication Certificate, our dedicated staff is here to ensure your decision-making is stress-free and enjoyable. If you have a question we do not cover here, request more information or call 866-313-2356.

You can complete the online Strategic Communication certificate as quickly as one year.

The total tuition for the certificate is an estimated $14,130. This estimate does not include fees or other costs you may incur.

In the Strategic Communication Certificate program, you will take five courses that cover topics in communication theory, communication research methods, principles of public relations, organizational branding, and digital design.

First, you will need a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a minimum 3.0 GPA. You will then complete an online application and prepare official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, a current résumé, a personal statement, and letters from two professional references. Read more about the application process here.

The Strategic Communication online certificate program from Queens applies to a range of careers, including multimedia designer, online marketing content writer, community relations specialist, public relations specialist, social media content writer or brand specialist, and other diverse careers.

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Sources:

  1. (2020, April 10). Media and Communication Occupations. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2020, Aug. 27 from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/home.htm.
  2. (2020, Aug. 4). Average Multimedia Designer Salary. PayScale. Retrieved 2020, Aug. 27 from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Multimedia_Designer/Salary.
  3. (2020, July 29). Average Online Marketing Content Writer Salary. PayScale. Retrieved 2020, Aug. 27 from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Online_Marketing_Content_Writer/Salary.