Public Relations and Communication Management (Cert.) (30 credits)
Offered by: Global & Strategic Comm.
Program credit weight: 30
Program Description
The field of Public Relations and Communications Management has been changing dramatically in recent years. Digital (including social media) is changing the way public and organizations communicate. Increased consciousness by companies of their social responsibility, and a need for greater accountability to stakeholders, have led to an awareness in both the corporate and the not-for-profit sector that organizations need to rely on the advice and services of well trained professional communicators. The program content is continually updated with best practices in industry. Students have opportunities to discuss real and evolving public relations cases directly with industry professionals.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Courses (30 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CPRL 214 | Applied Public Relations Methods 1. | 3 |
Applied Public Relations Methods 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Context, resources, learning activities, and guidance to conduct comprehensive, primary and secondary public relations research, and assess, edit, revise and proofread public relations materials for print, electronic and digital media. | ||
| CPRL 220 | Fundamentals of Fund-Raising. | 3 |
Fundamentals of Fund-Raising. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Current status of fund-raising and philanthropy in Canada. Donor motivations, strategies for attracting support from different donor audiences, development of fund-raising campaigns for not-for-profits, charitable foundations, para-public and public-sector organizations. Role of donor organizations. Theoretical knowledge, technical skills and ethical considerations. | ||
| CPRL 223 | Basics of Public Relations. | 3 |
Basics of Public Relations. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An overview of public relations theory, principles and practice, including the development of the discipline and its role in society, its function in different organizations, and the techniques used in the different sub-specialties of the field. | ||
| CPRL 224 | Applied Public Relations Methods 2. | 3 |
Applied Public Relations Methods 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Analyze, plan, design and execute projects that extend and hone writing and presentation skills in a self-directed manner. | ||
| CPRL 225 | Social and Traditional Media Relations. | 3 |
Social and Traditional Media Relations. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Organizations must communicate with diverse publics against the background of a rapidly changing media landscape. With the increasing presence of digital (including social) media, publics are both fragmenting and coalescing in new ways. This course will cover the context, theory and best practices that are evolving as a result. | ||
| CPRL 226 | Corporate Communications. | 3 |
Corporate Communications. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Issues and conditions affecting the communication of corporate issues and identity will be examined including corporate branding, financial communications, social responsibility, the reciprocal effects of internal and external publics, and planning and production of corporate communication vehicles. | ||
| CPRL 227 | Internal Communication. | 3 |
Internal Communication. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of how internal communication strategies are designed and implemented to ensure people within an organization work together effectively and efficiently to support the organization's business plan, including the definition and purpose of internal communications that add value, as well as the communication needs of internal stakeholders. | ||
| CPRL 228 | Event Management. | 3 |
Event Management. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Effective use of public and media events for communication and relationship-building with key stakeholders, including research, identification of publics, design, timelines, logistics, protocol, speeches and programs, and dealing with suppliers, as well as promotion and evaluation of the event. | ||
| CPRL 321 | PR Issues Management. | 3 |
PR Issues Management. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Mechanisms by which organizations participate in the public policy process will be examined through an understanding of the social and political contexts where public issues occur and the inherent communication processes at all levels and specifically dealing with the roles of lobbying, media relations and social responsibility. | ||
| CPRL 322 | Cases in Public Relations. | 3 |
Cases in Public Relations. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Preparation of communication plans for organizations and current situations will provide the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained throughout the program. In addition, recent developments and methods in key areas of practice will be addressed. | ||