Strategic Communication Graduate Certificate

► Graduate School Policies and Procedures apply to this program.

Strategic Communication has been defined as the management function that entails planning, research, publicity, promotion and collaborative decision-making to help any organization’s ability to listen to, appreciate and respond appropriately to those persons and groups whose mutually beneficial relationships the organization needs to foster as it strives to achieve its mission and vision. The Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication is designed to provide students with the principles and theories that guide the work of public relations practitioners in commercial, public and nonprofit contexts.

Non-degree students who enroll in the MA program following completion of the certificate may transfer up to 12 hours of credits earned for the certificate into credits for the MA degree. The certificate also is designed for students enrolled in a CU Denver’s master’s program, including the Department of Communication’s MA program. For such students, the certificate can be completed as part of or in addition to the coursework required for the master’s degree.

Recipients of the Undergraduate Certificate in Strategic Communication are ineligible to complete this certificate.

Grade and Residency Requirements

Application Procedures and Additional Information

Students should apply for the Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication before or after the completion of the required courses. To apply, students must complete the certificate application, attach it to an unofficial transcript, and return it to Dr. Hamilton Bean in room 3010 of the Student Commons Building, or mail to Department of Communication; P. O. Box 173364, Campus Box 176; University of Colorado Denver; Denver, CO 80217-3364. The approved certificate is posted to the transcript and mailed to the student after final grades are posted for the semester.

Students who are not already enrolled at CU Denver must also complete an online Application for Non-Degree Admission prior to registering for courses.

Additional information about the Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication may be obtained from Dr. Hamilton Bean, Department of Communication, Student Commons Building, 1201 Larimer Street, Suite 3010, 303-315-1909, Hamilton.Bean@ucdenver.edu.

Certificate Requirements

The Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication requires 12 semester hours (four courses)
A grade of B must be earned in each course completed as part of the certificate (a grade of B- is not acceptable).
All of the credit hours for the certificate must be earned from faculty at the University of Colorado Denver.

COMM 5051 - Advanced Strategic Communication
COMM 5240 - Organizational Communication
COMM 5939 - Internship
An elective at the graduate level from the College of Arts & Media, School of Business, the School of Public Affairs, or the Anschutz Medical Campus. The elective must be approved in consultation with the Department of Communication.

Students may be permitted to take courses other than those listed above to fulfill the requirements for the certificate if those courses fit their professional goals better. Requests for approval for substitute courses, including an explanation for the substitution, must be made in writing to Dr. Hamilton Bean.