Graduate Certificates in Marketing and Public Relations

Edward S. Ageno School of Business

The graduate certificate in integrated marketing communications (IMC) meets the need for a focused graduate preparation for employment in marketing communications. Leading marketing organizations today are creating and managing their communications in an integrated fashion, with coordination in terms of messages, positioning, and timing, all developed in support of overall organizational objectives. There is strong growth among agencies that deliver integrated solutions and among their client firms using those approaches. Our program helps students prepare for a key role in such organizations.

The graduate certificate in integrated marketing communications requires completion of 18 semester units of graduate-level work. Please note that some courses taken as part of certificate programs will have prerequisites. These prerequisites must be satisfied (through transfer of equivalent course work or through taking the courses at Golden Gate University) before the certificate courses can be completed.

Our graduate integrated marketing communications curriculum are especially language intensive and require you to have a good facility in spoken and written English. This is important both for mastering the techniques of business communications and for participating in the graduate seminars. Students can demonstrate their competency by successfully passing the English Placement Test or by completing ENGL 301 Graduate Writing II with a grade of B or better.

REQUIRED COURSES - 18 units
· MKT 300 Marketing Management
· MKT 305 Integrated Marketing Communications
· MKT 307 Sales Promotion and Sponsorships
· MKT 321 Direct and Database Marketing
· MKT 339 Advertising Strategy
· PR 320 Contemporary Public Relations

The graduate certificate in marketing is designed for students interested in either acquiring knowledge in marketing, or in refreshing or extending their knowledge in the marketing field. The certificate requires completion, with a B average or better, of six courses (18 units) in marketing (prefix MKT). With the approval of the department chair, students are free to design a certificate program to meet their individual needs in order to enhance professional growth and aid in achieving career expectations. Please note that some courses taken as part of certificate programs will have prerequisites. These prerequisites must be satisfied (through transfer of equivalent course work or through taking the courses at Golden Gate) before the certificate courses can be completed.

REQUIRED COURSES - 18 units
· MKT 300 Marketing Management
· Any five additional courses with MKT prefix

As more and more organizations realize the importance of two-way communications with the public, savvy public relations professionals are in increasing demand. Golden Gate University offers the graduate certificate in public relations for those who wish a less extensive program than that required for the MS degree in integrated marketing communications with a concentration in public relations.

The graduate certificate in public relations is a professional development program designed primarily for working professionals who want to update their skills in their fast-changing field or to study areas of specialization in which they are interested but for which they have no formal training.

When public relations was defined as primarily the task of writing news releases and limited to cultivating media relations, journalism was the only training requirement. As job descriptions and responsibilities expanded, general communications courses grew in popularity and usefulness. Now, as businesses and nonprofit organizations alike become increasingly global and dependent on precise, two-way communication with all of their many, growing audiences, public relations has been redefined - and is still changing.

REQUIRED COURSES - 15 units
· MKT 305 Integrated Marketing Communications
· PR 320 Contemporary Public Relations
· PR 330A Writing for Public Relations and Marketing Communications
· PR 332 Media Relations and the Corporate Spokesperson
· PR 334 Managing Public Issues: Consumer Affairs and Government Relations