Professional Development Studies

Welcome to Professional Development Studies (PDS) at the School of Communication and Information (SC&I). Whether you are a young professional, new manager, or experienced executive you will find a wide array of continuing education programs that will help you enhance your skills and succeed in your career.

PDS offers four non-credit professional online certificate programs:

• Business and Managerial Communication
• Digital Asset Management (DAM)
• Professional Health Communication, NEW!
• Public Relations

Our new certificate program is for you if you are in the early or mid-stage of your healthcare career, if you aspire to a healthcare-related career, or if you want to pivot into this dynamic profession. Our certificate in Professional Health Communication uniquely combines communication, media literacy, and community engagement to help you enhance the skills needed to succeed in this dynamic profession. Our faculty and staff work with you on an individual basis to ensure you meet your professional development goals.

To earn your certificate, you must complete six courses. You can start our programs with any course in any month. The course schedule loops so that you can complete the program in six months no matter which month you start in.  You are also welcome to take stand-alone courses that meet your career development needs.

PDS certificates and courses are:

• 100% online 
• Flexible; complete course work around your schedule, from any time zone
• Four weeks long
• Interactive with your instructors and peers
• Self-paced
• Immediately applicable to your career

This course examines the intersections between organizational culture and leadership and how they impact successful change leadership, offering specific tools, knowledge, and skills needed to be an effective change agent.

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Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is the way organizations plan and present unified and consistent messages to their target audiences. IMC incorporates advertising, public relations, direct marketing, promotions, and digital media through traditional and non-traditional channels to communicate to various publics.

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Digital assets are a form of "data." In this course, we cover how to manage Digital Asset Management (DAM) as a “data creator” from many perspectives, with the core understanding that all data needs to be governed. In DAM, data governance is an important component for managing and mitigating risk and ensures ongoing alignment with the overall business or organizational roles.

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Tremendous changes in health care has included an intense focus on high-value patient care that demands communication between different health professions disciplines and encourages working closely with communities. The Health Profession and Community Engagement course will survey critical theories and models of healthcare and community engagement, including but not limited to the exploration of service-learning, planning and implementing community partnerships, positive youth development, theories of equity, citizenship, diversity, social justice, and ethical engagement to improve important healthcare outcomes.

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