Graduate Certificate or Diploma of Public Relations overview
Graduate certificates in public relations (PR) are an excellent way to gain entry-level insight into the field. The University of Sydney and other institutions offer units in organisational communication, agenda-setting, strategic PR and more. These courses take six months to complete if studied full time, or longer if part-time.
Graduate diplomas cover more over their year-long duration, providing more units in public and foundational communication, dealing with multicultural audiences and strategic negotiation. Institutions like the University of Technology, Sydney offer these courses to students desiring a more comprehensive education but are unable to commit to a master degree.
Employment options
PR graduates can find themselves working in all manner of roles, such as a PR officer working for Polkadot Communications or as an event manager at Alive Events Agency. All the roles mentioned here utilise the interpersonal and communication skills developed throughout these programs, making them ideally suited.
Scholarships and funding
Dedicated funding is rare for PR, but general scholarships are available. The Gallipoli Scholarship and Endeavour Scholarships and Fellows initiative are excellent examples, being regularly available across all disciplines. They can have quite specific requirements, however; the former requires students to have a descendant who fought in WWI and the latter requires them to travel. It’s therefore advisable to carefully check the prerequisites of these and comparable general scholarships before applying.
Prerequisites and selection process
These programs tend not to be stringent with admission requirements, allowing students who’ve completed any bachelor degree entry. Even those without a bachelor degree can enter some programs if they have several years of relevant work experience. Some programs require students to have attained a credit GPA (65%) in prior undergraduate coursework to enter, but that is uncommon.