Certificate in Communications And Media Fundamentals

at Centennial College - Story Arts Centre Campus Canada

The Art and Design Fundamentals program nurtures your artistic talents, and develops your creative, practical and entrepreneurial skills in visual art and design — whatever your level of expertise.

The studio-based, hands-on curriculum of the Art and Design Fundamentals courses is taught by practicing artists and designers who help you to develop traditional, digital and multimedia skills. The program's goal is to help you prepare a successful portfolio of artwork required for admission to specialized programs and to open up new possibilities and career choices in the diverse visual arts industry.

In this art program, you:

• Get hands-on exposure to drawing, design, colour, 3D modelling and design, visual culture, video making, digital illustration, photography and rapid prototyping.
• Build a comprehensive portfolio of artwork while working one-on-one with faculty.

Once you complete the program, you will be prepared to succeed in a variety of post-secondary communication arts and design diploma and degree areas, including animation, game arts, digital visual effects, product design, industrial design, architecture, interior design, fashion design, illustration, graphic design, digital media art, art direction, art management, creative advertising and fine arts.

Program Highlights

• Leading practicing artists, designers and educators have crafted the Art and Design Fundamentals program at Centennial College.
• Small class sizes and a dynamic working relationship between faculty and students allows for lots of one-on-one instruction and feedback.
• The Portfolio Development course sees you work on self-directed projects that focus your future career, with individual guidance from instructors.
• The Professional Practice course offers client-based community projects that emphasize experiential learning and allow you to develop your entrepreneurial skills.
• Throughout the Collaboration Studio Course, you have the opportunity to work on collaborative projects with other students at the Story Arts Centre to gain real-world experience.
• Artists and professionals who need to improve or update their skills in art, design and digital multimedia are offered a flexible curriculum, if class size allows.
• Faculty members help each student individually to take the next step in their career path.

Whether your dream is to capture that definitive portrait, have your photos grace the pages of a leading fashion magazine or take photos for the world’s leading brands, our two-year Photography program will help you achieve your goals. 

In this hands-on photography diploma program, you will be capturing images from day one and learning the technology, techniques and business theory you need for a lasting career as a professional photographer. 

This photography program prepares you for the aesthetic and technical demands that come with working in studio or on location to produce captivating images that tell a story. Over two years, you will progressively build the skills needed to compete in the commercial photography industry and learn what it takes to grow your brand and create stunning images for a variety of clients. Upon completion of the Photography program, students will have the skills to operate their own photography business or find employment in related occupations such as fine art printing, advertising, publishing, graphic design and gallery and studio management.

Additionally, through your participation in the Story Arts Image Xchange, a real-world stock agency and incubator for emerging photographers and creative content creators, and the many scenarios where you can collaborate with students and faculty in our other programs, you will have had many opportunities to get your work published. You will also have the opportunity to put your skills to work in a professional setting during a seven-week field placement.

Program Highlights:-

• Attend classes at the Story Arts Centre, Centennial’s School of Communications Media, Arts and Design located close to downtown Toronto, which provides unlimited photographic opportunities.
• Opportunities to showcase your work in our Corridor Gallery and other galleries around the city.
• As School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design student, you will have many opportunities to collaborate with students in other programs .
• Participate in STORYWORKS, a unique and valuable course where you will work for real clients during your studies.

The Lifestyle Media program is a one-of-a-kind graduate certificate offering designed to train specialized media professionals who are at the hub of lifestyle media.
In this media program's courses, you'll effectively collaborate with real-world industry partners, clients and audiences to produce quality content for web, social media and traditional media platforms. You'll also gain the skills necessary to work entrepreneurially using contemporary digital media platforms and technologies to market yourself as an independent brand.
Lifestyle communicators are subject-matter experts who are able to take their passion and depth of knowledge to reach behind-the-scenes and share these worlds with audiences that want to both learn and be entertained. Successful lifestyle communicators influence trends and tastes and can become trusted sources of reliable information.

Program Highlights

• The interdisciplinary Lifestyle Media curriculum will include writing, visual communications, social media and entrepreneurship.
• You'll gain the ability to develop sector-specific expertise in areas such as fashion, beauty, food and health.
• There will be a strong focus on social media and web production, including analytics and measurement.
• You'll participate in an industry field placement in an area of your interest.

Centennial College's Graphic Design program prepares you for a multidisciplinary design career, and has a graduate employment rate that exceeds 80 per cent. Facilitated at the Story Arts Centre, the courses in this advanced diploma program take a hands-on approach in an intimate studio environment, rather than having you sit passively in large lecture halls. With small class sizes, you have lots of opportunities to work one-on-one with your professors.

In this college graphic design program, you:

•  Master industry-standard Adobe software including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
•  Learn creative problem solving and design thinking
•  Design for print, including advertisements, magazines, books and packaging
•  Design responsive websites, mobile apps and create exciting motion graphics
•  Explore drawing, photography, illustration and type design
•  Learn professional practice skills to land a great job or start your own design business
•  Contribute something unique and innovative to the design community in a thesis course
•  Learn on the job and get course credits through an industry field placement in your final semester
•  Interact with industry professionals
•  Become a student member of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario (RDG Ontario)
•  Learn from professors who are current and professionally active in the design industry

Please note:This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware and software requirements. 

Program Highlights

• The Centennial College Graphic Design program is formally recognized by RGD Ontario, which represents more than 3,000 graphic designers, managers, educators and students across Ontario.
• A combination of multidisciplinary design skills and practical experience sets you apart from the competition.
• You will be more flexible in your design solutions and more desirable in the marketplace.

The Graphic Design program will develop your abilities to:

• Think creatively and design effectively for print, motion, and interactive media.
• Execute your ideas professionally in any medium.
• Communicate effectively with employers and clients.
• Start your career in any facet of the design industry.
• Market yourself as a freelancer or start your own business.
• Affect social change through your design problem-solving skills.
• Understand all aspects of industry standard workflow, from initial creative, through to print production or interactive prototyping.

The Product Design and Development program is the only one of its kind in Canada and provides you with the unique understanding to develop high-tech, ecological and socially responsible products from concept, to design, to production.

Combining the strengths of Centennial College's School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design and the School of Engineering Technology and Applied Science, this innovative product design and development program's courses bring together hands-on learning in product and industrial design, and product development with product lifecycle management (PLM). Through interdisciplinary, collaborative group projects, you develop creative design problem-solving abilities and innovative strategies by applying all stages of the visual design process.

You acquire a wide range of skills in this advanced diploma program, including idea generation, creative problem solving, drawing, model-making, the creative design process, 3D CAD advanced computer modelling, rapid prototyping, product development (CAE analysis, reverse engineering technology, materials selection, quality testing, product costing and optimization), product lifecycle management and cross-platform multimedia communications. You also develop a strong sense of the functional and aesthetic principles of design, as well as a solid understanding of the technical and business aspects of product development.

Centennial's Product Design and Development program meets the growing need for graduates with a strategic vision of interdisciplinary product design and an understanding of all stages of the product lifecycle, who are ready to work in a variety of exciting careers related to consumer product development, electronics, furniture, transportation and more.

Please note: This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware and software requirements. 

Program Highlights

• During your time in the program, you study and work in classrooms and labs that are equipped with the latest tools and industry-standard software.
• The program provides a practical, hands-on and entrepreneurial approach that prepares you for a sustainable career.
• Opportunities exist to collaborate with students in other programs at the Story Arts Centre. This is a unique opportunity to network, learn and work with industry professionals.
• Opportunity to work with ACCEL, Centennial’s in-house business incubator, to bring your ideas to market.
• Gain industry experience through STORYWORKS, a course that provides the opportunity to work with real-world clients of all kinds.

Game Development & Design is a three-year advanced diploma program that aims to develop expert game designers who are able to create and develop their own titles. The program prepares students to become both technically literate and able to advance the conceptual and cultural potential of games.

The program concentrates on the practical applications of the game production process from the artistic, managerial, and technical sides. Students will be introduced to 2D and 3D design processes, foundations of computer programming, as well as how to communicate effectively with teams of artists and programmers to design, prototype and iterate their own fully playable 2D and 3D games. Students will also learn the professional and personal skills needed for success in the industry.

In the Broadcasting - Radio, Television, Film & Digital Media program, you are trained in both the traditional skills of storytelling for the motion picture, television and radio industries as well as multi-platform digital production.

This college media program offered through our School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design in Toronto, prepares you with the creative and technical skills required for success in the time-based media industry. You will learn how to develop and create original story content, as well as how to prepare, manage and carry out the production process to realize a creative vision.

In this advanced diploma program, you:

• Develop a balance between the artistic and commercial aspects of the industry, and become exposed to a variety of industry practices and players.
• Study and practice techniques for effective storytelling in both the fiction and non-fiction genres, as well as client-based and live-to-air productions.
• Gain technical experience with HD broadcasting studios, digital film, television and multi-platform production.
• Participate in, create and contribute to a wide range of student films, digital video productions and weekly television and multi-platform productions.
• Complete an advanced body of produced work for a professional portfolio.
• Spend 14 weeks in a full-time industry field placement.
• Please note: This program requires you to have and use a mobile computing device (i.e. laptop, tablet) that meets or exceeds the recommended hardware requirements. 

Program Highlights

• For more than 30 years, the Broadcasting - Radio, Television, Film and Digital Media program has been training some of Canada's best writers, directors, producers, production crew members and studio executives for the broadcasting and film industry in Toronto and abroad.
• You gain access to digital HD broadcast studios, equipment and systems at the Story Arts Centre campus, home to Centennial College's School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design.
• The hands-on experience that you gain complements your education and is one of the keys to post-graduate success.
• The advanced diploma that you earn at the conclusion of this Broadcasting program reflects high standards of learning.

The Publishing - Book, Magazine and Electronic program is one of the most prestigious programs of its kind in Canada. Through hands-on education, it will prepare you for employment in a wide variety of areas in the publishing industry.

Established in 1974, this unique and award-winning publishing graduate certificate program has earned several accolades for academic excellence and for the career success of its graduates.

In this School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design program, you'll learn to:

• Be an integral part of the team that helps to shape the evolution of Canada's cultural and literary landscape;
• Publish e-books;
• Help build the careers of the next generation of writers in the publishing industry;
• Take part in publishing the bi-yearly On the Danforth magazine.

Your experience in the Publishing program will be rounded out by an industry field placement at a book or magazine publisher in Toronto. During this time, you'll acquire critical working experience, industry knowledge and professional relationships as you initiate your new career.

A career in book, magazine or online publishing promises a world of innovation, stories and culture that integrates your creative, marketing and business skills.

Program Highlights

• The accelerated two-semester format will cover all facets of the publishing process, including e-books and online magazines.
• You'll complete a six-week field placement in the industry.
• The graduate certificate you'll earn reflects a high standard of learning.

The Professional Writing – Communications program will prepare you to work as a versatile communications professional. This graduate certificate program will combine assessing audience needs and delivering thoughtful and relevant content with effective project management techniques as you develop the skills to write and produce copy for a variety of professional settings and styles.

The innovative courses in this program will encompass a wide range of communications disciplines and vocational skills, including:

• Web copywriting
• Technical writing
• Proposal writing
• Writing for social media
• Content marketing
• Presentations and speech writing
• Content management
• Information design and data visualization
• Digital storytelling

As a Professional Writing – Communications student, you'll have the advantage of creating a diverse and professional portfolio that will include training modules, complex visual aids (such as infographics) and compelling layouts for various print and virtual platforms (brochures, newsletters, websites and more). With your well-rounded training, you'll be able to launch a writing career that will go the distance, taking on a range of roles in both the profit and non-profit sectors.

The Advertising Account Management program will prepare you for a successful career in the client service area of the advertising, marketing and communications industry.
If you like creating, planning, managing and working in collaborative teams, this communications and media program is for you. Because the advertising industry needs specialized account managers who understand the full scope of the industry, courses will cover areas such as:

• Advertising
• Digital, mobile and social media platforms
• Event marketing
• Direct marketing
• Management of integrated communications plans from inception to final production

Not only will a team of seasoned advertising professionals teach and mentor you as you acquire new skills and confidence for the industry, but you'll also have the opportunity to apply your knowledge to the real world. The Advertising Account Management program at Centennial College is the only post-graduate offering of its kind in Canada that includes a full 14-week field placement in the advertising and marketing communications industry.

During your field placement, you'll obtain knowledge of the day-to-day operations of account management and gain hands-on experience to highlight in your portfolio and on your resume. Many students have been offered full-time or contract positions during their field placement.