Bachelor of Digital Communications (Honours)

at Humber College - Lakeshore Campus Canada

Humber’s Bachelor of International Development degree program is an interdisciplinary program that provides you with a solid theoretical foundation in sustainable international development studies and its related disciplines, as well as professional and technical skills in development management. The program is designed specifically to bridge the gap between theory and practice by building hands-on project management skills and capabilities. The program fosters a comparative understanding of developed and developing countries - countries of the global North and South - through directed study, analytical research and opportunities to travel that provide cross-cultural learning experiences.

Your core courses, in which you’ll develop professional competencies, include four streams: international development studies, supplementary disciplines, management skills and research skills.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Describe and critically evaluate the values, key theoretical approaches and concepts in international development.
• Demonstrate critical thinking in relation to international development policy and practice.
• Analyze international development through a variety of disciplinary lenses.
• Examine the roles and responsibilities of various actors within the field of international development.
• Design, plan, implement and evaluate international development projects using a variety of methodologies.
• Examine and apply various qualitative and quantitative research methods and assess the appropriateness of their use.
• Implement effective management of key financial, information and other resources associated with international development projects.
• Exercise initiative, personal responsibility and accountability in personal, professional and group contexts related to international development.
• Analyze cross-cutting themes of gender and environmental sustainability and their effects on international development projects.
• Communicate and work effectively in diverse environments.
• Critically analyze the practical and ethical implications of doing international development work across borders and cultures.
• Critically examine political, social and economic behaviours of various societies and their impact on sustainable international development.

Work Placement

• The 14-week/420-hour work placement is from May to August following Semester 6. A placement advisor will support your efforts to find a position that fits your academic and career goals. Your placement will give you the opportunity to explore the field of international development, as well as gain the hands-on, real-world experience that employers value.  We will work with employers and our partners to help you identify the best opportunities to pursue.

Humber’s Child and Youth Care advanced diploma program prepares you to promote the optimal development of children, youth and their families. Students are required to develop skills in assessing needs, designing and implementing programs and planned environments, and using daily life events to support and facilitate positive change. The program provides foundational knowledge in infant, child and adolescent development; child and youth care relational practice principles; psychology of the family; evidence-based or evidence-informed intervention strategies; group dynamics; and therapeutic activities.

You will learn that an essential component of professional practice is self-awareness, with many courses emphasizing self-reflection and the classroom being a professional practice environment. Your high energy level and emotional maturity will help you meet the demands of working with children and youth with complex needs.

Our program is delivered by award-winning faculty, renowned in their field, with current, relevant experience and advanced degrees. A key feature of the program is its therapeutic play lab fostering experiential learning.
Work Placement
Field placements with established partnerships are a critical component of this program. There is an exciting variety of innovative and traditional field placements available in and around the Greater Toronto Area. Field placements can also be arranged in your own community and are unpaid.

For the first field placement, opportunities are often school-based and occur two days a week for fourteen weeks. For the final two placements, you will be able to submit four to six placement choices with the school making the final decision. These field placements run four days per week.

Humber’s Introduction to Commercial Jazz Music certificate is a performance-based program designed to help you assess and strengthen your skills. It solidifies your knowledge of the fundamentals of western music and develops your current performance skills through the jazz-specific areas of improvisation, repertoire development and small group ensemble performance. You will emerge from the program with a clearer understanding of the field and your own career potential within it, and as a stronger candidate for entry into postsecondary music degree and diploma programs. All courses have a particular focus on the commercial jazz field.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
  • Recognize & identify common styles of music.
  • Describe the commercial/jazz field in terms of tradition, artists, & styles.
  • Explain the contribution of various artists to the development of particular styles & idioms.
  • Analyze the components & performance differences of recorded selections.
  • Play a repertoire of memorized materials that are considered standards in the commercial/jazz field & reflect the various styles inherent in this music.
  • Write diatonic melodies in various styles demonstrating knowledge of relevant harmonic & melodic concepts & structures of form.
  • Perform in an ensemble demonstrating basic ensemble skills such as intonation, tuning, time, feel, balance & dynamics.
  • Identify their own musical strengths & weaknesses in terms of a performance career in the commercial/jazz field.
  • Implement strategies & plans for on-going personal & professional growth & development.
  • Establish a practice of critical self-assessment & professional goal setting.

Humber’s Introduction to Commercial Jazz Music certificate is a performance-based program designed to help you assess and strengthen your skills. It solidifies your knowledge of the fundamentals of western music and develops your current performance skills through the jazz-specific areas of improvisation, repertoire development and small group ensemble performance. You will emerge from the program with a clearer understanding of the field and your own career potential within it, and as a stronger candidate for entry into postsecondary music degree and diploma programs. All courses have a particular focus on the commercial/jazz field.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
  • Recognize & identify common styles of music.
  • Describe the commercial/jazz field in terms of tradition, artists, & styles.
  • Explain the contribution of various artists to the development of particular styles & idioms.
  • Analyze the components & performance differences of recorded selections.
  • Play a repertoire of memorized materials that are considered standards in the commercial/jazz field & reflect the various styles inherent in this music.
  • Write diatonic melodies in various styles demonstrating knowledge of relevant harmonic & melodic concepts & structures of form.
  • Perform in an ensemble demonstrating basic ensemble skills such as intonation, tuning, time, feel, balance & dynamics.
  • Identify their own musical strengths & weaknesses in terms of a performance career in the commercial/jazz field.
  • Implement strategies & plans for on-going personal & professional growth & development.
  • Establish a practice of critical self-assessment & professional goal setting.

Humber’s Fashion Management graduate certificate program prepares you to work in the dynamic fashion industry and focuses on the management, marketing, sales of fashion apparel and accessories. Courses cover new product development and branding, fashion buying and retailing, multi-channel sales, international marketing and product management. Visual merchandising skills combined with colour theory skills and trend forecasting give this program a dynamic, hands-on approach to the business side of fashion.

Students in the program can choose the promotions or sustainability profile. The promotions profile covers the rapidly growing promotional side of fashion including courses in integrated marketing communication and social media brand management. Students will learn how to leverage and promote a brand through social media, personal blogs, Instagram, Twitter, online selling and personal website development.

Sustainable fashion profile provides students with opportunities to learn about the important aspects of fashion sustainability such as ethics and supply chain, creative innovations in the fashion industry and how to make a case for sustainability from a financial and managerial perspective. There is a growing demand for industry professionals with knowledge of sustainable solutions and innovation. Students graduate from the program prepared with tools to lead the industry to a lasting sustainable fashion change.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
  • Review political, economic, social, environmental and regulatory factors affecting fashion industry and global sourcing decisions to achieve cost-effective, sustainable, quality product procurement and operations.
  • Apply accounting, finance and supply chain operation methods to make sustainable business decisions that build competitive advantage for fashion products.
  • Recommend merchandising, store-level operations, promotions and product offering improvements for retailers based on detailed competitive analysis.
  • Develop entrepreneurship strategies that inform start-up business plans to achieve profitability and sustainability goals.
  • Develop a merchandising plan and replenishment process using industry specific tools in accordance with an allocated budget to achieve desired profitability and performance metrics.
  • Justify a promotional marketing and visual merchandising plan based on analysis of the business’s current position in the market to appeal to target audience and support strategic business objectives. 
  • Formulate evidence-based and innovative business plans that serve to solve identified fashion business problems related to production, profitability and market position.
  • Defend a mutually beneficial wholesale fashion line proposal to a retailer based on analysis of the buyer’s performance and profitability, target market and current fashion trends.
  • Employ language of the fashion industry to communicate effectively with direct and indirect stakeholders in line with businesses’ strategic objectives to establish and maintain working relationships.
  • Develop textual and visual online and in-store content to engage target clients through variety of media platforms to strengthen market position and business profitability.
  • Analyze historical and current development in the fashion industry together with predicted future trends to create competitive and sustainable business solutions.

Work Placement
Gain first-hand experience in the industry with a four-week (160-hour) work placement which takes place either part time during the program or full time at the end of the program. Placements provide the valuable work experience employers seek.

Humber’s Arts Administration and Cultural Management graduate certificate program is for those who wish to combine their passion for arts, culture and heritage with business acumen and management skills. This distinctive program promotes diverse, multidisciplinary performing and visual artistic expressions supported by organizational competence in revenue development (earned and contributed), management of human resources (artists, volunteers, companies), planning (financial, strategic, special events, career), and communications (multiplatform, digital, marketing).

The program is situated within the creative milieu of Humber’s renowned programs in theatre, writing, visual and digital arts, music, photography, animation, television, and film. Real-world experience is gained through varied field placements in commercial, government and not-for-profit arts and culture organizations, and collaborative capstone projects which demonstrate to employers the breadth of graduates’ abilities.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Articulate the value of the arts through applied research into national and international arts, culture and heritage policies, current and historical.
• Plan, implement and manage revenue development activities to secure resources from charitable foundations, corporations, government and non-government sources, and donors, through special events, and via online platforms.
• Demonstrate understanding of the negotiation and administration of arts contracts and applicable human resources legislation, regulations and practices, including the recruitment and effective management of volunteers and boards of directors.
• Design and implement effective marketing, promotion, public relations, education and engagement strategies.
• Demonstrate, individually and in groups, a range of administrative skills pertaining to organizational structure, internal and external relations, facility management, and financial management.
• Demonstrate numeracy and planning skills related to fiscal management and control. 
• Communicate effectively in both written and spoken business communications.
• Demonstrate familiarity with computer applications used in arts, culture and heritage operations, including constituent relationship management, book-keeping, graphic design, spreadsheets, project management, and website creation and maintenance.
• Incorporate concepts of equity, pluralism, diversity and access into all facets of arts management practice.

Work Placement
Two field placements offer students relevant experience and the development of mentoring relationships. Students have participated in placements with more than 100 regional, national and international arts and culture organizations including The National Ballet of Canada; The Royal Conservatory of Music; The Stratford Festival; the Hockey Hall of Fame; The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts; and numerous galleries, theatres, concert halls, museums and festivals. Students are responsible, with assistance, for arranging their own field placement locations and terms, and for the completion of the required 420 hours.

By combining the latest recording technologies and entrepreneurial business strategies with performance, production, songwriting and composition in jazz, pop, R&B, Latin and world music, you will be well equipped with the knowledge and skills needed for success in today’s music world.

Founded in 1972, the program has consistently produced many of the most successful commercial and jazz musicians in Canada and the world. With more than 350 students and a faculty of 18 full-time and 80 part-time teachers, our program is one of the largest, most diverse and highly regarded programs of its kind in the country. Long known for the strength of its professors, Humber offers you the opportunity to study privately, in classroom situations, and in several of the more than 50 ensembles directed by a who’s who of Canadian music. As Toronto is the centre of Canada’s entertainment industry, Humber attracts the top professionals in jazz, musical theatre, television, film, commercials and pop.

After two years of core music courses, you will continue with lessons on your major instrument, as well as take classes in music production and music business while also choosing from electives in arranging, composition, advanced improvisation, film scoring, music production techniques, songwriting, ethnomusicology or pedagogy.

You’ll develop musicianship and artistry by presenting your own recital, arranging and composing original material, and recording and marketing your own music.
In addition, you will take courses in music history, theory, aural training and improvisation, and have the opportunity to participate in a variety of ensembles.

All students complete a major recording project/portfolio in their fourth year. The assembled portfolio, which includes a complete press kit and professional-quality recording, as well as other promotional materials, functions as your calling card for entrance into the music industry upon graduation.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Perform, compose, produce music at a professional level for entry to the competitive, global music industry.
• Demonstrate a knowledge of diverse musical styles and contextualize themselves within contemporary music history: specifically defined as the idioms of African American musical genres, mainstream pop music, country/folk music, Latin music, music for musicals and film, art music and jazz.
• Demonstrate, through performance and composition, a technical and musical mastery of harmonic, melodic and rhythmic structures.
• Demonstrate, through performance, an extensive knowledge of contemporary musical repertoire and apply appropriate performance skills in diverse music contexts.
• Compose and arrange in a broad range of contemporary music styles.
• Prepare and present a portfolio of recorded material reflecting a broad range of styles.
• Record, edit and produce a broad range of contemporary music.
• Apply computer applications/music technology skills in composition, arranging and production.
• Critically analyze and evaluate sound recordings and describe their production characteristics.
• Demonstrate, through production and performance, organizational, project management, and implementation skills.
• Demonstrate leadership, teamwork, communication, critical thinking, research and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of contract law, copyright law, intellectual property rights, royalties, and rules of public domain.
• Make use of entrepreneurial music business skills to engage in the competitive contemporary music industry.
• Demonstrate professional “freelance” etiquette relating to job seeking and keeping skills.
• Demonstrate an ability to research and present findings from primary and secondary sources.
• Formulate, articulate and present their own ideas about music, art and society through discussion and writings.
• Demonstrate an artistic awareness and understanding of musical aesthetics.
• Assess personal strengths, musical and business skills, knowledge, artistic vision, interests, and abilities.

Work Placement

• You will participate in a work placement designed to mirror the professional music world, which is largely characterized by contract, freelance and part-time employment. You are responsible for accumulating the equivalent of 420 hours of experience which will allow you to establish contacts and relationships with key companies and industry professionals.

Humber’s Addictions and Mental Health graduate certificate program will empower you with the knowledge and skills you need for a rewarding career. Learn to deliver responsive, culturally relevant, client-centered assessment and support services to diverse individuals and groups. Practise ways to effectively collaborate and transform lives as a valuable part of a professional support team.

You will acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities required by front-line workers in order to deliver effective addictions and mental health services while promoting empowerment, self-determination and optimum quality of life to individuals with addictions and mental health issues.

Recovery principles, empowerment practice, and the impact of early and ongoing trauma in the lives of individuals across the lifespan are examined in the curriculum.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Analyze and apply current knowledge and services in the addictions and mental health fields using a bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework.
• Provide and evaluate holistic, client-centred, gender-based, and culturally relevant assessments and interventions to individuals, groups and families within social and cultural contexts across the lifespan.
• Integrate skills and knowledge from a range of frameworks and contexts in addictions, mental health and concurrent disorders to provide non-biased services to women and those from diverse and varied populations.
• Educate individuals, families, groups and the community regarding issues and approaches through knowledge translation, knowledge exchange and the dissemination of relevant and current research and practice via formal and informal education.
• Access, utilize and advocate for culturally sensitive community supports and services for individuals, families and the community.
• Actively participate in and contribute to, relevant networks, groups and organizations promoting development, improvement and advancement in the fields of addictions and mental health.
• Work collaboratively within interprofessional teams providing ethical, effective, timely, and coordinated holistic services.
• Practice ethical and responsible behaviour in all aspects of work.
• Research and integrate the contribution and the participation of the client, family, and community as partners in designing and implementing care and services.

Work Placement
Use and sharpen new skills while gaining crucial on-the-job work experience during a mandatory field placement that takes place in Semester 3. The field placement, which is typically unpaid, is arranged with the assistance of a field placement co-ordinator.

You will have an opportunity to provide evidence-informed, client-based and educational services to diverse individuals and groups experiencing addictions and mental health related challenges.

Humber’s Comedy: Writing and Performance diploma program helps you develop your craft while gaining an understanding of the commercial side of the industry. Our faculty is comprised of seasoned, award-winning professionals who are active in the comedy industry. You’ll learn stand-up, improvisation, scriptwriting, sketch comedy and all other aspects of the craft. In addition, the program’s strong alumni network supports you through reunion shows, business opportunities and continued coaching. The program features many mainstage class shows, weekly Humber student shows at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club and Comedy Bar, and an organized showcase at Second City Toronto for scouts, directors and agents with students included on the basis of merit. Upon graduation, you will have the tools you need to embark on an exciting career in one of North America’s fastest growing industries: comedy.

Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Produce a variety of comedic materials including sketches, screenplays, sitcoms and variety shows.
• Prepare and perform stand-up comedy routines.
• Discover their comedic voices and create materials that stem from these voices.
• Study both dramatic and comedic performance techniques, and apply those techniques to their own work.
• Prepare written humorous materials for magazines and newspapers as well as for radio broadcasts.
• Practice individual and ensemble comedic performances both in the classroom and in comedy centres.
• Apply the technical requirements of all genres of comedic writing.
• Respond to improvisation demands and create characters quickly on stage.
• Evaluate the business of comedy and develop career strategies and contacts.
• Learn from well-known North American comedic writers and performers and network with those individuals.

By combining the latest recording technologies and entrepreneurial business strategies with performance, production, songwriting and composition in jazz, pop, R&B, Latin and world music, you will be well equipped with the knowledge and skills needed for success in today’s music world.

Founded in 1972, the program has consistently produced many of the most successful commercial and jazz musicians in Canada and the world. With more than 350 students and a faculty of 18 full-time and 80 part-time teachers, our program is one of the largest, most diverse and highly regarded programs of its kind in the country. Long known for the strength of its professors, Humber offers you the opportunity to study privately, in classroom situations, and in several of the more than 50 ensembles directed by a who’s who of Canadian music. As Toronto is the centre of Canada’s entertainment industry, Humber attracts the top professionals in jazz, musical theatre, television, film, commercials and pop.

After two years of core music courses, you will continue with lessons on your major instrument, as well as take classes in music production and music business while also choosing from electives in arranging, composition, advanced improvisation, film scoring, music production techniques, songwriting, ethnomusicology or pedagogy.

You’ll develop musicianship and artistry by presenting your own recital, arranging and composing original material, and recording and marketing your own music.
In addition, you will take courses in music history, theory, aural training and improvisation, and have the opportunity to participate in a variety of ensembles.

All students complete a major recording project/portfolio in their fourth year. The assembled portfolio, which includes a complete press kit and professional-quality recording, as well as other promotional materials, functions as your calling card for entrance into the music industry upon graduation.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Perform, compose, produce music at a professional level for entry to the competitive, global music industry.
• Demonstrate a knowledge of diverse musical styles and contextualize themselves within contemporary music history: specifically defined as the idioms of African American musical genres, mainstream pop music, country/folk music, Latin music, music for musicals and film, art music and jazz.
• Demonstrate, through performance and composition, a technical and musical mastery of harmonic, melodic and rhythmic structures.
• Demonstrate, through performance, an extensive knowledge of contemporary musical repertoire and apply appropriate performance skills in diverse music contexts.
• Compose and arrange in a broad range of contemporary music styles.
• Prepare and present a portfolio of recorded material reflecting a broad range of styles.
• Record, edit and produce a broad range of contemporary music.
• Apply computer applications/music technology skills in composition, arranging and production.
• Critically analyze and evaluate sound recordings and describe their production characteristics.
• Demonstrate, through production and performance, organizational, project management, and implementation skills.
• Demonstrate leadership, teamwork, communication, critical thinking, research and problem-solving skills. 
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of contract law, copyright law, intellectual property rights, royalties, and rules of public domain.
• Make use of entrepreneurial music business skills to engage in the competitive contemporary music industry.
• Demonstrate professional “freelance” etiquette relating to job seeking and keeping skills.
• Demonstrate an ability to research and present findings from primary and secondary sources.
• Formulate, articulate and present their own ideas about music, art and society through discussion and writings.
• Demonstrate an artistic awareness and understanding of musical aesthetics.
• Assess personal strengths, musical and business skills, knowledge, artistic vision, interests, and abilities.

Work Placement

• You will participate in a work placement designed to mirror the professional music world, which is largely characterized by contract, freelance and part-time employment. You are responsible for accumulating the equivalent of 420 hours of experience which will allow you to establish contacts and relationships with key companies and industry professionals.