Advanced Certificate in Communication

at Okanagan College - Kelowna Campus Canada

The Diploma in Communications, Culture, and Journalism Studies (CCJS) is a two-year interdisciplinary diploma that foregrounds a critical analysis of the mass media as contemporary society's most pervasive agent of political and cultural transformation. Students will explore the social, political, and economic functions of news and communications media, the history of journalism, and cultural policy & theory. Particular attention will be paid to questions of social justice, as well as of identity and constructions of gender, race, class, sexuality, and nationality.                               

Housed in the Department of Communications, CCJS offers students foundational courses in media theory, writing-intensive courses in Communications and English, and a selection of elective breadth courses from a range of departments --including Anthropology, History, Philosophy, Geography, Political Science, Sociology, and Women's Studies.

While students may proceed directly to potential entry-level careers in communications, journalism, public relations, marketing, advertising, research, writing, publishing, consulting or new media, especially in small markets and independent digital environments, completion of this program is intended primarily to provide students with the liberal arts education necessary for further study.

The two-year Animation diploma program focuses on drawing, design and the principles and techniques of traditional and digital character animation. There is an optional Co-op work term offered between year 1 and year 2 of the program.

Features include a state of the art classroom in the new Innovation Centre in downtown Kelowna, the latest technology in the field of digital animation, and comprehensive drawing classes taught by industry professionals to develop artistic skills, technical dexterity and creative thinking. Industry standard production scenarios and professional practices mimic the production pipeline. Core courses include 2D, digital 2D and 3D animation, life drawing, character design, storyboard and layout design. Animation history, communications and an introduction to business functions are also studied.

The mechanical engineering technologist is involved in the design, manufacture, testing, installation, operation and maintenance of a wide variety of machines and mechanical equipment. Through the Mechanical Engineering Technology program at Okanagan College, students are trained in fundamental engineering principles and practice. Students will gain a working knowledge in the fundamentals of materials, structures, fluids, power, machine design, manufacturing, thermodynamics, HVAC, quality, and instrumentation and control. The use of current computer software is emphasized throughout the program. A diverse and stimulating program, Mechanical Engineering Technology incorporates labs and field trips to reinforce theoretical background, and to develop appropriate methods of approach and solution of engineering problems.

Graduates may be employed by a very broad range of industrial organizations. Opportunities include product design, specification, installation and maintenance of equipment, cost estimating, technical sales, quality management, inspection, production planning, automation, CAD/CAM, robotics, and research and development. Mechanical engineering technologists are in demand due to the tremendous diversity of the discipline.

The Commercial Helicopter Pilot Certificate (CHPC) will complement the objectives of the Commercial Aviation program, allowing students from both airplane and helicopter courses to share common ground school courses. This will educate students with the unique challenges of operating helicopters in Canada and internationally.

This certificate follows the Transport Canada approved curriculum and shares courses with the Commercial Aviation Diploma. This includes fundamentals and advanced skills required for commercial helicopter pilots. Students will complete the program with the skills to take the Transport Canada Commercial Helicopter Pilots written and flight tests.

Okanagan College continues to incorporate business development skills with aviation course so students can advance their professionalism and work ethic within future career positions. By blending commercial helicopter pilot training skills with the Okanagan College School of Business, graduates will enter the industry with more advanced education than that of a general pilot.

This certificate will require two full semesters over one year with a total of 40 credits. Graduates that successfully complete the Transport Canada written and in flight exams and accumulate a minimum of 100 hours of flight time, will be ready for employment as commercial helicopter pilots.

This two-year post-baccalaureate diploma (60 credit/20 course) is aimed at students with a bachelor degree in any nursing, science, engineering, psychology business or management program who wish to pursue a career in Health Analytics. Students will receive thorough training in statistics and data science. Term one of this program sets the mathematical and statistical foundation for higher level learning in the health and data science areas. In subsequent terms, students build on, and apply, these foundational skills to a diverse set of areas. While many of the applications have a health focus, the mathematical, statistical, and data science concepts learned are universally applicable to a wide range of disciplines.

At the end of this program students will:

1. Apply mathematical, statistical and machine learning techniques to support organizational decisions as well as to identify new data driven opportunities.
2. Manage and manipulate data and create data visualizations using a variety of mathematical and statistical software.
3. Participate in the planning and execution of a data science project culminating in recommendations based on the results of the analysis.
4. Evaluate, define and explain data-analytic problems that offer the greatest opportunities for organizational benefits.
5. Understand healthcare systems in a variety of countries including how their history, geography, government and economy and privacy laws impact the healthcare system.
6. Understand the relevant laws, regulations and standards involved with health data.

Okanagan College offers a four-year Applied Bachelor of Arts degree, located at the Kelowna campus with limited course offerings at Salmon Arm, Vernon and Penticton campuses. This baccalaureate degree provides graduates with employable skills in applied research and an understanding of how the social sciences and liberal arts actively contribute to a culturally diverse sustainable society. Developed for the context of the southern interior of B.C., this program includes studies of regional indigenous cultures and prepares graduates for direct contributions to local and regional issues. Through contextualized learning, the goal of the degree is to provide applied research skills within a context of liberal arts studies and applied social science, emphasizing an empirical orientation to understanding, to application of knowledge, and to intervention. Characterized by the strengths of a terminal degree that produces employable skills, this degree can also prepare students for admission to selective graduate studies programs. All graduates of this applied degree program will be ready for today's job market through mastery of higher-order analytical skills and techniques for applied research. Practical related field experience is a central component of the applied degree education.

This degree enables students to develop competencies in academic and professional writing, qualitative and quantitative analysis, critical thinking skills, ethics, applied research, program evaluation, multi-disciplinary world views, and languages other than English (including regional First Nations' languages). Students will complete field experience (a practicum, field placement or co-operative education program in the fourth year) as well as a capstone project that will tie academic studies to relevant local and regional issues. The degree program develops and maintains scholastic strengths in students, requiring a minimum of 55% in each course counting toward the degree and a minimum cumulative grade average of 60% for all courses taken while in the program. For students seeking direct entry into the Master of Social Work Foundational Two-Year Track graduate studies program at UBC Okanagan, in addition to these degree requirements a minimum grade average of 76% in the upper level courses counting toward the degree is required.

Community Research and Evaluation
A community research focus of the Applied Bachelor of Arts degree provides students with pathways to applied social service work or potential for transition to graduate studies at UBC Okanagan. Students will be granted an Applied Bachelor of Arts: Community Research and Evaluation (ABA-CRE) degree upon completion of the following:

The Criminal and Social Justice program, based at Okanagan College's Penticton campus, will provide students with an Arts-based criminal and social justice education. It is a two-year, four-semester program in which students will take a variety of criminal and social justice related courses in Sociology, Psychology, Political Science and Criminology, as well as elective Arts courses of personal interest. Some fields of inquiry may include indigenous studies, gender studies, race and ethnicity, globalization and poverty.

Students will graduate from this two-year program with a Diploma in Criminal and Social Justice and transfer into degree opportunities at other institutions in British Columbia and elsewhere, or they can move directly into the workforce, as there is growing labour demand in the field of criminal and social justice.Students exit the program with a solid, practical understanding of criminal and social justice issues in Canada and the world, as well as the academic skills of analytical reasoning, critical thinking, communication, and information retrieval that will be applied to their future profession and academic pursuits.

The Diploma in Environmental Studies offers an interdisciplinary opportunity to understand the physical principles governing the environment and the social and cultural aspects that influence human behaviour towards the environment. Students will gain a holistic knowledge of the environment through courses from the sciences, social sciences and humanities. The interdisciplinary model will equip students with the critical and analytical skills to think through the many complex factors that influence our understanding of the environment.

The diploma has four options: interdisciplinary environmental arts, environmental management, environmental science and geographic information science. Courses have university transfer credit providing students with the option of further study in either environmental studies or other disciplines. Students can also move directly into the workplace for there is a growing demand for labour in the environmental sector.

The civil engineering technologist is involved in the design and construction of buildings, bridges, highways, streets, parks, subdivisions, dams, drainage and irrigation systems, water supply and sewer systems, and plants. Aspects of civil engineering and urbanization in Canada are studied throughout this program. A diverse and stimulating program, Civil Engineering Technology incorporates field trips to reinforce theoretical background, and to develop appropriate methods of approach and solution. Graduates will possess the following knowledge and skills:

• A knowledge of mathematics, applied science, surveying principles, graphical language and oral and written communication techniques;
• A grounding in applied civil engineering technology as related to highway surveying, road design and construction, municipal construction, bridge construction, municipal water and sewage works, irrigation and drainage, and heavy construction;
• Skills in drafting, detailing, computing, surveying, laboratory testing (soil mechanics, concrete and asphalt paving), construction inspection, writing technical reports and correspondence, preparation of specifications and costs, basic structural design in steel, reinforced concrete, design of water distribution and sewage collection systems, heating and air conditioning and other building services, and engineering law.

Graduates with a diploma or degree in Business Administration from Okanagan College may receive a post-diploma certificate in Business Administration by completing an additional 18 credits of BUAD courses, of which at least 15 credits must be course numbered 200 or higher. This certificate will be of interest to students who have completed one option and now wish to broaden their studies in a second option. Certificates are available in Accounting, Financial Services, General Studies, Human Resource Management, Marketing, Management, and Tourism and Hospitality Management. Please contact the department chair for approval of your study plan.