Program Overview

Strategic Branding and Public Relations Certificate Program

The Strategic Branding and Public Relations Certificate program is designed to provide professionals with cutting-edge skills in public relations and brand management. This program aims to improve written, verbal, and digital communication skills, enabling individuals to effectively represent brands, public figures, or causes through strategic communication.

Program Overview

This program is perfect for professionals seeking to enhance their skills in public relations, sales, and planning staff who craft press releases, executive presentations, or responses to regulators. It is also suitable for individuals managing public relations, marketing, advertising, or corporate, community, and media relations, as well as business owners looking to strengthen and manage their brand identity.

What You Can Learn

The program covers various aspects of public relations and brand management, including:

• Effective and persuasive communications skills for public relations
• Core principles of brand management, strategy, and public relations
• Best practices for engaging with media and press
• Developing skills in crisis management and communication

Program Structure

The program consists of 8 required courses, which are paid for individually. The courses are:

1. Brand Management: Building, maintaining, and managing a company's brand
2. Fundamentals of Public Relations: Introduction to the history, theories, and principles of public relations
3. Writing for Public Relations: Survey of professional public relations writing in its many forms
4. Working with the Media: Exploring various media outlets and presenting ways to effectively work with them
5. Strategic Public Relations Management: Execution of key managerial PR functions in corporations, agencies, and nonprofit organizations
6. Crisis Management and Communications: Preparing for and managing crisis situations
7. PR and Branding in Practice: Developing solutions to public relations problems and creating an effective PR practice
8. Business Ethics: Theoretical foundations and applications of business ethics

Elective Courses

Students must complete 8 elective units from a range of courses, including:

• Social Media Marketing
• New Business Development and Pitching the Perfect Presentation
• Integrated Marketing Communications
• Writing for Marketing and Advertising
• Digital Communications Strategies
• Entertainment Public Relations

Cost and Fees

• Application and Candidacy Fee: $200
• Estimated Textbooks and Materials: $900
• Estimated Program Tuition: $7,900

Payment Options

The program is not eligible for VA Benefits, and Federal Financial Aid is not available.

Drop-In Advising Hour

A monthly informal Zoom session is available for current and new program students to connect and ask questions to program staff.

Related Programs

Several related programs are available, including:

• Agile Methodologies in Management specialization
• Business Analysis certificate
• Business Fundamentals certificate
• Digital Marketing certificate
• Emergency Management certificate
• Enterprise Risk Management certificate
• Event Planning and Management specialization
• General Business Studies certificate
• Human Resources Management certificate
• International Trade and Commerce certificate
• Marketing certificate
• Project Management certificate
• Project Management with Concentration in Agile certificate
• Project Management with Concentration in Lean Six Sigma certificate

Scholarship Opportunities

The Henri Bollinger Memorial Scholarship is available to one UCLA Extension student annually, covering the cost of one course in the Strategic Branding and Public Relations Certificate program or the Entertainment Studies Certificate program.