Program Overview

Digital Strategies, Certificate

The Certificate in Digital Strategies will help you develop skills as a critical consumer, designer, and creator of information and multimedia content. Each online course in the certificate offers flexible approaches for using technology to reach your goals in this ever-changing world.

While technology has transformed the ways we live, work, and connect with one another, many of us are understandably ambivalent about its role in society. In some ways, technology can feel like a distraction that’s hard to contextualize within our personal and professional lives; but technological fluency can be critical for effective communication across a range of personal and professional spaces.

Digital Strategies Certificate Requirements

• The Certificate in Digital Strategies is a 4-course, 4 c.u. credit program of study taught by University of Pennsylvania faculty.
• To earn a certificate, students complete any four courses offered.

Flexible Course Schedule

Penn LPS Online courses in the Certificate in Digital Strategies are offered on an accelerated (8-week) schedule. Courses in the online certificate program are largely asynchronous with some synchronous sessions to be scheduled by the instructors. All Penn LPS Online courses are taught at the undergraduate level by Penn instructors.

The Certificate in Digital Strategies prepares you to:

• Solve complex problems with innovative approaches
• Support interpersonal communication with digital platform fluency
• Develop strategies for critical participation across dynamic networks and virtual environments
• Gain skills for building and maintaining strategic partnerships with digital tools
• Design, deliver, and manage engaging content for a variety of digital audiences
• Build basic visualizations of quantitative data
• Read and interpret the structure and logic of general purpose coding languages

Curriculum

To earn a Certificate in Digital Strategies, students must complete a total of four courses including:

• DIGC 2000: Coding Foundations for Digital Strategies (1 c.u.)
• Select from one of the following:
  • DIGC 1200: Digital Literacy & Cultural Change (1 c.u.)
  • DIGC 1600: A History of Digital Culture (1 c.u.)
• Select 2 additional courses from the list below:
  • ORGC 2010: Virtual Collaboration
  • DIGC 2200: Design Thinking for Digital Projects
  • DIGC 3000: Intermediate Coding for Digital Strategies
  • DIGC 3200: Designing Critical Futures
  • DIGC 3600: Applications of Digital Culture
  • DIGC 4000: Advanced Coding for Digital Strategies
  • PROW 4000: Writing for Social Media
  • PROW 4010: Composing a Professional Identity
  • Any course with Attribute = BCDS
• Total Course Units: 4

Advanced Certificate

Students who have already completed the Certificate in Digital Strategies must complete any two of the below courses to receive an Advanced Certificate in Digital Strategies.

• Select two of the following not used for the Basic Certificate:
  • DIGC 2200: Design Thinking for Digital Projects
  • DIGC 3000: Intermediate Coding for Digital Strategies
  • DIGC 3200: Designing Critical Futures
  • DIGC 3600: Applications of Digital Culture
  • DIGC 4000: Advanced Coding for Digital Strategies
  • ORGC 2010: Virtual Collaboration
  • PROW 4000: Writing for Social Media
  • PROW 4010: Composing a Professional Identity
  • Any course with Attribute = BCDS
• Total Course Units: 2

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2025 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.