The Certificate in Digital Communication is a three-course, graduate-level program offered by the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Upon successful completion of all three required courses, you will earn a certificate that is noted on your official UNC-Chapel Hill transcript. You must complete all courses within five years of enrolling in your first class.

Progression

The courses in the certificate program can be taken in any order. One course is offered each term, allowing students to complete the program in as little as one year. For course descriptions, please see the program website for prospective students.

Fall (15 weeks)

MEJO 711: Writing for Digital Media

Spring (15 weeks)

MEJO 712: Visual Communication and Multimedia

Summer (10 weeks)

MEJO 713: Digital Data and Analytics

Structure

• Courses are taught online using an asynchronous course management system (Sakai), meaning students don’t need to be online at a specific time. Courses have deadlines for assignments but don’t require scheduled times to meet “in class.” Courses are taught over a 15-week semester or 10-week summer term, with course content usually broken into one-week modules.
• Sakai is compatible with both Mac and Windows operating systems. While Firefox is the browser officially preferred by UNC-Chapel Hill, we have found Sakai to work with all browsers. Regular access to a high-speed internet connection is required for all certificate students. When you log in, the Sakai course management system will provide links to the online class for which you are enrolled. Courses are not available before the first day of classes.
• Much of each class takes place on discussion forums within Sakai. Forum postings can be a significant part of students’ final grades. However, this is based on the quality of each post, not the quantity of posts. Each post should add new information or a new perspective to the discussion.
• The best way to communicate with instructors is email. We ask instructors to respond to email within 24 hours when possible. Over weekends and holidays, response times may be longer.
• In addition to individual reading and writing assignments, instructors may require students to work in groups on various projects. Reading assignments will vary by course and instructor. Many resources will be articles and other information available online. Instructors may assign texts, which can be purchased online.
• Students should expect to spend about 10 hours per week on readings, discussion questions and assignments in each class.

Grading

Graduate programs at UNC-Chapel Hill use the following grading scale:

H: High pass
P: Pass
L: Low pass
F: Fail
I: Incomplete

If a certificate student earns two Ls or one F, s/he cannot continue in the program and will not be eligible to receive the certificate. Students earning an incomplete (I) have one year to complete coursework. Final course grades can be found in your ConnectCarolina Student Center at the end of each semester.

Withdrawals, Cancellations and Drops

If for any reason you must withdraw, cancel or drop a course, you must make a request in writing to the Office of Graduate Studies, at mjgrad@unc.edu. You might then be directed to complete paperwork online to complete the process.

• Withdrawal is dropping all courses on your UNC-Chapel Hill schedule for the semester once classes have started. You may be eligible for a prorated refund, depending on the date of withdrawal.
• Cancellation is dropping all courses on your UNC-Chapel Hill schedule for the semester before classes begin. It is, in effect, the same as not having registered at all. No entry is made on your permanent record, and 100 percent of your prepaid tuition and fees is refunded.
• Dropping a course assumes that you have more than one course on your UNC-Chapel Hill schedule for the current semester. You will receive a prorated tuition refund if the course is dropped before the census date (see the academic calendar for deadlines). No refund will be given after the census date, which is approximately two weeks into the semester.

Accessibility

If you have a disability that might require reasonable accommodations to ensure that you have equal access to this course, you are encouraged to self-identify with Accessibility Resources and Service and/or the Learning Center, depending on your individual needs. Please notify the Office of Graduate Studies at (919) 843-8307 as well.

Diversity

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill believes in providing a rich, multi-cultural and diverse learning environment for all students and faculty. For more information, please see diversity.unc.edu.

University Policies

By enrolling as a student in this program, you agree to abide by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill policies related to the Acceptable Use of online resources. For more information, please consult the full online privacy statement.

The United States Department of Education requires that institutions comply with any applicable state approval or licensure requirements in each state to which distance education instruction is delivered. For more information, please consult the university’s page about state authorization and student complaints about delivery of distance education.