Program Overview

Advanced Communication for Professionals is a one-year graduate certificate program for international students only, focusing on improving communication skills within a wide array of sectors. Graduates of this program will feel confident in workplace communication, writing and reports, and project development.
international only
Yes

Program Details

Program Code
ADC1
Credential:
Ontario College Graduate Certificate
Duration
30 Weeks

International Students

Start Dates
Locations
Availability

Full Time Offerings

2024 September
London
Open
2025 January
London
Open
2025 May
London
Open
2025 September
London
Open
2026 January
London
Open
2026 May
London
Open
Program may not be open in all regions
Information for International Students

Your Learning Experience

Advanced Communication for Professionals is offered to international students only.

In today's increasingly digitally-connected and knowledge-based economy, communication skills are crucial for professional success across a wide array of sectors.

Advanced Communication for Professionals is an Ontario College Graduate Certificate program that supports learners and professionals in further developing their written, verbal and interpersonal skills.

Canadian employers are increasingly emphasizing the importance of these skills for hiring and promotion; this program therefore cultivates excellence in workplace communication, interpersonal communication, writing and reports, and project development. Graduates will enjoy enhanced employability and advancement potential.

 

Career Information

Students in Fanshawe’s Advanced Communication for Professionals program learn widely transferable and in-demand skills applicable to a broad range of sectors, including business, finance, health care, information technology, management and technology. In addition to opening the door to an array of career opportunities, graduates can leverage acquired skills to enhance advancement potential in their chosen field.

Did you know Fanshawe consistently ranks high in graduation employment rates among large colleges in Ontario? 

Here are some examples of career opportunities for graduates of Fanshawe’s Advanced Communication for Professionals program:

Online English Teacher
Enthusiastic person who has strong compassionate teaching

Charity Ambassador

Create positive and meaningful differences in the world…passionate, outgoing, ethically minded World Changers

Communications and Legislative Services Coordinator

Implement communication strategies, press releases and external communication to the community

 

Learning Outcomes

The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to

1. Make effective rhetorical decisions to create focused, well-structured documents and presentations that implement professional stylistic conventions.
2. Analyze and successfully respond to the communication expectations of various professional audiences when creating professional documents and presentations.
3. Employ effective leadership skills in professional environments to promote increased communication efficiency and improved workplace collaboration.
4. Edit and adapt professional messages for multiple contexts and diverse media.
5. Synthesize sector-related research to produce relevant, persuasive reports.
6. Comply with intellectual property rights when synthesizing, citing, or repurposing others’ work in professional documents and presentations.
7. Produce visually effective documents and presentations.
8. Facilitate positive and productive interpersonal communication in the workplace to build and maintain strong relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.
9. Manage a collaborative project to ensure that it meets all required parameters (e.g. scope, timelines, etc.).

 

Related Programs

Academic School

School of Language and Liberal Studies

Pathways

Transfer Opportunities

Study & Work Abroad

 

Admission Requirements

A Two- or Three-Year College Diploma, or a Degree
OR
Acceptable combination of related work experience and post-secondary education as judged by the College to be equivalent to the above*

Note:
    *Applicants may be required to submit a resume and cover letter that includes details of work experience.
International Admission Equivalencies
Admission equivalencies for Fanshawe depends on your country of study. Please enter your location to see the requirements for your country below.
English Language Requirements

English Language Requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English will be required to demonstrate proficiency in English by one of the following methods:

  • A Grade 12 College Stream or University Stream English credit from an Ontario Secondary School, or equivalent, depending on the program's Admission Requirements
  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) test with a minimum score of 88 for the Internet-based test (iBT), with test results within the last two years
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic test with an overall score of 6.5 with no score less than 6.0 in any of the four bands, with test results within the last two years.  SDS Program Requirements.  
  • Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) test with an overall score of 70 with no score less than 60 in any of the four bands, with test results within the last two years
  • Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE) with a minimum score of 59, with test results within the last two years
  • A Cambridge English Test (FCE/CAE/CPE) with an overall score on the Cambridge English Scale of 176 with no language skill less than 169, with test results within the last two years
  • Fanshawe College ESL4/GAP5 students: Minimum grade of 80% in ESL4/GAP5 Level 9 or 75% in ESL4/GAP5 Level 10
Applicant Selection Criteria

Applicant Selection Criteria

Where the number of eligible applicants exceeds the available spaces in the program, the Applicant Selection Criteria will be:
  1. Preference for Permanent Residents of Ontario
  2. Receipt of Application by February 1st (After this date, Fanshawe College will consider applicants on a first-come, first-served basis until the program is full)
  3. Achievement in the Admission Requirements

Courses

Level 1
Take all of the following Mandatory courses:
COMM-6029Communication Literacy & Ethics4
This course cultivates communication literacy and ethics. Through an in-depth analysis of messages used and abused in diverse domains (such as political propaganda, advertising, corporate language, social media, and televised news and entertainment), students will not only discover the private and public repercussions of communication misuse, but also learn to neutralize attempts at ideological, commercial and corporate manipulation. Students will also examine case studies of real-world business and professional communication that violates ethical norms.
COMM-6019Advanced Professional Communication3
This course focuses on refining and advancing students workplace communication abilities. The advanced communication documents and strategies covered include presentation skills, research skills, business document writing, meeting and management team strategies, business etiquette, and advanced employment communications. Additionally, students learn about interpersonal and intercultural communication (high/low and monochromic/polychromic context) concepts and strategies.
COMM-6034Reading, Writing & Audience Analysis-Adv4
This course provides students with strong knowledge of the principles of clear, concise and correct communication. Students will analyze examples of written, visual and oral communication for their structure, style, tone, and rhetorical strategies, and will consider the relationship of the writer to his/her audience and purpose. Additionally, students will develop an appreciation of the stylistic and rhetorical conventions in specific professional fields (e.g. business, health sciences, technology, etc.). Finally, students will learn to apply these concepts to their own writing, and to construct well-structured and grammatically correct texts that fulfill audience needs and expectations.
MGMT-6089Leadership & Management Fundamentals3
In this course, the principles of effective leadership and management are examined with an emphasis on developing strategies for effectively managing groups of people. Situational leadership strategies will be analyzed with a view toward leading organizations through periods of change. Students work collaboratively to examine a variety of workplace issues thereby learning to provide effective leadership as part of the management team.
PSYC-6005Comm Psychology for Professionals4
This course will focus on the application of psychological processes in the workplace with the goal of increasing communication and interpersonal competencies. We will examine the impacts of cognition, emotion, motivation, learning, and memory on key workplace issues, such as interviewing, teamwork, intercultural communication, and ethics. With an emphasis on organizational principles, students will develop strategies for fostering positive human interactions and productive communication.
PSYC-6006Conflict Management4
This course will explore strategies for the successful management of conflict within professional domains. Students will examine the precipitating factors that can lead to conflict within a workplace, such as competing demands, deadlines, abrasiveness, discrimination, and hierarchical power structures. Students will also gain insight into the different facets of conflict resolution, including mediation, discussion and advocacy. Through role-playing and case study analysis, students will apply strategies for successful conflict management, with the goal of establishing and maintaining positive professional identities and productive group dynamics.
COMM-6030Editing for Professional Documents-Adv4
This course will prepare students for the technical and formatting challenges encountered while editing documents for diverse professional fields, including (but not limited to) the sciences, law, business, and media. An emphasis will be placed on transforming problematic, vague, and/or highly technical language into clear prose that is error free, sophisticated and accessible. Students will also learn strategies for working with documents generated by second language speakers. The ultimate goal of the course is to prepare graduates for editing a wide range of documents with varying levels of technicality for diverse audiences.
COMM-6031Writing for the Web4
The hyper-connected 21st Century workplace has created new channels to produce digital media more rapidly, more often, and more widely than ever before. The ability to communicate clearly, effectively, and strategically in this environment is critical for reaching professional goals. In this course, students explore theoretical concepts, such as media richness and social presence, in various formats vital to the digital workplace. Students are also provided the opportunity to learn, develop, and apply web-based writing skills essential for career success and future growth. Subject areas include strategic web writing, designing for diversity and special audiences, the basics of SEO (search engine optimized) writing, social media management, and the principles of universal design. By the end of the course, students will have developed skills in constructing a range of representative web content.
MGMT-6061Agile Project Development3
Students will learn the fundamentals of Agile project management, an approach best suited to complex projects with high uncertainty. Students will apply the Scrum Framework as one method that follows the Agile philosophy. Students will create product backlog user stories and estimate the effort to complete them. They will plan a Scrum sprint, and contribute to a sprint review and sprint retrospective. Students will apply Agile principles to career planning. They will understand the current use of both Agile and hybrid project management in business.
COMM-6032Professional Presentations4
This course will develop advanced presentation skills (including cultivating influence, personal impact, authority and natural presence), and will improve students' verbal and non-verbal presentation skills in a variety of contexts. Students will structure and deliver professional presentations, both formal and informal, and will prepare appropriate accompanying visual aids; furthermore, strategies for handling questions, generating buy-in, and scripting effective narrative arcs will be covered. The course will also examine the ethical use of copyrighted materials in presentations within both corporate and not-for-profit contexts.
RSCH-6001Navigating the Research Landscape3
This course will teach students how to find, evaluate, productively engage with, and use research in their professional careers. The course introduces and develops two types of research skills commonly employed - and combined - to solve complex problems: qualitative (involving the gathering, selection, and analysis of both qualitative data and secondary sources) and quantitative (involving the generation and analysis of numerical data and its transformation into useable statistics). Students will synthesize qualitative and quantitative research to comprehend and solve sector-related problems, and they will document this research in the form of well-organized, persuasive forms of professional communication. The course will also reinforce compliance with intellectual property rights and use of appropriate styles of documentation when conducting research.
COMM-6033Reports-Adv4
This course fosters students' skills in developing in-depth, persuasive reports. In groups, students choose a detailed professional communication case study to solve. They work through it for the duration of the course, focusing on strategies for organizing, synthesizing, and presenting information, for collaborative writing, and for implementing clear, concise prose. Additionally, this course will cover the principles for attractively presenting visual data and incorporating this data within written documents. The reports that the student groups produce will adhere to principles that ensure real-world success.
View all courses

Tuition Summary

London

International Costs
$16,435.60
Total Cost of Program
View Details

*Total program costs are approximate, subject to change and do not include the health and dental plan fee, bus pass fee or program general expenses.

 

Contact/Questions