2024-2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
Digital Media, Undergraduate Certificate
The digital media certificate will combine classroom knowledge, hands-on experience, and industry-recognized content/certificates to prepare students for a successful digital media marketing/communications career. Designed for students seeking knowledge and skills related to career opportunities in digital marketing and communications, certificate participants may find this improves career achievement in advertising, public relations, marketing, and communications in industries such as healthcare, corporate environments, nonprofit administration and leadership, and firm life among other possibilities. The digital media certificate can be earned in conjunction with any GVSU major program. Courses in this program can be applied to the requirements for other majors or minor programs and can be successfully stacked with other credentials for maximum educational impact.
Required Courses
Students who seek a digital media certificate must earn a bachelor degree in any major program. The certificate consists of a core which compromises the GVSU social media and analytics badge and then choose one track, either digital content creation OR innovation, strategy, and digital media for five total classes.
The following courses are required to fulfill certificate requirements:
Digital Media Certificate Core (3 classes, 9 credits):
- CAP 330 - Social Media Strategy (3 credits)
- CAP 331 - Social Media Analytics (3 credits)
- CAP 415 - Social Media Campaigns (3 credits)
These three classes (above) comprise the social media and analytics badge. To stack credentials, complete the digital media certificate requirements by adding a track, and finish the certificate.
Two tracks, Pick one track and add two Classes in the track list to complete the certificate:
Digital Content Creation Track (Pick two classes from the following)
- ART 209 - Graphic Design Basics (3 credits)
- CAP 315 - Advertising Copywriting (3 credits)
- CIS 320 - Visualization of Data and Information (3 credits)
- DS 202 - Digital Data and Design (3 credits)
- FVP 125 - Media Production I (3 credits) Prerequisite: Restricted to film and video, communication studies, health communication, multimedia journalism, photography, advertising/public relations, and theatre majors.
- FVP 325 - Animation I (3 credits) Prerequisite: Admission to major.
- JBM 184 - Introduction to Broadcasting (3 credits)
- JBM 260 - Digital Journalism Workshop (3 credits) Prerequisite: JBM 265.
- JBM 316 - News Design and Layout (3 credits) Prerequisite: JBM 265 or permission of instructor.
- PHO 170 - Introduction to Photography (3 credits)
- PHO 272 - Intermediate Photography (3 credits) Prerequisites: One of the following (PHO 170, FVP 226), or permission of instructor.
- WRT 351 - Writing for the Web (3 credits) Prerequisites: Junior standing or CIS Major.
OR
Innovation, Strategy, and Digital Media Track (Pick two classes from the following)
- ART 335 - Digital Creativity (3 credits) Prerequisite: Junior standing.
- CAP 105 - Technology in Public Relations and Advertising (3 credits)
- CAP 425 - International Advertising and Public Relations (3 credits) Prerequisite: CAP 210 or CAP 220
- COM 209 - Health Communication Systems (3 credits) Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
- DS 330 - Game Culture (3 credits)
- DS 360 - Ethics of Digital Culture (3 credits) Prerequisite: Junior standing.
- WRT 451 - Advanced Writing for the Web (3 credits) Prerequisite: WRT 351.