Marketing Management - Marketing Communications

Associate Certificate Part-time School of Business + Media

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Overview

The Marketing Management - Marketing Communications Associate Certificate is ideal for students seeking careers in marketing, public relations, or advertising. Gain skills in traditional and digital marketing, branding, and communication strategies. Choose from Accelerated Learning Options to complete the program in a shorter timeframe.

Are you ready to begin your path to a rewarding career in marketing, public relations, or advertising?
This program is designed to give you specialized training in the components of promotional strategy. By gaining experience in many areas of marketing and promotional strategies, you’ll be preparing yourself for success in a variety of jobs.

Through the courses in this program, you’ll learn to develop promotional strategies and campaigns, incorporate specific tactics such as event marketing, trade shows and corporate communications. You’ll also study traditional advertising, sales promotion and data base marketing for the most up-to-date skills you’ll need to secure jobs like marketing coordinator, salesperson, public relations manager and more.

About the program

Can take this program completely online
Learn a broad range of marketing skills
Prepare for jobs in corporate communications, advertising, and marketing
Course credits can be applied to continuing education

Find out how this unique program prepares you for career success in the Program Details.

Who should apply for the Marketing Communications Associate Certificate?

This program might be right for you if:

You’re a creative problem-solver
You’re an independent self-starter
You’re ready to begin a new career in marketing

Interested? Enroll today at the Entrance Requirements!

What grads can do

In this program, you’ll develop the essential knowledge to begin a career in marketing and promotions. Your hands-on experience and job-relevant skills give you the confidence to begin a career in a variety of positions in advertising, event marketing, sales promotion, and more. You’ll also have the opportunity to continue your training through other BCIT programs for even more advanced skills and career opportunities.

Find more details about the opportunities available to grads at the Graduating and Jobs page.

Entrance Requirements

About Flexible Learning

Take a single course or work towards a credential at your own pace.

Part-time courses are offered in various scheduling formats, including at night or on weekends, flexible daytime delivery, or you can opt for distance or online learning. If you meet the prerequisites and there’s space available, you can register for a course immediately. Courses are offered in each of three terms: Fall (September), Winter (January), and Spring/Summer (April).

To earn your credential, you must complete a Part-time Program Declaration Request. Applications are processed throughout the year.

Application processing

This program is open to declarations beginning:

February 1st* for the January intake
May 1st* for the April intake
October 1st* for the September intake

*or next business day

Entrance requirements

Notice to applicants: As part of our ongoing commitment to ensure students are best prepared for their studies, Flexible Learning programs will be adopting English Language Proficiency standards (Categories 1, 2, and 3) as part of their declaration requirements effective April 2025.

Declarations submitted for program intakes beginning April 1, 2025 or later will be evaluated using the English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirement below.

English language proficiency: Category 2 – English Studies 12 (67%) or equivalent

International applicants

This program is available to international applicants. A valid study permit is required prior to starting the program.

Program declaration

Declaring your Flexible Learning (Part-time Studies) program ensures that BCIT is aware of your intent to complete a program as it is currently outlined and provides you the opportunity to apply for transfer credit.

To submit your declaration:

Answer all questions completely.
If required, convert transcripts and documents to PDF files.
Have a credit card ready to pay the application fee.

Declare Now

Upon approval, a program plan letter will be sent to you confirming your program of study. Please allow approximately eight weeks for processing.

Learn more about program declaration

Scheduled Intakes

Ongoing Flexible Learning (Part-time Studies) intakes: January, April, and September.

Costs & Supplies

Bring your own device

Most courses and programs in the School of Business + Media are BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). Please ensure you bring a laptop to every class. Plug-in outlets will be provided at most stations in classrooms, but not in all classrooms, so please ensure you have at least 2 hours of battery life available at the beginning of each class. Check the following recommended computer requirements prior to the start of class. If a program or course does not require you to provide your own device, that information will be provided by your instructor or indicated in the course outline.

For online classes, it is important you have a stable and consistent internet connection to access course content.

Tuition fees

Flexible Learning (Part-time Studies) tuition is charged on a course-by-course basis. Please see the Flexible Learning Tuition & Fees page for more information.

Financial assistance

Financial assistance may be available for this program. For more information, please contact Student Financial Aid and Awards.

Courses

Important updates to Flexible Learning

English Requirement: Find out more.

The courses in this program are designed by working marketing professionals to give you the most up-to-date skills in a flexible format to meet your schedule and career goals. Through the rigorous training, you’ll develop strong, diverse skills needed for success in marketing, including strategic online marketing, public relations, global marketing, and more. In addition to the required courses in the program, you’ll also have the opportunity to choose a number of electives that most closely support your future plans and interests.

Please note: part-time programs and courses are open enrolment and although we make every effort to accommodate demand, course registration cannot be guaranteed in every semester. High demand courses fill quickly and may result in students unable to register for a course that semester. Courses may also be cancelled due to low enrolment.

Program matrix

Check current availability of courses for this program.

1. Required Courses:			Credits
	MKTG 1102	Essentials of Marketing Marketing 1102 is an introduction to the fundamentals of marketing. In addition to the "four Ps" of marketing—product, price, place, and promotion—students will be introduced to how marketers create customer-driven marketing strategies based on their research and understanding of the marketing environment and customers. Students will plan a strategy for and compete in an online marketing simulation. After the simulation, students will evaluate their performance and deliver a marketing plan for their simulation company, which will be assessed on students' application of marketing terminology and processes and in the professionalism of their work. Additionally, students will complete assignments, quizzes, and exams. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
	MKTG 1352	Digital Marketing The focus of this course will be to provide the student with e-Marketing techniques and strategies that can help any forward-thinking organization be competitive in today's business environment. Key areas that promise to leverage the power of Internet are: customer relationship management (CRM); 1:1 marketing; permission-based e-mail marketing; viral marketing; attributes of a good Website and Website marketing goals; Website promotion/search engine positioning/ranking, and key Internet technologies/terminologies/acronyms. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
	MKTG 1550	Social Media Essentials Learn about current social media platforms and how to use them strategically to market your business. With a heavy emphasis on tactical, experiential, hands-on learning, as well as case studies, students will gain experience creating business accounts for several leading social media platforms and how to apply best practices for content creation on each platform. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
	MKTG 2202	Introduction to Marketing Communications This course provides the opportunity to develop a complete communications plan from the situation analysis to creative solutions. It reviews the role of strategic planning as it applies to media, creative, sales promotion and research, and examines those areas of promotion where each fit in the promotional mix and when would each best be applied. Prerequisite(s): 50% in MKTG 1102 course outline	4.0
	MKTG 3321	Public Relations In this course, students will explore a variety of concepts, tools, and techniques to generate publicity and earned media opportunities in an increasingly complex digital world—including building and leveraging relationships with the press and traditional/broadcast media, influencers, and customers—for B2B, B2C, and not-for-profit organizations. Students will analyze and plan public relations campaigns across communication channels, considering established digital and social platforms, emerging media environments, events and experiential marketing. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
	MKTG 3554	Brand Strategy This course will provide insight into the strategies behind successful brands. The focus will be on analyzing company, industry, consumer and competitive information to provide a sound foundation for developing a brand strategy. Additionally, students will learn the components of branding and how to use brand development tools. Students will learn how to position and brand products and services in order to prevent them from being turned into commodities and understand that all marketing campaigns serve the larger mission of developing a brand. Prerequisite(s): (50% in MKTG 1102 and 50% in MKTG 1352) or 50% in MKTG 2202 course outline	3.0

2. Complete 3.0 credits from the following list of electives:			Credits
	MKTG 1146	Introduction to Sustainable Marketing Businesses around the globe are waking up to the importance of sustainability. This course frames marketing in the context of a more sustainable world and challenges marketing students to think differently about marketing to transform the discipline into a force for good with a zero-tolerance approach to greenwashing and purpose-washing. To do this, marketers need to adapt and be more socially and environmentally conscious. This course provides foundational knowledge about current sustainability challenges, explores the principles and practices of sustainable marketing, and examines how to effectively integrate sustainability into the marketing mix to create a more sustainable marketing plan. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
	MKTG 2225	Project Management in Marketing Project Management skills are in high demand and can provide a competitive edge in today’s workplace. This intensive course gives you the practical skills you need to deliver a winning project on time and on budget, with a marketing frame of reference. This course teaches you how to create a project life cycle, statement of work, work breakdown structure, schedule, budget, and risk management plan. Working in a team, you will apply your Project Management skills to a real-life marketing project. This course will prepare you to make a meaningful contribution to any project. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	4.0
	MKTG 2352	Content Planning Every company that leverages a website, blog, video channel, podcast, email newsletter, and/or social media needs effective and efficient content planning. By learning a multi-step, iterative, content planning process, students build new digital skills that can be applied in real world contexts. Content planning saves time, creates more professional content, enhances brand consistency, and assists in building relationships with customers. The focus of this course will be to provide the student with content planning strategies and content creation techniques to fuel the digital marketing efforts of any organization. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	4.0
	MKTG 2452	Search Engine Marketing: SEO and Paid Search Search engines create opportunities for businesses to attract more traffic and more customers to their website, product or service pages, videos, social media, and even to their brick-and-mortar location. In this course, students will learn about organic or unpaid search engine marketing, known as search engine optimization or SEO, and paid search engine marketing, often called SEM or pay-per-click PPC or just Google Ads (since Google is the dominant search engine). This course covers the foundations of SEO and SEM, starting with an understanding of search engines and the business case for SEO. Students will then use various tools to conduct SEO audits, research keywords, and create and present strategies for on-page SEO, technical SEO, and link building. After exploring the organic side of search, students will learn the value of paid search. Using a company of their choice as a case study, students will create and present a paid search campaign, including a well-structured account, budget, keyword strategy, and effective ads. Students will create and pitch both an SEO and a paid search plan for a local business or not-for-profit organization of their choosing. (For online and asynchronous courses, these presentations will be recorded and posted on the Learning Hub for the class to view and discuss.) Prerequisite(s): 50% in MKTG 1352 OR relevant industry experience course outline	3.0
	MKTG 2552	YouTube Marketing Did you know that more video content is uploaded to the internet in a single month than network television has produced in three decades? And most of it is uploaded to YouTube. As the world’s second largest search engine (and owned by the world’s largest), YouTube is a powerful driver of website traffic. Marketers use video as the primary media for their content strategy, creating YouTube channels for presentations to drive leads and sales, for explainer videos to increase product and service understanding, for advertising, and more. This course will introduce students to the basics of setting up a YouTube channel, learning how to create content that is optimized for search, managing the analytics to hone and tweak successful YouTube performances, and using YouTube to deliver on business objectives. Prerequisite(s): 50% in MKTG 1352 OR relevant industry experience course outline	3.0
	MKTG 2909	Fundamentals of Marketing Research This course explores the fundamentals of marketing research – what it is, how it is used, why it is used, and its role in and importance to the marketing function. Secondary, qualitative, and quantitative research methods and tools will be explored. Particular emphasis will be placed on identifying and locating online sources of secondary data; evaluating and selecting appropriate methods for conducting primary research; the proper design of qualitative and quantitative data gathering tools; conducting effective survey fieldwork; understanding the nature and use of basic quantitative data analyses; and the proper reporting of research findings. Students will be taken through the steps of a major multi-method marketing research project. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0
	MKTG 3113	Customer Relationship Management How do we build customer centric strategies to keep pace with rapidly changing business environments? Every company should put customer relationship management as a strategic business priority in order to maintain mutually sustainable and profitable relationships. This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) including strategy, organization, marketing, information technology and implementation. Prerequisite(s): No prerequisites are required for this course. course outline	3.0

Total Credits:			22.0

Check current availability of courses for this program.

Transfer credit

Do you have credits from another BC/Yukon post-secondary school? Do you want to know if they transfer to courses here at BCIT? Check out BCIT's Transfer Equivalency Database to find out.

Program Details

This program is specially designed by marketing professionals to give you a complete introduction to many aspects of today’s promotional industry.

In this series of courses, many of which are electives to meet your particular career goals, you’ll get in-depth training in global marketing, digital and direct marketing, professional sales skills, and more. Each of the courses is made to give you the most practical, current skills and knowledge to prepare you for a successful start to your career in marketing, advertising, sales, or public relations.

Program delivery

Blended: This program is delivered partly on campus and partly online.

Program location

Courses may be offered at the following locations:

Burnaby Campus
3700 Willingdon Avenue
Burnaby, BC

Downtown Campus
555 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC

Distance and online learning

Graduating & Jobs

With the practical marketing skills you’ll develop through this program, you’ll be poised to begin a long, rewarding career in marketing and promotions.

Some job opportunities include:

Advertising Copywriter
Marketing Coordinator
PR Specialist
Sales Support
Event Marketing Assistant

Upon graduation, you’ll be prepared to begin or advance your career in marketing. While you may choose to enter the workforce immediately, you’ll also have the opportunity to apply your course credits from this program to further training at BCIT, eventually leading to earning your Bachelor of Business Administration for even more advanced skills and career prospects.

Apply for graduation

Upon successful completion of all program requirements, complete an Application for BCIT Credential [PDF] and submit it to Student Information and Enrolment Services.

Allow approximately six to eight weeks for processing.

All financial obligations to the Institute must be met prior to issuance of any credential.

Accelerated Learning Options

Accelerated Learning provides an opportunity for students to complete their Associate Certificate in a shorter period of time.

Students will advance their knowledge in rapidly changing topics, such as Digital Marketing, Sustainable Event Management, or one of several other programs with the ultimate goal of being job-ready in only three months. To complete a program in a single term, students are expected to immerse themselves fully in their course work, devoting 100% of their time to learning, and should have a minimum C+ in English 12 to take part in this option. We will work with you to create a program that suits your personal schedule, be that one course per term, two or more, or the entire program.

Please email Candace Marrington at candace_marrington@bcit.ca to determine if Accelerated Learning is right for you.

Contact Us

If you have questions that you could not find the answer to online, or if you require further assistance, please contact us: mktgpts@bcit.ca.

Candace Marrington – Student Inquiries
Program Assistant
Tel: 604-432-8723
Email: Candace_Marrington@bcit.ca

Tracey Renzullo
Flexible Learning Program Head
Tel: 604-451-7033
Email: Tracey_Renzullo@bcit.ca

Contact a Flexible Learning Program Advisor with the BCIT program name in the subject line if you have a question about:

Course selection and program planning
Declaring your program
Making changes to your approved program plan
Applying for transfer credit and advanced placement
Laddering options
Job placement and graduate outcomes
Student life

Questions or comments?

Programs and courses are subject to change without notice.