Professional course Communications Campaigns: Creative Approaches and Tools

Entry year
2024/25
Course code
Z42000136
Application
University
Level
Professional/Short Course
School
School of Architecture and Environment
Campus
Frenchay
Duration
Five sessions scheduled over seven weeks, plus weekly reading group sessions
Delivery
Through interactive workshops, presentations and independent study
Course Director
Dr Georgina Gough

Page last updated 12 October 2023

Introduction

This course can count towards a postgraduate qualification in Sustainable Development in Practice

The Department of Geography and Environmental Management offers a portfolio of short courses that focus on the urgent challenges faced by organisations, communities and government in effecting sustainable change in individual behaviour, business practice and wider society.

This course is suitable for professionals in an existing communications, campaigning or sustainability role who need to update their knowledge and skills, as well as career changers and recent graduates who are looking to build and differentiate their CV in the highly competitive sustainability sector.

This course is designed to enable you to develop and evaluate a communication strategy aimed at changing cultural understanding, attitudes and behaviours in regard to sustainable development. The course will introduce you to a range of historically significant campaigns and social movements and it will support you to examine the various ways in which the issue and proposed change is presented across a range of different media forms.You will also be introduced to a range of contemporary case studies which make innovative use of social media in the dissemination of information and in the planning and implementation of significant events and demonstrations.

Entry requirements

Participants are expected to have a first degree at 2.2 level or above (or equivalent), or alternatively have industrial experience.

If you are a non-UK student you will need to show your valid passport on entry to the UK. Please check your eligibility to visit and study in the UK here. If you are a non-Irish EU national currently resident in Ireland please contact us for further advice.

If English is not your country's first language, you will be required to provide evidence to show you meet the UK Border Agency and the University's minimum English Language requirements.

We strongly recommend that you speak to the course tutor prior to the course if you are unsure about your suitability to complete the assessment.

Careers / Further study

This course forms one module of the MSc Sustainable Development in Practice. They may be taken separately or combined to build towards a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or MSc Award if desired.

Please note that if your enrolment in this course is with the aim of completing a Sustainable Development in Practice Award, you will also need to select the Sustainable Development in Practice Framework when completing the online booking form.

Structure

Content

Participants will engage with a very wide range of resources and examples - from philosophical materials, critical theory, film and documentary photography, manifesto and campaigning handbooks, reports and evaluation materials. You will work in a group with other course participants to research and devise a campaign strategy with a specific focus on identifying and critically evaluating persuasive techniques and approaches.

On successful completion of this course you will be able to:

  • identify the rhetorical strategies and tactics used in successful social movements and processes of cultural change;
  • critically evaluate the role of the media (print, image, broadcast and online) in the processes of communication and persuasion;
  • demonstrate an awareness of the ethical and political issues that arise in the use of persuasive communication and their rhetorical strategies;
  • devise and evaluate a campaign strategy aimed at changing cultural attitudes and behaviours that addresses a significant contemporary issue in sustainable development;
  • communicate complex material in a range of visual, written and oral forms;
  • situate your work within broader theoretical contexts and conceptual frameworks relevant to an understanding of processes of pro sustainability cultural change.

Learning and Teaching

The courses are taught through a mixture of face-to-face and independent learning, comprising weekly lectures and workshops (over 5 Fridays) and group discussion. The pattern of contact sessions is highly accessible for those who wish to study part-time.

You will be given access to orientation materials with links to a range of resources, archives a nd potential examples and case studies.

Some initial exercises will be set in preparation for the first workshop. Workshop one will immerse you in a range of historical and contemporary case studies of cultural change through a combination of talks, practical exercises and workshop activities.

Workshops two and three will support you to engage in connecting theories and practices of communicating for pro-sustainability change. Through practical exercise you will develop a campaign brief and begin the development of your portfolio and campaign materials.

Workshop three will be based around further practical exercises through which you will finalise campaign materials and devise a presentation. Assessed group presentations will take place three weeks after this.

You will be sharing resources, skills, aptitudes and perspectives with fellow course participants throughout. Staff will be monitoring the progress of the group project through group and individual online tutorials. There will be further opportunities for face to face tutorial support during the scheduled workshops.

Study time

The course is structured around five contact days. Students undertake a significant amount of directed and independent study between and after the contact sessions. 

To complete the module and assessment (if taken), we recommend students allocate approximately 150 hours including taught sessions and personal study time. This is only a guideline and will depend on the participants' motivation and learning abilities. 

Assessment

Participants who wish to receive credit for their learning can undertake the two assessed elements to the module:  

- A group presentation in-class, 20 mins with 10 mins Q&A per group, (worth 25% of the overall mark)

Working in groups students develop a campaign strategy - they then present this strategy together.

- An individually authored report of 3,500 words, submitted online (worth 75% of the overall mark), which evaluates the campaign strategy presented in light of theories, concepts and practices covered by the module

On successful completion, the course credits may then be used towards one of our postgraduate qualifications in Sustainable Development in Practice

You may also use the credit towards one of UWE's postgraduate qualifications in Integrated Professional Development.

Features

Study facilities

UWE Bristol is superbly equipped with libraries and computer labs, and an excellent campus environment.

Find out more about the facilities and resources UWE has to offer.

Get a feel for the Environmental Science facilities we have on offer here from wherever you are.

Prices and dates

Supplementary fee information

Course dates

Cohort March 2024TimeLocation
Fridays 22, 29 March, 19, 26 April, 03 May 202410:00-17:00Frenchay Campus
Tuesdays 26 March, 16, 23, 30 April 202416:00-17:00Frenchay Campus


Course fees

All prices are VAT exempt.

CohortMarch 2024
UK participants£792
International participants£1,333

For information on fees, managing your money and determining your fee status, please go to our fees and funding pages.

Course location

UWE Bristol, Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY.

How to find UWE Bristol

How to apply

How to apply

To book your place please click on the Apply Now banner

To make an enquiry: Enquire Now

 

As this module carries university accreditation, please note that once you have submitted your booking form, you will be required to provide the following supporting information for the Programme Leader to review and formally accept your application as required by the university:

  • An up-to-date copy of your Curriculum Vitae (including contact details of a work or academic reference)
  • A brief personal statement to support your application
  • A copy of your highest qualification certificate and transcript of modules studied
  • For UK students, a copy of your photographic proof of ID (i.e. driver's licence/passport).
  • For non UK students, a copy of your passport. Please note you may need a Visitor Visa to come to the UK to study less than 6 months. Visit UWE's Visas website for more information.

Extra information

If you would like further information about this course or about the postgraduate qualifications in Sustainable Development in Practice, please contact the Programme Leader: Dr Georgina Gough /+44(0)117 32 87139.

For further information

  • Email: For specific questions in relation to the course, i.e. content, suitability, assessments, etc. please contact the Programme Leader, Georgina Gough (Georgina.Gough@uwe.ac.uk). For all queries regarding administration aspects of registration, i.e. dates, fees, etc. please contact us using the online enquiry form link or telephone number below.
  • Telephone: +44 (0)117 32 81043 (option 1, then option 3)