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International Diploma for Strategic Communications
We prepare our students for the global challenges of the 21st century.
We are living in turbulent times. The strains on the international community of sovereign states and the rules-based-order seem unprecedented. Threats and vulnerabilities appear to grow daily. And world leaders and their citizens have never been in greater need of clear insight filtered through Strategic Communications as the critical way of navigating and mitigating this climate of unrest.
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Sympodium’s education programme is the first gold-standard, international study programme aimed at Strategic Communications professionals.
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It has been carefully shaped to create a rich mosaic, enabling students to understand better how today’s geopolitics, geoeconomics, and geoecology converge. And how Strategic Communicators must now build their knowledge and skills on this more sophisticated level of engagement if they are to be equipped to face the threats and vulnerabilities of our age.
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STRUCTURE:
The programme includes 13 courses with 180 hours of teaching (subject to confirmation):
• Strategic Communications: Theory, Concepts & Practice
• Truths and Lies in the Modern World
• Influence & Behavioural Change Models
• Indo-Pacific, Geopolitics & Strategic Communications
• Emotions, Memory & Identity
• Gaming Strategic Communications Scenarios
• From Grand Strategy to Campaign Strategy
• Strategic Communications & Artificial Intelligence
• Political Marketing in the Digital Age
• Geopolitics, Geoeconomics & Geo-Ecology
• Russia’s Information War
• China: Tropes and Competing Ideology
• Understanding Audiences: Target Audience Analysis & Measurement of Effect
ACADEMIC CALENDAR & MODES OF TEACHING:
The programme consists of 2 taught terms of 12 weeks each and 1 term of assessment:
Term 1: Taught programme –– Monday 30 September 2024 – Friday 20 December 2024
Term 2: Taught programme –– Monday 13 January 2025 – Friday 4 April 2025.
Term 3: NO TAUGHT programme – Assessment period: Monday 21 April 2025– Friday 30 May 2025
This is a hybrid programme that combines online and in-person modes of teaching:
21 weeks of online teaching: the anticipated study commitment is 1-2 sessions per week; each session is 3 hours.
3 distinct weeks of intensive group study –– in-person teaching conducted in Riga, Latvia and other capitals (TBC), of 6 hours per day for 5 days.
For the duration of the programme, students will have access to a dedicated online site containing reading materials. Further access to online libraries and databases will be made available.
TEACHING STAFF:
As befits the world’s leading centre for the education and training of Strategic Communications, Sympodium’s teaching staff includes scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from across the world.
For the duration of the programme, our students have access to:
• More than 15 academics from 6 different, international institutions of higher education
• More than 20 policymakers and practitioners in the field of Strategic Communications from the UK, US, EU, Japan and the rest of the world.
CERTIFICATION:
On completion of the Programme, students receive:
• The Postgraduate Certificate in Strategic Communications issued by Sympodium Institute for Strategic Communications in association with Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences.
• The official transcript for 30 ECTS recognised under the Bologna Agreement within the European Union showing all modules studied and grades achieved.
ELIGIBILITY & ADMISSION:
Standard entry requirement:
A high standard Undergraduate degree in any subject (equivalent of above 65 in the UK higher education system). Communications, international relations, political science, social sciences or another related subject will offer the most suitable preparation for this programme.
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Admission Process:
To apply for the programme, prospective students must submit all documents below by close of business on Friday 16 August 2024 to students@sympodium.net:
1. Copies of academic qualification(s) including:
• Final certificate awarded to the student after completing their Undergraduate study.
• Official transcript showing all subjects or modules studied and grades achieved during their Undergraduate studies.
• Certified translations of the student’s documents if not originally issued in English by the awarding institution.
• Evidence of any change in the applicant’s name, including legal identification showing their current, legal name (such as a passport or driving licence).
This is only required if the name used during their studies is not the same as their current legal name.
2. Professional Curriculum Vitae.
3. Letter of interest (Personal Statement).
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On receipt of the student’s application package, our team will review it before our student-liaison office notifies the candidate of the outcome. The usual waiting time for the review process is 2 working weeks. In the event of a successful application, our team will issue the applicant with a formal Offer Letter to be forwarded to their employer and funder.