Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Promotion, Media & Marketing

Boston University’s online Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Promotion, Media & Marketing allows students to develop or refresh skills vital for today’s professional health communicator. Using persuasion theory, media effects theory, communication planning, and other fundamental behavioral and management concepts, students learn to design integrated public relations, media, and marketing plans that help achieve the goals of health-related organizations and clients.

Students learn how to frame points of view and create powerful messages using print, broadcast, social, community, and organizational media in creative ways to influence and educate diverse audiences. With a focus on workplace-ready skills, students develop campaigns, search-optimized content, and materials—while understanding the importance of ethics, privacy, and regulatory considerations. They also gain essential knowledge in brand, reputation, and crisis management.

This certificate prepares students for professional communication roles within consumer- and business-facing corporations, government agencies, healthcare organizations and hospitals, PR and marketing agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other employers seeking to advocate for, educate, and influence audiences about health and wellness. In today’s climate of greater integration among public relations, media, and marketing disciplines, even recently educated communication professionals are challenged by the pace of change in their professions and across the media landscape. With this certificate, students learn the differences, similarities, and tensions among these communication functions within organizations, and how to effectively implement and align contemporary strategies and measurable tactics as part of a unified effort.

Learning Outcomes

• Create channel-specific health communication plans and search-optimized content designed to support, influence, and engage with diverse stakeholder audiences.
• Understand and demonstrate socially responsible health communication principles and practices as they apply to public relations, digital marketing, and media relations, including privacy, copyright, and regulatory considerations, and knowledge of the Code of Ethics as defined by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
• Understand the expanding 24/7 role of media relations professionals within healthcare organizations, including do’s and don’ts for developing successful relationships with reporters, message framing and delivery methods, and crisis management strategies.
• Identify the differences, similarities, and tensions among public relations, media, and marketing functions within healthcare organizations, and the importance of unified strategies that align and measure organizational efforts.

Admissions Information

For current admissions information, please visit the Metropolitan College website.

Required Courses

(four courses/16 units)

• MET HC 656 Healthcare Public Relations
• MET HC 657 Digital Marketing for Healthcare
• MET HC 658 Media Relations for Healthcare
• Plus one additional Health Communication course