Professional Diploma in PR & Marketing Communications

You do not need to have any prior experience or qualifications in PR or marketing to apply for this course. You may be looking to kickstart a career in public relations or communications or you may have moved into this type of role and are looking to upskill.

You may be:

• A business owner or entrepreneur

• A marketing and communications professional

• A recent graduate

• Someone who is looking for a career change

PR professionals work in every industry, plus there are opportunities in other areas such as the non-profit sector or politics. You might work in-house or in an agency. An average PR Manager salary in Ireland is €44,000 but it’s a competitive job market so a qualification is key to standing out.

A professional diploma will demonstrate to employers that you have the professional knowledge and tools to manage public relations and communications projects.

Our online experience is designed to be just as interactive, supportive, and inspiring as the UCD Professional Academy campus experience.

Online courses can be accessed from any computer or laptop with an internet connection.

Live lectures are delivered using Zoom. During these lectures, your teachers will use technology interactively to ensure an engaging learning experience. When appropriate, students will be encouraged to activate their microphones so that they can ask questions and communicate with other students.

Student care is a high priority at UCD Professional Academy, which is why our Student Services team is on hand to support you throughout your time with us. They will respond to any queries you have, help you with any technical issues, and facilitate your learning experience at every point. All students are given access to our Student Portal, where you can see your timetable, access all your study materials, and manage your account.

If you are studying an online course, your assessment will also be submitted online.

This course is assessed through a written project: an actionable PR strategy for an organisation. You will have two weeks following the end of the course to complete and submit the final assignment. The written project is generally around 3,000 words (that’s about 5 pages of a standard Word document).

A Professional Diploma is a relatively short, practical course that gives learners up-to-date skills in a professional area. They are suitable for learners wishing to advance their professional skills and career prospects rather than their academic credentials.

With their tight focus and duration, these diplomas are stand-alone qualifications and not referenced to NFQ levels or university degree/diploma courses. They are not generally accepted for transfer credit onto academic courses but are widely recognised and valued by employers.

Your UCD Professional Academy Diploma will be issued electronically on a secure platform, with a link that you can share with employers and others wishing to verify your credentials. You can also add this qualification to your LinkedIn profile.

This Professional Diploma is not on the National Framework of Qualifications as a credit-bearing course. This is not unusual for professional courses of this nature, where the need is for fresh and actionable skills immediately applicable in the workplace.

A place on any of our programmes can be secured with a 5% deposit.

For full-time (bootcamp) programmes, the balance must be paid in full before course commencement.

For part-time programmes students will be required to pay 50% of the fees before the start of the course, with the remaining balance due within 30 days of the course commencing.

Please note that standard terms and conditions apply, which you can review here: https://www.ucd.ie/professionalacademy/terms-and-conditions/