Business Writing and Communication
The Business Writing and Communication certificate program is designed for professionals who are responsible for developing business communication, whether that communication is within an organization or with customers. The program combines current theories of organizational communication and persuasion with the practices of business writing. Students will learn principles of effective communication while developing their own writing skills as they create persuasive and informational business documents.
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*course offered online
Post-baccalaureate students at Northwestern's School of Professional Studies pay per course. For more information about financial obligations and tuition, please visit the Tuition page.
In addition to completing an online application, you'll also need to submit a few supplemental materials. A list of requirements for admission including application deadlines and tips on how to apply can be found at the Admission page.
Whether you're a first-time registrant or current and returning student, all students register using our online student registration and records systems. Important information about registering for courses at SPS, including registration timelines and adding or dropping courses in which you are already enrolled, can be found on the Registration Information page.
| Program Courses: | Course Detail |
|---|---|
| Public Speaking <> COMM_ST 102-CN | Discover and improve upon your own communication style and,
through practice, learn how to hone that style for academic success
and professional development within the vast and diverse forum of
public speaking. This course is a laboratory in which you will be
encouraged to speak publicly about issues that concern you, to
share information that interests you and has relevance to a larger
audience, and to translate the public speaking forum in terms of
your own professional pursuits. Through short speeches,
engaging lectures, personalized coaching sessions, and
team-building group projects, each student will receive
personalized attention tailored to the realities of academic
success. Students will leave the course with increased technical
and soft skills in effective communication: non-verbal body
language, critical listening, storytelling, leadership presence,
managing anxiety, and structuring a clear message through visual
design. May not be audited. View COMM_ST 102-CN Sections |
| Theories of Persuasion <> COMM_ST 205-DL | Acts of persuasion influence us in all aspects of our lives.
This course will examine the different ways in which we utilize
persuasion in the communication we have with our families and
friends, our workplace, and the general public. How effective are
we? How are we affected? This will culminate in assessments of how
persuasion impacts us, as individuals and as a society. View COMM_ST 205-DL Sections |
| Professional-Client Communication <> COMM_ST 362-CN | This course is designed to explore the various processes of
professional-client communications, including organizational
theory, social, and managerial activities. Special emphasis is
given to areas of interpersonal and intergroup conflict as well as
ethics and its links to decision-making in business contexts. In
addition, specific business frameworks are used to show practical
applications of professional-client theory, including sales,
consulting, and legal perspectives, among others. The primary
purpose of the course is for each participant to gain insight into
his or her own communication style and to become a more effective
communicator, especially in the professional world where most
people spend a major portion of their lives. The course involves
extensive use of self-evaluation methodologies and participative
activities, enhanced by cases, rigorous self-review and
introspection. View COMM_ST 362-CN Sections |
| Bargaining & Negotiation <> COMM_ST 363-CN | This course is designed to explore the processes of bargaining
and negotiation as theoretical, social, and managerial activities.
It provides an overview of the basic theoretical approaches,
concepts, processes, and research in bargaining and negotiation.
Special emphasis is given in the areas of interpersonal and
intergroup conflict as well as language bias and its links to
negotiating. In addition, interpersonal influence techniques and
the tactics and strategies involved with improved bargaining and
negotiation are covered. The major purpose of the course is for
each participant to gain insight into his or her own negotiating
style and to become a more effective negotiator, as well as a more
astute observer of social processes. The course involves extensive
use of cases, role-plays, and related participative activities,
enhanced by rigorous self-review and introspection. There is no available section. |
| Collective Decision Making <> COMM_ST 364-CN | This course examines collective decision-making and communication in organizations through a survey of research surrounding group decision-making, while also considering organizational culture and organizational change. The course has strong participation and experiential components, including working on a team for a variety of projects to process, utilize, analyze, and appraise the research that we discuss and read. This course is based on experiential learning, a process that incorporates prior and new knowledge with activities, ending with a reflection which leads to new knowledge. View COMM_ST 364-CN Sections |
| Intermediate Composition: Business Communication <> ENGLISH 205-CN | This course is designed for students who have experience with college-level writing but who want to sharpen their writing and communication skills. Students learn to apply measures of excellence in business writing and communication. Assignments relate to business environments, including audience analysis, persuasive writing, verbal and interpersonal communication, and document design and graphics. Writers gain experience writing in collaborative environments. Students produce multiple drafts and receive feedback from their peers and the instructor. Carries business credit. There is no available section. |
| Intermediate Composition: Information Literacy <> ENGLISH 205-DL | As the information ecosystem evolves, so must consumers and
producers of information adjust their evaluative, research, and
writing strategies. This writing course focuses on learning to:
recognize how technologies affect the production and consumption of
information and misinformation; locate information using
well-designed search strategies and the most appropriate sources;
evaluate information and its sources critically; access and use
information ethically and legally; demonstrate an understanding of
context, audience, and purpose in writing tasks; create compelling
written content to illustrate mastery of a topic; use graceful
language that is virtually error-free. View ENGLISH 205-DL Sections |
| Writing for Media <> JRN_WRIT 201-A | This course helps students improve their basic writing skills. It emphasizes clarity and conciseness in expressing thoughts and facts. Through readings, discussion, writing exercises and rewrites, along with remote-site interactive instruction, students gain confidence and demonstrate improvement in written expression each week. By the end of the term, students can write clear, logical and accurate stories within the assigned deadline. We will practice writing: on assigned topics; on space requirements; on deadlines. While this is not a writing course exclusively for those who wish to pursue journalism, it nonetheless places heavy emphasis on news. Specifically, the course intends to clear up problems with grammar; sharpen word selection and usage; clean up sentence structure; introduce the basic discipline of journalism; increase writing speed; make stories both accurate and appealing to the intended audience. The skills developed in the course provide solid techniques to apply toward future course work at NU in most other disciplines and at work. Several assignments will concentrate on these three primary writing techniques: narration, description, and exposition. View JRN_WRIT 201-A Sections |
| Public Relations MKTG 370-DL | Public relations is a core management function for every type of
organization, whether public or private. Public relations spans a
wide range of marketing disciplines including media relations,
corporate reputation, community affairs, issues/crisis management,
investor relations, and government affairs. PR is one of the
primary tools used to reinforce a company's brand and support its
competitive position. Students learn the essential components of an
effective PR strategy; how to evaluate and manage outside PR
counsel; essentials of media relations and crisis management; and
how to draft PR messages. View MKTG 370-DL Sections |
