Grace College and Purdue Online are partnering to offer Grace College students a graduate certificate in corporate communication strategy. Photo provided.

Press Release

WINONA LAKE — Grace College and Purdue Online are partnering to offer Grace College students an online graduate certificate in corporate communication strategy.

Grace students of all majors can now apply to the program, and courses will be made available starting this summer.

Completion of the certificate requires four graduate courses, which students will take during their fourth year at Grace. After graduating, students have the option to apply at Purdue Online to use their 12 earned credits toward the online MS in Communication. At that point, students will only need to take six more courses to complete their master’s degree.

“This certificate is an ideal option for two types of Grace students,” said Dr. Lauren Rich, chair of the Department of Humanities at Grace College. “The first is those who are thinking about graduate school but don’t know if it’s a good fit. The certificate allows students to test the waters of graduate school without taking the full plunge.”

“Second, the certificate is ideal for any Grace student seeking to set themselves apart in the job market,” said Rich. “The courses offered address complex corporate communication challenges across a range of industries and professional roles which will speak volumes to hiring managers.”

The certificate allows students to choose from a variety of elective courses that cover topics such as crisis communication, public relations and social media communication.

“Grace and Purdue share a common goal of providing innovative educational experiences and opportunities for our students,” said Dr. Bart Collins, director of graduate studies for the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University.

“This program allows students to take face-to-face undergraduate courses at Grace to complete their undergraduate requirements while participating in fully online graduate courses at Purdue Online,” said Collins. “We are excited to collaborate with Grace and their excellent students to prepare the next generation of corporate communication professionals.”

The partners are exploring a variety of other opportunities across disciplines for Grace students, including professional certificates and graduate course offerings.

For more information about the corporate communication certificate, visit online or contact Dr. Pat Loebs, Grace College associate professor of communication, at [email protected].