The Deree – School of Graduate and Professional Education is offering a Specialist Diploma in Crisis Communication awarded by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), the professional body for the UK public relations industry. Deree-The American College of Greece is the first and only CIPR Accredited Teaching Centre in Greece and the only educational institution to offer this specialist diploma.
When: TBA
Where: TBA
Duration: A live online 20-hour seminar followed by supervised study working towards a crisis communication plan. Depending on your work commitments, you could earn the qualification in as little as 6 to 8 months.
Language of Instruction: English at proficiency level
Audience: By registration only
Deadline for Applications: TBA
Overview
In a world full of challenges, crisis communication skills are not only imperative but they also provide a competitive age to communication professionals who wish to enhance their career. The CIPR Specialist Diploma in Crisis Communication is an internationally recognized certification that aims to equip professionals with the skills required to develop an expertise in crisis communication management. It is an advanced professional qualification, comparable to a Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) Level 7 (or Postgraduate Level).
Who is this for?
This course is open to PR practitioners and communications specialists aiming to specialize in crisis communication management, with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree and at least one year work experience. It is appropriate for experienced as well as young, aspiring professionals who wish to enhance or validate their skills and qualifications.
Minimum Entry Requirements
An undergraduate degree from an accredited institution and 12 months work experience.
ACG Alumni:
All current students and alumni of the MA in Strategic Communication and Public Relations and alumni of the BA in Communication at Deree-The American College of Greece are eligible to participate, if they meet the work experience requirement. Alumni of the MA in Strategic Communication and Public Relations degree may waive part of the seminar attendance requirements.
Why Attend
- Earn an internationally recognized professional qualification from CIPR
- Expand your employment opportunities by specializing in Crisis Communication Management
- Raise your professional profile and status in the field of communication
- Develop hands on knowledge and skills
- Expand your network
For information about CIPR membership, please click here.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Apply key concepts in crisis response
- The societal, economic and media crisis context;
- Relevant public relations theories and concepts;
- The roots of reputation; The risks to, and the role and value of, reputation in a crisis;
- Winning trust and the withdrawal of society’s permission to operate;
- The difference between emergency communications and a crisis;
- The crisis and issues lifecycle;
- Identifying and managing key stakeholders in a crisis;
- The influence of social media, groupthink and the active citizen.
- Apply best practice models including
- Assessing public risk (particularly for public bodies including the precautionary principle);
- Analysing and defining types of crisis;
- Analysing trends in management practice, organisations and their working environments to predict when a crisis might arise;
- The role of the professional practitioner in crisis management and their place in the crisis management team;
- Researching and producing analysis of a crisis communication-related issue or development;
- Managing media and social media in a crisis.
- Prepare and critically evaluate crisis response, including:
- Establishing a crisis-ready organisation;
- Testing methods and scenarios for crisis plans;
- Strategic and tactical messaging in a crisis;
- Learning from the crisis, and post-crisis reputation repair.
Course Structure/Content
- Types, levels and impact of crises
- The phases of crisis management – pre-crisis, crisis, post-crisis
- Communication planning: strategies and tactics
- Constructing crisis plans
- Managing media and social media in a crisis
- Effective spokespeople
- Demands of the crisis team
- Evaluation of crisis management responses (lessons learned/after action review)
Delivery Mode
The course will be delivered live online, using the Zoom platform. To participate online, you will need the following:
- a laptop or a desktop computer (handheld devices lack certain functionalities so are unsuitable)
- a broadband speed wired Internet connection
- earphones or a headset
- a microphone (standalone or built into the earphones or headset)
- a webcam
- Zoom (it is free and will be downloaded onto your computer as soon as you click on the link you will receive from us)
Award of the Diploma
Following the seminar attendance, in order to receive the Diploma, participants need to prepare and submit a 5,000 word assignment (a 3,000 word executive report plus a 2,000 word summary analysis of secondary research findings), which will be graded by Deree instructors and moderated by the CIPR.
There are three assessment submission deadlines to choose from within a 12-month period, providing added flexibility for busy professionals.
Assessment/qualification results will be e-mailed to candidates from the CIPR and candidates can expect to receive their Diploma in Crisis Communications about three to four weeks afterwards.
What our Alumni say
“When I decided to participate in the CIPR Specialist Diploma in Crisis Communication, I was already a senior manager in the pharmaceutical sector with variety of experience in fields of public affairs, strategic communication, external relations and patient advocacy, digital marketing, successfully leading a variety of tasks, positions, and businesses growth, driving change in brand awareness. This diploma really empowered me to become a visionary, proactive, strategic thinker, helped me learn how to anticipate potential risk areas ahead of time, and as a result, behave more proactively once a crisis does, in fact, strike. Additionally, it made me an expert in distinguish between different communication channels when sending a message to employees, consumers, and the media at large during high-pressure crisis times. Finally, it made me think strategically about communication and become more confident in dealing with all aspects of crisis communication.”
Melina Thomaidou
Communications & Patient Relations Manager
AbbVie Pharmateuticals S.A.
Course Fees
Regular single participant fee: €990
Members of the ACG community, companies that register two or more employees and the unemployed: €900
Instructor: Tasos Theofilou, PhD
Dr Tasos Theofilou is an Accredited PR Practitioner and External Examiner of the Charted Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). For the last five years Tasos has been involved with the leadership of Bournemouth University’s Accredited Teaching Center and the accreditation of new CIPR Teaching Centers globally. He holds a BA in Political Science and Public Administration, specializing in International Relations awarded by the University of Athens, an MBA awarded by the National Technical University of Athens and the Athens University of Economics & Business and finally a PhD awarded by the Athens University of Business & Economics. Tasos has been focusing over the last 15 years on actively teaching and researching the field of Public Relations. His research interests expand on all aspects of Organizational Communication including Crisis Management, CSR, History of Public Relations and Sponsorship. His latest publication is an edited book entitled “Women in PR History” published by Routledge in 2021.
Course Director: Argyro Kefala, PhD
BA, Deree- The American College of Greece; MA, Temple University, USA; PhD, Sociology, New York University, USA
Dr. Argyro Kefala has been a member of Deree Communication faculty since 2004 and she is the Graduate Program Coordinator of the MA in Strategic Communication & PR. She has served as Head of the Communication Department and she teaches courses in the areas of mass media, communication theory, and public relations. Her research interests include political communication and visual communication. Dr. Kefala has taught for a decade at New York University, Manhattan Marymount College, and Temple University (USA) and has had an extensive professional career having worked as a journalist in New York City and as a communication consultant for the Ministry of Education and other governmental and non-profit organizations in Greece. She has also published a novel, a collection of stories, and a poetry collection.
For more information, please call 210 600 9800 ext. 1532, 1332 or email [email protected].