Graduate Electives

Graduate elective courses open to all students at The Creative School for the current term can be found below.

• This list is updated at the start of each term.
• Courses are offered subject to faculty availability and are subject to change without notice.
• Preference will be given to students enrolled in the program offering the course.

1. Review available courses below and identify the course you are interested in.
   
2. Reach out to your Supervisor/Advisor and Program Director to get permission to take the course for credit in your program.
3. Complete the  (PDF file) Course Substitution form (opens in new window) , it must be signed by your Supervisor/Advisor* and Program Director.
   
4. Complete the  (google form) Enrollment Request Form (external link)  and submit the signed Course Substitution form**.

*If you don't have a Supervisor/Advisor, your Program Director can sign on behalf of both. 

** Submit one form per course request.

Deadline to submit request: Fall 2023 - Sept 8

The Admin team will review your enrollment request, and confirm via email.

Unless shown below, course descriptions can be found in the YSGS calendar.

For your convenience the links to each graduate program calendar at The Creative School are listed below. 

DG8116    Special Topics: Zone Learning Project

DG 8116 allows you to get course credit towards your graduate degree and connect with a community of like-minded students from across the university. This new elective course from Zone Learning allows graduate students to launch and grow a project under the guidance of an instructor. The course also offers a very hands-on experience to gain deeper insights into the highly transferable skills and competencies needed to launch and grow projects and ventures.
Visit the course website here (opens in new window) 

PC8106    Special Topics: Communication in an Indigenous Context

This course studies the nature and function of communication by, for, and about Indigenous peoples in both historical and contemporary settings. Students will take an expansive view of both text and textual analysis as they explore material culture (rock art, birchbark scrolls, wampum belts), historical documents and narratives (oral histories), policies and legal documents (treaties, statutes), and popular media representations. Indigenous theory will be the guiding framework for the course, but students will also be exposed to a range of other theoretical perspectives.

Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes

• To understand the ways in which communication has impacted Indigenous people on Turtle Island
• To analyze the ways in which Indigenous knowledge and worldview(s) differ from mainstream perceptions and knowledge systems
• To identify appropriate ways of engaging in conversations about Indigenous peoples and issues
• To situate contemporary communications by, for, and about Indigenous people within a larger historical context
• Understand, explain, and make use of digital media options for communication
• Apply basic principles of event management and communication planning
• Identify and produce scholarship that is informed by Indigenous research methodologies

PC8106    Special Topics: Communication and Social Change

This course provides students with an opportunity to pursue advanced studies of the construction of social differencessuch as race, gender, sexuality, class and disability in professional communication through a range of theoretical lenses and in a variety of institutional contexts (e.g., media, education, law, health). Students also engage with communication in activist, advocacy and social justice contexts, including the theories and philosophies that inform communication practices in these contexts.

Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes

• Create and analyze communication products in a social change framework;
• Demonstrate fundamentals of advocacy and activist communication practices;
• Identify power structures and critique forms of discrimination, exclusion and oppression in the
  communication practices of organizations;
• Identify and integrate divergent perspectives to build alliances and coalitions;
• Plan and implement communication strategies for social change.
  
• Lead at least one group discussion and/or project related to communication and social change;
• Conduct a literature review which critically analyzes scholarly and professional discourses about a
  topic related to communication and social change;
• Employ research methodology to assess the impact of communication for social change.

MP8120 : Special Topics Interdisciplinary: Media, Youth, and Co-Creation

This course explores the relationships between media and youth in contemporary society. Focusing on pre-adolescents and adolescents, it examines what media these populations consume, as well as how they learn about/through and engage with/create media. Students are introduced to concepts and theories from media, cultural, and childhood studies through readings that consider topics such as identity and development; media cultures/ecologies; media literacy and education; other societal and cultural impact; and professional production considerations and processes. Coursework includes producing critical reflections on past media education, consumption, and creation experiences; analysis of youth media content; and engagement with guest speakers who share their practices and experiences in youth media-related work. Students also work in small groups to experiment with creating more resonant, relevant, and inclusive media content for youth.