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 2024 - September 6, 2024

The Admin team will review your enrollment request, and confirm via email.
It may not be possible to accommodate late requests.

Communication & Culture courses require an additional step to enroll

(ie: CC8960, CC8921, CC8828, CC8836, CC8838)

1. Complete the Course Substitution form (same as above).
   
2. Submit the Enrollment request form (same as above).
   
3. Your request will be reviewed and you will be contacted via email about next steps. 
   

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

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

CC8836 Selected Topics in Media and Culture: Climate Change Communication

with Dr. Sibo Chen

This graduate course is designed for students who are pursuing research or professional training in science and environmental communication. It consists of a series of seminars that engage students in contemporary scholarly debates regarding the glob-al climate crisis and the challenges of energy transition. Students will learn how to think about environmental and ecological issues through the lens of public communi-cation. The course will introduce students to the most recent scholarly literature in sci-ence and environmental communication and, ultimately, encourage them to reflect on how to increase public engagement with science and environmental issues.

CC8925 Reading Television

with Dr. Jean Bruce

Fundamental to contemporary cultural studies is recognition that the meaning, form and value of cultural products such as situation comedies, soap operas, advertisements, cannot be separated from the social context in which they are produced and received. The course will explore such questions as: What are the genre conventions? How do different individual communities use and value television products? To what extent do television products promote resistance and change and to what extent do they preserve the status quo? Students will apply several frameworks to selected products in order to analyse how the products work in relation to individuals and communities.

DG8116 Zone Learning Project I

This structured experiential learning opportunity allows students to focus on a project within one of Ryerson University’s Zones. Students will improve their knowledge through engaged experiential learning while developing their social and collaborative skills. Students will set milestones with the instructor based on their personal interests and project needs, meet regularly to determine progress and adjustments, discuss relevant theories and methodologies in class, and share accountability-rep.

For more information visit: www.torontomu.ca/zone-learning/initiatives/dg-8116/ (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 cultural artifacts (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. 

PC8106 Special Topics: Political Comm & Race

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.