DIPLOMA IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

Overview

RATIONALE

The purpose of Diploma in Public Relations is to train persons who wish to pursue a career in Public Relations.  The programme is also beneficial to professionals involved in executive-level management, marketing, public relations, and other areas impacting the communications and image of an organization.

For those individuals entering the public relations arena, the public relations diploma offers an excellent academic background in public relations in addition to the skills needed to break into and advance in the public relation profession. For those with substantial experience, the course offers the ability to keep a breast of the developments in the industry.

 

There has been a growing demand from the potential students who have been inquiring about the course at the Extra-mural Centres. The Extra-mural Department has been offering a three months certificate course in public relations. However, many students who have wished to further their studies in the field had to go to other training organizations which offered the diploma level certificate, though they would have preferred to train with the University of Nairobi. It is out of this demand that the department wish to offer the course.

The public relations is a multidisciplinary course and therefore, it borrows heavily from fields like, marketing, communication, management, psychology etc.

The course will be offered by face to face mode in all the Extra-mural centres of the University of Nairobi. Later the course will be offered through the distance learning mode

2.0   COURSE OBJECTIVES

The Diploma in Public Relations aims at: -

  • Training individuals who wish to pursue a career in public relations.
  • developing the human resources base needed for development.
  • creating a base for its graduate to proceed to higher business management professional courses in the university.
  • By the end of the course, students will be able to explain the public relations process and the ways in which it can be effectively used to accomplish organizational and individual goals; they will also be able to outline a public relations plan and to explain the strategies that will help them accomplish their objectives.

This programme is offered by the Department of Open Learning under  various modes of study: these are; day classes, evening classes and online classes in the three campuses (Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu)

COURSE STRUCTURE AND DURATION.

  1.      The course is divided into three semesters of four (4) months.
  2.      The students will take all eleven (11) course units.
  3.       Each course unit will be covered in 45 contact hours of study
  4.       The course will be delivered through lectures and tutorials.
  5.       The course will take one calendar year.
  6.       No candidate will be registered in this course for more than six semesters                                    (equivalent to 2 years).
  7.       The students will be expected to carry out a Research Project which will constitute two                units.

 

  1. KCSE grade C and above with C- in Maths or Business Studies or Commerce or Accounting or Economics AND C- in English or Kiswahili
  2. KCE/EACE Division II with a Pass in Maths or Business Course & one language
  3. ‘A’ level with at least 2 (two) Subsidiary Passes
  4. KCSE mean grade C- OR KCE/EACE DIV. III with a Professional Certificate* from a recognized Institution

*The certificate must have been undertaken for at least one semester from an institution recognized by the university of Nairobi senate

The programme is beneficial to professionals involved in executive-level management, marketing, public relations, and other areas impacting the communications and image of an organization

Semester I - 52,000.00*

Semester II - 38,000.00*

Total - 90,000.00*

* This is an indicative figure. Current Fee structure can be obtained from any of the University of Nairobi  Campuses or request can be made via cessp-g3@uonbi.ac.ke

Exam Regulations
  1. EXAMINATION REGULATIONS
    1. The examination will be governed by the general examinations regulations of the University of Nairobi
    2. For the award of the Diploma in Project Planning and Management, a candidate will be required to pass in all prescribed course units taken.
    3. Each course unit shall be examined by a 1 x 2 hour written examination at the end of the semester during which the course was offered.
    4. The written examination shall constitute 70% of the marks in each course unit while course work constitutes 30%
    5. Course work assessment shall comprise assignment and test
    6. The pass mark shall be 40%
    7. A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiners in any unit, with a mark below 40% may, on the recommendation of the Board of Examiners and approval of Senate, sit for a supplementary examination in the failed paper during the next semester examinations.
    8.  A candidate who fails in the supplementary examination(s) shall be required to repeat the failed units
    9.  A candidate shall only be allowed to repeat a course unit for three semesters.
    10. The project will be marked out of 100%.  The pass mark shall be 40%.  The project will be graded by the appointed supervisor.
    11. A candidate who fails to satisfy the examiner in the project with a mark below 40% may, on the recommendation of the board of examiners and approval of senate, re-submit the project.
    12. A candidate shall be allowed to re-submit the project for a maximum of three semesters.
    13. A candidate shall only be allowed to repeat a maximum of three course units in a semester

Any candidate who fails in more than three units in a semester shall be discontinued